Wounds of Surrendering: Constructing Life Beyond Addiction

Abstract

In the United States, drug use permeates communities throughout the nation. This pervasive nature of drug use has endured despite decades of legislation regulating otherwise and has proved detrimental to the communities which it affects. Recovery programs exist to assist those impacted by drug use and addiction, whether it be for the user themselves or for those peripheral to drug use. These programs help form communal frameworks of care to address the violent consequences of drug use. Understanding how recovery programs develop these frameworks is imperative in order to implement effective rehabilitation infrastructure, but the anonymity intrinsic to these programs largely prevents this research. Through an autoethnographic approach, the study of Nar-Anon Family Groups, one illustration of support groups offering assistance to families and friends of people who use drugs, is conducted. This research demonstrates how spirituality and self-transformation, intrinsic components of these programs, effectively support and rehabilitate impacted communities.