The Lighthouse Project: A Collection of Collaborative Recovery Songs

CREATIVE RECOVERY GROUP is an online gathering of people in recovery, many of whom have recently graduated from St. Christopher's Inn, an addiction treatment facility in Garrison, NY. The weekly Zoom meetings are facilitated by Eric Kreuter, Ph.D., CASAC-t, and focus on creative writing to enhance the recovery process. The group collaborated on lyrics, and John created the music and produced the recordings. These songs represent a composite view of the challenges faced by those in early recovery, the clarity of a clinician, and the hope of a person in long-term recovery.

Writing with a group in a collaborative style creates a palpable harmony of ideas and emotions, and forms the underpinning of the therapeutic potential of inner thought to expression on paper then shared with others. This music project stems from joined poetry, with each line like a fiber of a beautiful tapestry, which, when completed becomes more than the picture of singular thought and emotion, but a mosaic of such human intellect and emotions. Working with these talented collaborators provides a definite purpose to the time spent with the group where healing takes place through the simple act of attentive listening. The group functions much like a family unit and one where everything can be shared without judgment. Music adds a significant dimension to poetic expression and provides the recovering person with a potent combination of spoken word and music to echo formerly repressed feelings. Thus, the thought and emotion shared brings potential healing through the sharing.