Addiction can make us feel isolated. These recovery blogs share the struggles and triumphs of addiction recovery and remind us that we’re not alone.
What do you look for in a recovery blog? Perhaps the only strict rules are that they are interesting, well written, and provide helpful recovery content. Aside from those simple guidelines, what you want in a recovery blog can vary depending on your preferences and where you’re at in your life and recovery journey. The blogs listed here run the gamut from funny to serious, personal to global. The bloggers share tips, educational resources, and inspiration that can help you when you need a sense of community or an insight from someone who’s been where you are.
I’ve divided the blogs below into categories based on their point of view: from one voice, from a community or organization, or from a science and research perspective.
Recovery Blogs From One Voice
Lotta Dann is a sober New Zealander who has been blogging her way through recovery from alcohol since 2011 (when her blog was Mrs. D is Going Without). She writes in an honest, down-to-earth tone, and shares all the ups and downs of her journey. The back catalog of blog posts is amazing, and she also continues to add fresh new insights. Her blog is now part of a larger Living Sober community, which is moderated and full of valuable help and support.
Mark Goodson is a writer, English teacher, and father in long-term recovery whose blog celebrates the simple, sober life. His writing is authentic, honest, and evocative. His posts aren’t always explicitly about sobriety, but his recovery colors every life lesson he relates.
Nancy Carr’s blog about her life and recovery from drugs and alcohol is full of personal anecdotes and moving insights. She’s been in recovery since 2004 and actively blogging since 2015, so her blog is pretty extensive. Not everything in sobriety is sunshine and roses, and she writes about the hard times, too. Her perspective tends to align with the 12 steps (which she practices).
Laura McKowen is a beautiful, thoughtful writer. She says, “I don’t have the answers for you, but I do have some pretty good questions – ones I’ve had to answer for myself. My work is about sharing what I learn along the way.” Those insights cover the topics of life, motherhood, her road to sobriety from alcohol, and figuring out who she is.
Annie Grace of This Naked Mind seeks to understand how we think about alcohol and change our beliefs around it to remove the desire to drink. Her blog is full of helpful tips for living in recovery and overcoming the obstacles that can lead to relapse. I will offer the caveat that the posts also often point readers toward her paid programming, but the free content is really helpful.
Author Kristi Coulter started Off-Dry just a few weeks after she stopped drinking. Eight years later, she still titles each post with her number of days sober. Her posts are engaging, amusing, and relatable. She doesn’t update as frequently as she did early on, but she does still share fresh content. All of her posts are great, but the Recovery tag is a good place to start!
A lot of long-time bloggers change focus over time, so it’s not surprising that Damien’s blog sometimes includes basic life updates. But on the whole, his writing has been centered on sobriety since he started it in 2015. He is thoughtful and sometimes raw, and his messages usually tie back to his recovery. He tends to be rooted in the 12-steps.
Kelly Fitzgerald Junco says her mission is “to encourage everyone to live their truth, to break the stigma of addiction, to let others know help is available for substance use disorders, and that you do not have to suffer in silence. You are not alone.” Her blog is personal, self-aware, and smart, reflecting her own growth and struggles. She doesn’t update as frequently nowadays, but does still write new posts.
Ryan Hampton is an advocate, speaker, and author dedicated to finding solutions to our national addiction crisis. He is in recovery from opioid addiction, himself, and has buckets of credibility from his advocacy work, which has brought him into the national spotlight. His blog posts are often policy- and change-focused, and can inspire and empower those in recovery.
If you like blogs about recovery or blogs about cycling, you’re in luck! Jim has been blogging for about a decade, and enthusiastically shares about both. He’s in recovery from alcohol and has a 12-step perspective. The page collecting his recovery posts is a good place to start if you’re not as interested in cycling and life updates.
It’s often been said (sometimes by us!) that addiction is a family disease, with an impact that ripples out through the lives of those who love the person with the substance use disorder. That’s why Cathy Taghinbaugh’s blog is aimed at the parents of people with addiction. She started as a mom of a kid with a substance use disorder and has become a coach for other parents, so she offers a personal connection as well as researched advice.
Recovery Blogs From Communities or Organizations
This is an amazing resource for Black women and non-binary people in recovery. It was founded by Khadi A. Oluwatoyin as a community for “the sober curious, the social drinker, the problem drinker and for those living in addiction.” SBGC offers an eclectic range of blog topics from their own contributors, as well as curated posts from other sources. The focus tends to be on recovery from alcohol, but other addictions are also addressed.
The Fix is chockfull of information about all aspects of substance use and recovery. Posts on their blog are written by a large range of contributors, so you’ll encounter a lot of different perspectives, although be aware that they do sometimes share sponsored posts. The wider site has a lot of additional recovery resources.
The Phoenix Spirits says that they are “for people actively working on their physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being,” so their posts cover the spectrum of addiction and recovery. Their authors are usually engaging and conscientious. Along with their online articles, The Phoenix Spirit also puts out a printed publication. If you choose, you can access the full publication online here.
Recovery Blogs About the Science of Addiction
Marc Lewis is a neuroscientist and author who combines his research and academic perspective with his personal experiences as a person in recovery from opioid addiction. His posts tend to be thoughtful, well researched, and polished. Despite his degrees and qualifications, he’s not just writing from an ivory tower, but as a man who understands addiction from the inside.
William White is considered one of the best addiction researchers in America. He’s worked full time in the addiction treatment field since 1969, and shares the hundreds of papers and articles he’s authored on his website. His blog is more academic and less personal than some others, but he’s good at relating complex topics and problems without sounding dry or snobbish.
Elsewhere on Social Media
Sometimes you’re not up for reading a blog post; you just want a bite-sized bit of recovery inspo. Here are a few places to look:
Roxan McDonald is funny, insightful, and relatable. This is everything you want in an Instagram account!
Recovery Rockstars on Instagram
Seeing people in recovery celebrating their milestones and lifting one another up can be so inspiring! Great for a quick boost of happiness!
There are also many wonderful podcasts that deliver excellent recovery content. You can see some of our podcast recommendations here.
I tried to limit this list to content creators that are still actively sharing, but there are a ton of fantastic blogs that are no longer updating. No matter where you’re at or what you’ve done, there are others who have similar experiences, and some of them have written a blog about it!
