Reflections: A Journal of Community-Engaged Writing and Rhetoric Feb 2026 Open Access

Voices from Rock Bottom: Queering Addiction Recovery Rhetoric & Community Literacy

Danielle Bacibianco

Abstract

This article explores the intersections of queer subjectivity, community storytelling, and recovery literacy through the digital storytelling project, Voices from Rock Bottom (VFRB). Drawing on feminist and queer theoretical frameworks, including queerstory of recovery (Bacibianco) and the concept of rhetorical velocity (DeVoss and Ridolfo), this research highlights how VFRB creates an inclusive multimodal platform for recovering alcoholics and addicts to share their stories beyond the privatized, hegemonic spaces of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). This article argues that VFRB’s feminist construct creates a civic space where queer recovering alcoholics and addicts can resist institutionalized constraints, perform their stories, and engage in collective knowledge-making. Ultimately, this study advocates for a broader understanding of recovery storytelling as a communal act of dissent that empowers queer individuals to challenge hegemonic frameworks and offer new ways of knowing, being, and narrating recovery experiences in the public sphere, through what the author terms as “queerstory of recovery.” Keywords: Voices from Rock Bottom, queerstory of recovery, recovery literacy, queer subjectivity, queerstory, queer rhetoric, recovery rhetoric

Journal
Reflections: A Journal of Community-Engaged Writing and Rhetoric
Published
2026-02-24
DOI
10.59236/rjv25i1pp104-171
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Open Access
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Topics
rhetorical criticism archival research multimodality literacy studies gender and writing public rhetoric community literacy
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References (15)

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Show all 15 →
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    Voices from rock bottom. Maker Park Radio
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    College English
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     ↗
  5. Bacibianco (2025)
    Queerstories of Recovery: Voices from the Margin
  6. Bacibianco (2018)
    Voices from Rock Bottom, Maker Park Radio
  7. Bacibianco (2025)
    Lecture off tap: A chat with Dee, ABD (Season 1, No. 2)
  8. Bacibianco (2025)
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