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Greg Williams, Filmmaker

Last spring I was minding my own business on Facebook ( 😉 ) when I happened upon a kickstarter video that rocked my world.

Greg Williams, was talking about a film he was making called The Anonymous People (see description below). I sat at my kitchen table with my little boy on my lap and was riveted. By the time my husband had come over to see what was making me so excited, I was crying the best kind of tears. It was so inspiring.

I was raised to believe that one person’s voice can make a difference and here was this new fact for me: 23 Million Americans are living in long-term recovery.

WTF?!?!

What if WE used OUR voices to start defining the conversation? The options for treatment? Put an end to the shame and stigma that, even if we don’t personally feel, exists in the world and certainly in the media? And how about this one: That living in recovery isn’t a slog but a joy and a spring board for an amazing life?

Fuck yeah!!

So when Greg agreed to speak to me for Your Recovered Life Series I was stoked!

I wanted to know more about the film AND how he found his calling, duty and passion in recovery.

As an aside, I met Greg in person after this conversation and he is not only impressive and inspiring for the change he is creating in the world, but a SUPER nice guy.

In this conversation we discuss:

• The pain of living a secret life in recovery
• What happened when he married his anger with hope
• How he organically found his passion
• The advocacy recovery movement
• A caution not to plateau and ways to keep expanding your horizon
• The best kept secret on the planet

Enjoy!

Greg’s bio:

Greg Williams is a person in long-term recovery from alcohol and other drugs since age seventeen. He is a health policy advocate, and documentary filmmaker who specializes in the creation of compelling and purposeful content. At age 29, The Anonymous People, is Greg’s first independent feature-length film. His new film is bringing lasting solutions to the screen for one of America’s top health problems.

Greg’s website for info on the film, screenings near you and advocacy information:  www.manyfacesonevoice.org

Here’s the official description of the film:

The Anonymous People is a feature documentary film about the over 23 million Americans living in long-term recovery from alcohol and other drug addiction. Deeply entrenched social stigma have kept recovery voices silent and faces hidden for decades. The vacuum has been filled with sensational mass media depictions of people with addiction that perpetuate a lurid fascination with the dysfunctional side of what is a preventable and treatable health condition. Just like women with breast cancer, or people with HIV/AIDS, a grass roots social justice movement is emerging. Courageous addiction recovery advocates have come out of the shadows and are organizing to end discrimination and move toward recovery-based solutions.

The story of The Anonymous People is told through
 the faces and voices of citizens, leaders, volunteers, corporate executives, public figures, and celebrities who are laying it all on the line to save the lives of others just like them. This passionate new public recovery movement aims to transform public opinion, engage communities and elected officials, and finally shift problematic policy toward lasting solutions.