The Small Bow | The Small Bow

Oliver Buchannon

The Small Bow

A Recovery Newsletter For Everyone

The Only Constant

The Only Constant

Part II of our March check-ins.

TSB Check-Ins

Where We Need to Be . . .

Where We Need to Be . . .

. . . and where we’re needed. TSB readers check in as the long winter closes.

TSB Check-Ins

Emotional Sobriety and the Internet: Kathryn Jezer-Morton

Emotional Sobriety and the Internet: Kathryn Jezer-Morton

“The content I’m looking at doesn’t make me feel bad, it’s the fact of looking, the fact of being defenseless against it.”

They Did the Best They Could

They Did the Best They Could

TSB readers on facing the death of a parent who caused them so much pain.

Interview with an 83-year-old Sober Person: Sydney Lea

Interview with an 83-year-old Sober Person: Sydney Lea

“I am 83 and if I don’t get drunk or otherwise wasted for the next few months, I will have been clean and sober for 26 years.”

An Unwilling Participant in Your Own Life

An Unwilling Participant in Your Own Life

This month, we’re trying to live honestly, no matter how much we miss pretending

How To Sleep When the World Won't Let You

How To Sleep When the World Won't Let You

How to sleep (or not), part two.

How to Sleep When You're Tired

How to Sleep When You're Tired

Our readers write in and tell us how they go to bed each night.

Interview with a 63-year-old Sober Person: Tommy Swerdlow

Interview with a 63-year-old Sober Person: Tommy Swerdlow

“I used to be a bit of a cocky jerk and judgmental asshole, but there’s nothing like a twenty-year heroin habit to knock some of the snot nose out of you.”

Blow It All Up and Disappear Screaming

Blow It All Up and Disappear Screaming

Part Two of our January 2026 (!) check-ins.

Here’s to Hanging On by Our Fingernails

Here’s to Hanging On by Our Fingernails

New year, new check-ins.

TSB Check-Ins

+1

The Most Fun They Ever Had Getting Somewhere

The Most Fun They Ever Had Getting Somewhere

The Best Days of 2025, as told by Small Bow readers

Interview with a 52-year-old Sober Person: Elizabeth Jannuzzi

Interview with a 52-year-old Sober Person: Elizabeth Jannuzzi

“Being alive, that’s the best thing about being in recovery.”

It’s a Threefold Disease

It’s a Threefold Disease

The holidays are here . . . and so is part one of our December check-ins.

Sober anniversary

+14

Spend This Weekend Watching Good Music, Doing Good Things for People

Spend This Weekend Watching Good Music, Doing Good Things for People

The Trey Anastasio Band livestream from The Beacon is free for everyone this weekend.

TSB Podcast

+2

Always In Thanks, No Matter What

Always In Thanks, No Matter What

We have a WOMEN AND NON-BINARY meeting at 1 p.m. PST/4 p.m. EST today. Plus the annual Thomas Lux banger.

Sober Thanksgiving

+6

You Prickly? Freaking Out? How About a Meeting?

You Prickly? Freaking Out? How About a Meeting?

We have one starting at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST on Zoom

TSB Zoom Meetings

Off We Goddamn Go, Guys

Off We Goddamn Go, Guys

Holiday Check-In time — and a poem to help you fight the coming gloam.

Sober Thanksgiving

+2

Panicked? Pissed? You Need a Meeting? Hurry!

Panicked? Pissed? You Need a Meeting? Hurry!

We have one starting at 9:30 a.m. PST/12:30 p.m. EST on Zoom

TSB Zoom Meetings

The Day You Died My Life Was Shaved Ice

The Day You Died My Life Was Shaved Ice

TSB’s Poet Laureate series returns. This month’s poet: Anthony Thomas Lombardi.

TSB Poet Laureate Series

+5

You Feisty? Anxious? You Need a Meeting?

You Feisty? Anxious? You Need a Meeting?

We have one starting at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST on Zoom

TSB Zoom Meetings

Interview with a 51-Year-Old Sober Person: Carvell Wallace

Interview with a 51-Year-Old Sober Person: Carvell Wallace

“I don’t have to become perfect. I just have to get up every day and do the work to get better.”

Sobriety

+5

The Small Bow Podcast Comes Alive

The Small Bow Podcast Comes Alive

Plus the usual rundown: Philip Larkin. Thomas Merton. Thich Nhat Hanh.

TSB Podcast

+1

“Please Don’t Tell My Wife I Was Playing Kickball”: What It’s Like to Go to Rehab

“Please Don’t Tell My Wife I Was Playing Kickball”: What It’s Like to Go to Rehab

Our readers tell their treatment center tales.

Joe Schrank

+4

Sometimes Rehab Isn’t the Answer

Sometimes Rehab Isn’t the Answer

Joe Schrank offers some alternatives.

Joe Schrank

+1