Hello, it’s A.J.

Today we have a special announcement: It’s the kickoff of our Spring Member Drive. I’ll get into the details in a minute, but before that, here are some links to click:

The Small Bow began as a project to help me dig out of the early sobriety and post-Gawker trial mess; it was meant to provide temporary relief until I figured out my next full-time project. But after a year, it was obvious that it was the most important thing I’d ever worked on, and I wanted it to reach an audience beyond the few hundred who had followed my Mailchimp newsletter. If you’d asked me then I would have told you there was one major barrier: if I began to heavily promote it too soon, there was a chance a certain litigious professional wrestler would come after me again.

I know now that wasn’t actually my biggest worry. My biggest worry was also my loudest, most familiar fear: I lack the talent and the audacity to do meaningful work.

The best part about The Small Bow’s success is that it’s grown beyond me and my debilitating hang-ups. And TSB is not only for alcoholics, drug addicts, and shame-spiraling, problematic former bloggers. This is for the lovesick and lonely, the weirdos and the lost — a place for people who feel like they have no place.

And we’re no longer just a weekly newsletter — it’s a podcast, a YouTube channel, and we now publish three times per week, featuring work by multiple authors. We began running Zoom meetings on Wednesdays during the pandemic for about a dozen people, and now we hold them every single day. Our pilot writing program with the Divided Sky Foundation began a couple of months ago, and it’s allowed us to see how the type of writing we feature on TSB can be a wonderful companion for people as they begin life after rehab. And early next year, our version of the Big Book (“The Small Book” obv) will drop. Also — big news — we have reopened our Merch Store.

Our goal for the rest of the year is to reach the next phase. That’s why we’re encouraging people to join our Founding Member tiers, and why we’re debuting the Spring Member Drive. If you’ve ever been impacted by a TSB story or podcast episode, you can help us grow the next iteration of The Small Bow. As a bonus, we’ve come up with some fantastic perks, including free merch, advance copies of the book, and even getting your name in the acknowledgments or our Founder’s Wall.

If you can support us and our expansion, please become a Founding Member or grab a discounted annual subscription. Otherwise, continue to refer us to your friends using the link below. Let’s help more people find us. Thanks for all your continued support of The Small Bow. —AJD

If you don't feel comfortable calling yourself an “alcoholic,” that’s fine. If you have issues with sex, food, drugs, codependency, love, loneliness, and/or depression, come on in. Newcomers are especially welcome.

Format: crosstalk, topic meeting

We’re there for an hour, sometimes more. We'd love to have you.

Meeting ID: 874 2568 6609
Password To ZOOM: nickfoles

Need more info?: [email protected]