Euphoric Recall

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Over fifty local people attended a Bound Together event on 10 March organised by Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drug s at West Lothian College and heard from local author Aidan Martin and his mum. LL: Many of our readers are writers themselves and are curious about writers’ publishing journeys. How long did it take you to find a publisher? Were they the first place you queried? AM: As an unknown author I always knew it was going to be a massive challenge to get published or to even get noticed! That being said I had complete faith in the book. I wouldn’t compromise on my belief that it had to be the right match. A partnership. As soon as I saw Guts Publishing, I just knew in my gut (excuse the pun) that they were the one for me. The book and it's contents are a very rare mix of honesty, brutality, many forms of abuse, mental health crisis, suicide, addiction but also of insight, hope, positivity and the various stages of recovery.

Recovering addict tells how he fought off addiction to become Recovering addict tells how he fought off addiction to become

It is a good working class area with hard working people, but poverty and social deprivation play a big part. This event is part of West Lothian Council Library Service's 'Libraries can Do It' project, which is supported by the Scottish Government Public Library COVID Recovery Fund. AM: My advice would be to make sure you have good support in your life. Good people around you who will be honest if they think that revisiting certain things is potentially self-harming for you. For me writing about it helped. But depending on the person it could potentially be a trigger. So take advice from good people around you. But most of all trust in your own gut. That’s what I did. I knew I was ready. And not in a self-deluding way. I just knew it was time. We have a long way to go but it looks like the Scottish Government are now holding their hands up and taking accountability. Aidan McGurk (Dungannon) Caught while sleeping on command wire to Landmine. Aidan's son Gary McGurk who was born in Monaghan Town and attended St Louis Convent school, would as an adult be sentenced to 29 years in prison in America for the Murder of a young female student.

James 'Lou' Ginley, caught with Aidan McGurk while sleeping on a Command wire to a landmine in 1981. On 27 November, 2022, James Lou Ginley was arrested by An Garda Siochana for subjecting his wife Rosemary to a brutal and sustained assault. I wanted to strike a balance between celebrating and explaining the recovery path that saved my life without alienating anyone who doesn’t know or who doesn’t follow a similar type of recovery scene. And again, this book is more than just an addiction story so I imagine there will be many people reading for reasons other than addiction. I’m in the process of launching a charity which will aim to support people suffering poverty, social isolation, and low level mental health. AM: Yes! I am already four chapters into a Scottish mystery novel set in the early 2000’s. It is based around the dying trance scene. It looks at a very specific time for lads in Scotland who had nothing else to live for but drugs and music. It is based in West Lothian (the county I grew up in) and is character driven. I realized there is no need to create characters out of thin air when I grew up with so many vibrant, edgy people. Both Aidan and Martin's sets were extremely well received by all who attended, including local residents, organisations and charities and sparked lots of conversations about local communities, people and stories.

Interview: Aidan Martin, Author of Euphoric Recall Interview: Aidan Martin, Author of Euphoric Recall

Aidan's honesty and open presentation was good to hear. His bravery in sharing his life was refreshing."AM: Currently I am two years and three months clean. And I don’t mind answering this at all so please don’t worry. Aidan Martin: I always knew my story was far more than an addiction-to-recovery tale. However, it most definitely was a cathartic experience, as cliché as that sounds. There are so many people suffering with mental health problems, suicide, addiction, all sorts. Many of them don’t know where to go for help. So I also believed this book could reach anyone, suffering any challenge or trauma. There may even be someone out there who doesn’t realize they have a problem with addiction and perhaps they will identify with my story and seek out help. The Bound Together project uses books to help raise awareness of the impact of drugs and alcohol on families, and it was amazing to hear from Shirley and Aidan about their journey together. In Euphoric Recall, Aidan says she is the strongest person he knows and last night we got to see that as she shared openly and honestly with us. The audience were all brilliant not just with their questions but how they interacted with each other.” AM: The recovery scene isn’t for everyone and I respect that. So, I think I was keeping in mind that a non-addict reading this may have felt that the recovery scene was a bit airy-fairy or like a religion when the reality is nothing of the sort. I am not an airy-fairy kind of guy either. Candidate for Northern Ireland Assembly elections in 1983. When I moved to Monaghan Town 1980, J.B. O'Hagan was sharing a house on Ballybay Road with Sinn Fein/PIRA member, Joe Campbell from Tyrone, Joe Campbell was one of the people who took over house in Caledon in 1968 from which Civil Rights Campaign begun.

Review of Aidan Martin’s Euphoric recall by Tich - SFAD

I knew before I even opened the book this would be a hard hitting memoir. I was very apprehensive to read this one but once I read the introduction I knew this would be an essential read. I had goosebumps reading the introduction and from there on in I was immersed into Aidans story from being groomed, addcition, family struggles to being a father and getting his degree he ends the book with a sense of promise.It was a great event. Having teas and coffees on offer, live music and sharing information on local issues. It was great to have books displayed which discuss addiction." In some ways, the book brings to mind Matt Haig's Reasons to Stay Alive for me. Just as I'd recommend any mental health professional should read Haig's book, I think anyone (at all) working with people with addictions issues should read Martin's. These stories and experiences are so important for both empathy and recovery, and can aid people's understanding of themselves and each other in a way that statistics alone can never achieve. There are times when a book just hits a reader in a certain way that makes one speechless. I am in such a situation. I have been staring at this computer screen, rewriting and deleting my first sentence. There have been few occasions when this has happened but in the case of Euphoric Recall, it was strong. Aidan Martin's Europhic Recall does exactly that. It's a pandora's box of a book, in that it tells a story of addiction, abuse, pain, and cancer, but of hope too.

Book serialisation: Euphoric Recall, by Aidan Martin: Part Book serialisation: Euphoric Recall, by Aidan Martin: Part

About the Author: Aidan Martin is a fiancé to his beautiful partner and a proud father of two beautiful children. He works as a mental health and addictions worker in Scotland as well as studying social work at the master’s degree level. In 2017 he gained an honours degree in social sciences: with criminology and sociology. As a grateful recovering addict, Aidan is heavily involved in the recovery scene. Aidan was born and raised in a housing scheme in Ladywell, within the town of Livingston. They wanted ‘ballsy books about life’ and I told them from the beginning how ballsy my memoir was. But it was more than that—my editor, Julianne Ingles, was honest and thoughtful from the very beginning. The discussions felt personal and real. She told me what she expected from me and I told her my vision. It felt like a match. I was elated when I signed my contract with them. Many of us write with a certain reader in mind. Were you writing for the reluctant addict? Society as a whole? Please, please, please read this book you will not regret it!!. I truly hope this becomes part of the high school syllabus (National 5 in Scotland) as there are so many lessons to be learned and discussions to be had that could lead to better communication and understanding for our younger generations. was stood down - disclosed the names of two Female PIRA Volunteers to this Author, who were living in Aughnacloy and who were not known to The RUC, this Author has never disclosed their names to anyone)

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AM: It took about a year of researching and pitching. But I was a completely unknown author. I queried many places but I found my home with Guts and I would put that down to another thing I consider as being ‘meant to be.’ The speaker and activist was also joined by local musician Martin Livingstone, who performed some of his original songs. Martin also shared how his past experience of engaging with West Lothian Youth Action Project encouraged his passion for music, which ultimately helped him to pursue his musical career. I've read through the book two times in the month I've owned it and only now have I felt able to write my feelings on it, as it has become very close to my heart. I grew up in the same town as the author and as aforementioned it has resonated with me in a way no other book has.