Wendy Dossett, one of our Recovery Voices, is an Emeritus Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Chester. She is also Director of the Chester Studies of Addiction, Recovery and Spirituality (CSARS) Group, and Principal Investigator of the Higher Power Project, a qualitative study of the concepts of Higher Power used by people in recovery from addiction through Twelve Step Programmes. Wendy is also an activist in the Visible Recovery Movement and an advocate for greater understanding and cooperation across addiction recovery modalities.
I was thrilled to hear that on 1 July this year, Wendy received a Lifetime Achievement Award in the category of Recovery Researcher from Deirdre Boyd of DBRecovery at the UKESAD Conference at the Chelsea Harbour Hotel. The wording on the certificate reads, ‘for support and dedication over and beyond the call of duty helping us to help people into recovery.’ A huge CONGRATULATIONS to Wendy! From my understanding of her research, Wendy’s Award is thoroughly deserved.
Wendy was interviewed for Recovery Voices by Wulf and I edited and posted a collection of 17 films—including a Teaser which you can link to below—on the website on 17 September, 2023. Wulf said the following on this page:
‘Professor Wendy Dossett
and I share a love Eryri [Snowdonia], and its beaches, valleys and mountains where we both live. Yet despite this proximity, our relationship began in other overlapping spaces of academia and wider recovery communities. Wendy’s generosity and warmth stood out. Over the last decade, we have increasingly translated this acquaintance into some shared working collaboration.
As reflected in our conversation, it becomes rapidly clear that Wendy has so much to offer to, and insight on, the process of recovery. She is honest and thoughtful in reflections on her own recovery journey. Rich and insightful in her understanding of the 12-Step Fellowship and particularly the role that spirituality plays in recovery. Finally, Wendy has an abundance of wisdom that comes from many years of navigating the obstacles within systems and supporting meaningful actions and change.
In the films below, edited from our interview, Wendy describes reaching out for help 18 years ago at a time when she was in absolute agony due to her drinking problem. She has not had a drink of alcohol since that time. In our conversation, we cover a wide range of topics, including the nature of addiction, a wide variety of aspects related to the 12-Step Fellowship, foundations of recovery, grassroots community, recovery advocacy and the system, and recovery friendly universities.’
Wendy Dossett Teaser:
