RWL Newsletter #123
Greetings from the University of New Hampshire! Tonight we have our annual banquet for seniors graduating from our major. This one is going to be strange for me because I started at UNH in the Spring of 2015, and these graduates started in the Fall of 2015, so they and I have shared our UNH experiences together. It will be a different place for me when this group is gone. (picture above is the last picture of the Class of 2019 together as students)
This week’s theme is addiction and recovery. I am focusing on that as a topic because I did a podcast interview (below) with Chris DiNicola, a recovering addict who now runs two treatment centers and provides 170 transitional sober housing beds in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. I don’t often meet someone whose life is so driven by a desire to help. I hope you check it out.
Read
What: Deadspin, How To Lose Everything And Get Some Of It Back
https://deadspin.com/how-to-lose-everything-and-get-some-of-it-back-1833665975
Why: This is the story of a pro-basketball player brought down by addiction, and his eventual recovery.
Watch
What: TEDxUniversityofNevada, Recover out loud, Tara Conner
Why: Conner humorously discusses the stigma of the disease of addiction. Much of what she talks about mirrors what Chris talks about in his interview. For example, things like the ineffectiveness of scared straight-type messaging and the need for long term supports for recovery.
Listen
What: Health Leader Forge, Chris DiNicola, Co-Founder, The Process Recovery Center
https://healthleaderforge.blogspot.com/2019/05/chris-dinicola.html
Why: As I mentioned above, my interview with Chris DiNicola really moved me. I had a chance to meet a couple of the men who he has helped before we did the interview and they could not say enough about how Chris had helped them change their lives. Getting to talk with Chris was a real privilege.
Thanks for reading and see you next week! If you come across any interesting stories, won't you send them my way? I'd love to hear what you think of these suggestions, and I'd love to get suggestions from you. Feel free to drop me a line by e-mail, or you can tweet to me at @mbonica .
Also, if you find these links interesting, won’t you tell a friend? They can subscribe here: https://tinyletter.com/markbonica
Have a great weekend and do amazing things!
Mark
Mark J. Bonica, Ph.D., MBA, MS
Assistant Professor
Department of Health Management and Policy
University of New Hampshire
(603) 862-0598
mark.bonica@unh.edu
Health Leader Forge Podcast: http://healthleaderforge.org
"I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by a conscious endeavor." - Henry David Thoreau