The Lost Ones Project

An invitation for people who are still in the middle of the mess.

There are plenty of places that tell stories about recovery, success, and “turning your life around.”
This is not one of those places.

This is a small, quiet gathering for people who are struggling right now — with addiction, mental health, housing insecurity, grief, trauma, or simply trying to survive a life that hasn’t gone the way you hoped.

This space is for stories that don’t come with tidy endings.
Not polished.
Not inspirational.
Just honest.

I’m a local writer creating a long-form storytelling project focused on people who live in the in-between — the ones who don’t fit neatly into before-and-after narratives.

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What this will be like

We’ll sit together in a small, respectful group.

Some people may talk.
Some may just listen.
Silence is welcome.

I’ll gently guide the conversation with open-ended questions about your life now, what you carry, what you’ve lost, and what you wish people understood about you.

You decide what you share.
There is no pressure to tell anything.

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About the writing

Only with your clear permission, I may later write your story as part of my private writing project.

Your story can be anonymous, use a pseudonym, and be reviewed by you before anything is published.
Nothing will be shared without your consent.

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Important to know

This is not therapy, a recovery meeting, or a religious group.
I’m not a clinician — I’m a writer who has lived through addiction and mental illness and understands how easily people like us disappear from public stories.

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Who this is for

This circle is for people who are still struggling — with addiction, mental illness, unstable housing, or simply trying to stay afloat.

You don’t need a redemption arc.
You don’t need to be doing well.
You only need to be willing to sit in a room and be human.

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And just so you know — you don’t have to share your story to belong here.
If you simply want to sit with us, listen, have a cup of coffee, and not be written about at all, you are still very welcome.

You belong here.