Burnley man and recovering alcoholic's new chapter as a published poet helping people battling addiction

Mark Gornall (58) has published, One Day at a Time, a book filled with poems and short stories about battling addiction.

Now 11 months sober, Mark will host a launch event on Saturday, January 27th, from 11am to 12-30pm at the Casual Minds Matter CIC shop in Burnley town centre. He will also donate profits from the book to the mental health charity.

"I have been struggling with addiction for many years, and it was only in 2018 that I admitted I had an issue. I'd had some failed attempts at recovery, and in February last year, I went for my final recovery attempt as my doctor had said, 'You will die if you don't.'"

Mark joined a creative writing group in rehab last May to help him express his feelings and process past experiences.

He began sharing his poems with others and set up a Facebook group called Creative Writing For Recovery to help others heal in the same way while also documenting his fight against alcoholism.

He decided to self-publish the poems over Christmas, along with work contributed by around 15 other people.

Mark, whose background is in construction and management, added: "I only started writing in May, and things have snowballed. I left school without qualifications, and I struggled in English. I'm no qualified writer, but writing helps me daily - I use it to keep me from drinking."

It even helped him cope with the trauma of having a stroke halfway through rehabilitation. In hospital, he found further proof of how he could use his new-found passion to support others by creating a birthday poem for a woman in a dementia ward.

"She started crying. I was emotional. We were hugging each other.

"It feels amazing to give back because, during all my years in addiction, I was a selfish person.

"I lost my home and relationships, but I've since been able to share my experience and encourage other people who are struggling and can't express themselves to share their feelings by writing them down."

Mark’s work has resonated with people so much, he even won a talent competition hosted by Recovery Awareness and Events.

His book is available as an E-book or paperback via www.creativewritingforrecovery.com