A recovering drug addict and survivor of sexual abuse has written a book in the hope of reaching out to other people in similar situations.
Aidan Martin, from Livingston, will see his first book, ‘Euphoric Recall’ released at the end of next month.
It tells the story of Aidan’s recovery from extreme trauma and addiction and tells how he survived brutal experiences with suicide, violence and severe mental health issues.
Aidan told the Courier he felt the time was right to put his experiences down on paper and in doing so he also enlisted the help of friend Mark Deans, who provided illustrations.
Aidan said: “I am a recovering addict and survivor of sexual abuse and I decided to write after someone close to me in my family died.
“I decided it was time to face up to everything. All the trauma, the severe mental health and the addiction.
“I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life and done harm, but I am doing a lot of good with my life now. I am an advocacy worker in addictions, I have an Honours Degree in Social Sciences and am halfway through an MSc in Social Work.
“My real aim is to write and speak publicly about addiction. I want to smash through stereotypes, stigma and shame.
“There is a drug epidemic in Scotland at the moment so the conversation needs to be had. I want men to feel safe to speak about mental health and suicide, and especially addiction.
“My book also talks about the pros and cons of growing up in Livingston in the 80s, 90s and 00s. Some of it was brutal and some of it beautiful.”
Aidan said writing the book - which will be released on October 1 through Guts Publishing - helped him to come to terms with his past, something he hopes will help other people.
He said: “Writing this has been cathartic but it is more than that. I already see conversations opening up since I spoke out and I want to achieve more of that.
“I definitely want to reach others suffering from addiction or any kind of trauma, challenge of mental health issue.”
Aidan said his family and partner have all been very supportive of his journey and he was pleased his friend Mark Deans had come on board to illustrate his book - and so much more.
Aidan continued: “I couldn’t do this without my best friend and illustrator Mark Deans. We grew up in Ladywell together and e is more than just the illustrator of the front cover he has had my back through an experience where I am exposing myself and my life experience
