Welcome to
Tom's Voice Magazine...

And here, I'm proud to say, is Issue 11.

In the absence of Vanessa, I've taken an executive decision to step out of the cupboard and onto the front page. And I have to tell you, there is some STUNNING stuff in this issue, most of it from Tom's Voice Writers, the group set up in honour of the magazine.

If the writing here is anything to go by, the group is working amazingly well, and in fact we had too much to go into this one issue. So apologies to those whose whole quota of work hasn't appeared - I have tried to present a cross section, as far as I was able.

For those who didn't see the earlier reference, here it is again, from Issue 10...

Dear Vanessa,

The idea for the writer's group came about when I was discussing your magazine and the acceptance of my story with a friend of mine, a talented musician who also loves to write. I told him how others I'd told of Tom's Voice had begun to approach me. Like me, they had no idea there was a recovery magazine outside of the AA Grapevine.This led to my expression of a possible need for a writers group. My friend offered that like Tom's Voice,the group should be for people in recovery and again, like Tom's Voice, it should be open to anyone in recovery.
So, here we are set to begin on February 10th with 6 people planning to attend...

Aimee Dearmon

That this group is a spinoff from the original concept fills me with pride, and joy, alongside of course, the recognition that recovery is a long road. My thanks and good wishes to all contributors, and to those who stop by to read, and allow themselves to be moved.

Zoe

PS - V sends all best wishes to everyone, readers and writers.

The Scream - Edvard Munch

 

 

 
 

 

  
 

Why ‘Tom's Voice'?

Because one of my first students, a good guy called Tom, tried hard to overcome heroin addiction in 2003. He battled through three months in a tough rehab. and while he was there discovered that he could write wonderful wacky poetry and prose poems. Tom died not long after he finished at rehab. and beside his body was a poem. His own version of 'To everything there is a season'.

He Had a Voice

Addiction is a cruel enemy. To fight it you need some strong weapons. But sometimes the weapons to fight the cruellest enemies seem to be the smallest things. A pencil. A scrap of paper...