What happens when we stop trying to make reality something other than what it is?

In this episode of the Talking Addiction & Recovery Podcast, we sit down with author, poet, essayist, and U.S. military veteran Kathleen Kilcup to discuss her memoir, Between the Light and Me: A Memoir of Beauty and Violence.

Kathleen brings a deeply personal perspective to addiction, recovery, mental illness, and the complicated relationship we all have with reality. She describes addiction and mental illness as dysfunctional relationships with reality—attempts to make life more or less than what it actually is. Recovery, then, becomes a process of learning to live with "what is" while recognizing the limits of our control.

We explore the idea that changing our surroundings doesn't necessarily change what's happening inside us and the difference between running away from something and running toward a genuine hunger for experience.

Kathleen also challenges the familiar idea that recovery happens through one dramatic turning point. Instead, she describes change as occurring when three things come together: pain, willingness, and opportunity.

Her memoir's title, inspired by an Emily Dickinson poem, provides another powerful metaphor for the conversation—the "fly" representing the addictions and madness that can exist between who we are and the light we're trying to reach.

This is a conversation about addiction and recovery, but it's also about accepting the mixed nature of life: the beauty, the violence, the uncertainty, and the possibility of seeing things differently because of what we've experienced.

About the Guest

Kathleen Kilcup spent five years serving in the US Army as a Russian linguist. She holds an MFA in poetry from UC Riverside and an MA in religion and arts from Yale. Her poetry and essays have appeared in Tin House, Image, Salon, Western Humanities Review, and elsewhere. She writes The Mess on Substack and lives with her family in Oklahoma City. She is the author of Between the Light and Me: A Memoir of Beauty and Violence.

Links:

• Substack: https://substack.com/@kathleenkilcup?r=11vp8n&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=stories&shareImageVariant=image
• Amazon: Between the Light and Me: A Memoir of Beauty and Violence: Kilcup, Kathleen: 9780802885272: Amazon.com: Books
• Barnes & Noble: Between the Light and Me: A Memoir of Beauty and Violence | Barnes & Noble®

Support the show

Thank you for listening to this episode of Talking Addiction & Recovery Podcast.

To learn more about the podcast visit www.andrewjschreier.com

To inquire being a guest on the podcast or sponsorship opportunities you can e-mail hello@andrewjschreier.com

The podcast is also a platform for FREE continuing education. Licensed and certified professionals are able to listen to select episodes at no cost. Listen to an episode. Take a quiz. Complete an eval. Earn a certificate. Learn more at www.andrewjschreier.com/continuing-education

Talking Addiction & Recovery Podcast is the follow-up to the book "Addiction & Recovery" by author and clinician Andrew J. Schreier. This podcast explores discussions regarding important issues related to addiction and recovery. Information you learn here is not typical of what you will find in academic textbooks and resources; and comes from the experiences of a clinical supervisor, clinical substance abuse counselor, and licensed professional counselor and the work with individuals and others involved in this field. Listen as guests join the show and cover a wide range of topics looking to educate individuals, families, communities, organizations, institutions, mental health professionals, educators, and anyone else impacted by addiction and recovery. Content is not intended to be treatment and is not affiliated with any specific group.