Not In Vein

Between guests, Honour Script takes a break from the interviewer role to reflect and dig deeper on recent topics. A mix of education, insight, and unfiltered opinion.

On this episode, I pick up on the themes of queer identity in addiction and recovery from episodes 5-7, and share my journey of coming to understand and embrace my trans identity - a journey that ran parallel to my addiction, recovery, and exit from the twelve step community. 

Stevie Teale is a gender non-conforming person in recovery, and she joins me on this episode to share her journey - the fluid nature of identity, addiction, recovery, and spirituality.

On this episode, I sit down with Katie Marshall, the chair of Be: Trans Support and Community. We chat about her life experience as a transgender woman, overcoming addiction and a suicide attempt to become a visible and inspiring figure in her community, and the importance of the work of the healers in our community - the people who listen, who understand, and who raise the voices of those who most need to be heard. The journey of accepting our own gender identity can be a powerful transition - not just from assigned gender to our true selves, but from pain and isolation into the power of community and self acceptance. 

My guest on this episode is Mikael Devereux, sharing his experience of - and recovery from - chemsex, and his connection to the kink community. We also chat about the importance of harm reduction, the many roads to recovery, and our understanding of addiction. 

Between guests, Honour Script takes a break from the interviewer role to reflect and dig deeper on recent topics. A mix of education, insight, and unfiltered opinion.

On this episode, I look closer at queer community and chosen family, and the role of recovery capital in the journey from addiction to a full and joyful life. I discuss what sponsorship really means in 12 step recovery - the good, the bad, and the codependent. And finally, I share my personal faith journey, from my Christian upbringing, through atheism, to developing a personal relationship with a new - or, very old - god that I never expected to meet, and discuss forgiveness and healing from trauma. 

Susan Thorne is a Christian, an ex-Jehovah's Witness, and published author. In her book, 'Held by the Watchtower - Set Free by Christ,' she shared her story with the world more than two decades ago, and now she's here to share it with me - her youngest child, and not quite the baby from the story anymore! On this episode we chat about her experience of indoctrination, doubt, and the freedom she found by developing a personal relationship with God - unchained from dogma and control. I reflect on the parallels in my own life, and the ways that our sometimes conflicting faiths have helped us understand each other better. 

Cat Hurst, the chair and founding member of LGBT+ Northern Social Group, joins me for a chat about how safety, inclusion, and accessibility are vital to queer wellbeing and community.