Sacred Ground, Shared Reality
Shared meaning can make a place feel sacred without requiring a particular religion. Joe explores the boundaries, relationships, and agreements that give recovery spaces their significance.
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Essays on recovery, culture, and being human. Explore the ideas, questions, and stories behind the work.
Why We Feel What Others Feel: A Deep Look at Empathy, Sympathy, and Compassion
Joe examines the differences between sharing another person’s feelings, recognizing their distress, and responding with care. The discussion connects empathy with emotional regulation and relationships.
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Shame & Guilt
Joe distinguishes concern about an action from a painful judgment about the self. The essay explores what that distinction can mean for accountability, belonging, and recovery.
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Christmas, Agency, and the King Who Refused Power: A Non-Christian Reflection after Forty Seven Years
A personal reflection on the Christmas story from outside Christian belief. Joe revisits the ideas of sacrifice, power, and agency that shaped his upbringing.
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Thanksgiving, The Artifice of Gratitude and The Practice That Saves Us
Gratitude can feel difficult when it is expected on cue. Drawing on memories of recovery meetings, Joe explores the difference between performing thankfulness and practicing it.
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The Truth in the Whole: A Holistic Definition of Recovery at Fellowship House
Using a philosophical starting point, Joe considers why a person’s recovery needs to be understood in the context of their whole life, including relationships and experience.
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