It all began back in November 2018, when my good friend, the founder of Old Mill Road Media, Dr. Joshua Sherman, first listened to my music. He heard my story of recovery with open ears and an open heart. And he welcomed me into the Southern Vermont community with a creative opportunity that gave me a true sense of purpose. Along the way, I have been blessed with the opportunity to record and release music, such as my debut album, CLEAN, and my new EP, Keep Moving Forward. I have also built partnerships with incredible community organizations, such as 102.7 WEQX, where I host my weekly recovery-rap radio show, CLEAN Jams, and The Collaborative, a Londonderry-based youth prevention advocacy organization.

 

Beyond the scope of my own recovery advocacy campaign, Dr. Sherman offered me the opportunity to work on the Old Mill Road Media team as a Staff Writer. His unrelenting support of my recovery and my creative growth gave me the confidence to write a wide range of articles for Old Mill Road Media’s various publications, including Manchester Life, Stratton Magazine, VERMONT Magazine, and Berkshire Magazine. The job opportunity allowed me to find stability and plant deep roots in the place I now call home in long-term recovery: Southern Vermont. It also offered me the chance to write a serialized column in The Vermont News Guide called, “CLEAN.” The column was published in every issue of The Vermont News Guide from January 2020 onward, culminating in The Vermont News Guide’s final print issue, which ran through January 1, 2025.

 

Over the course of the 233 consecutive CLEAN columns I wrote, I told my story of recovery to the community. The first column recounted a turning point in my first days at an inpatient rehab center in 2016. The following columns shed light on the challenges and milestones I faced in early recovery and beyond, ending with reflections on my current life as a person in long term recovery, a father, a journalist, and a grateful Southern Vermont community member.

 

Through the CLEAN Column, I opened up a dialogue about recovery, addiction, and mental health issues that I never anticipated. I have received countless kind and encouraging emails, letters, and face-to-face affirmations from people throughout the community. Some were from people in recovery. Others were from people whose loved ones had struggled with addiction. Most, remarkably, were from people who had never experienced the devastation of addiction in any form. It made my day whenever anyone approached me and said the following words: “I’ve never dealt with addiction of any kind, but I can still relate to the struggles you talk about in your column in my own life.”

 

Over the past several years, Dr. Sherman and I have used the stories in the CLEAN columns as the driving force behind a multi-platform social media campaign. Since I began posting daily social media videos in January 2023, the campaign has grown to hundreds of thousands of followers and hundreds of millions of video views across platforms. It has allowed me to share my message of recovery in ways I never imagined, through continued collaborations with sober creators, musicians, and public and private recovery institutions throughout Vermont and across the country.

 

As the CLEAN column comes to a close and The Vermont News Guide takes on a promising new digital form as THE GUIDE, I have now taken it upon myself to double down on our collective community betterment efforts with my recovery advocacy campaign. In the same way that the CLEAN Column served as a platform for me to speak openly about my experiences in sobriety through my written words, I will now wholeheartedly channel my passion for advocacy into my daily videos, written posts, and other online content. More than anything, my daily reels and posts serve as a constant reminder to myself that I am NEVER alone in recovery - and I hope that all who listen, read, or watch my music, posts, or reels can take away the same truth that has helped me stay grounded in sobriety.

 

To anyone who has read the CLEAN column in the local Vermont community, reached out to me, or found inspiration in its pages, I am beyond thankful to you for your support and openness - and I hope that you will join me as both I and THE GUIDE move forward in our new, digital-exclusive chapters, embracing all of the beautiful ways that the online community can bring us together.

 

I’ll end this open letter with the same sign-off that ended all 233 of my CLEAN columns, which is now tattooed on my arm to remind me of the core truth that has sustained me throughout my recovery:

 

Keep Moving Forward.

Run Towards the Truth.

Don’t Quit Before The Miracle Happens.

 

-Benjamin Lerner ​