What happens when your identity doesn’t fit neatly into one box? Kristen Crisp shares a powerful lived-experience story about navigating faith, addiction, and stigma—and the emotional toll of hiding who you really are. This article explores how labels can both define and confine us, and what it takes to reclaim authenticity in recovery.

Trauma and addiction can erode self-belief and resilience. But perseverance can be learned.

A vivid memoir of heroin addiction in 1980s–90s New York City.