Photo by Rebecca Kiger. @media screen and (min-width: 767px) {.wsite-elements.wsite-not-footer:not(.wsite-header-elements) div.paragraph, .wsite-elements.wsite-not-footer:not(.wsite-header-elements) p, .wsite-elements.wsite-not-footer:not(.wsite-header-elements) .product-block .product-title, .wsite-elements.wsite-not-footer:not(.wsite-header-elements) .product-description, .wsite-elements.wsite-not-footer:not(.wsite-header-elements) .wsite-form-field label, .wsite-elements.wsite-not-footer:not(.wsite-header-elements) .wsite-form-field label, #wsite-content div.paragraph, #wsite-content p, #wsite-content .product-block .product-title, #wsite-content .product-description, #wsite-content .wsite-form-field label, #wsite-content .wsite-form-field label, .blog-sidebar div.paragraph, .blog-sidebar p, .blog-sidebar .wsite-form-field label, .blog-sidebar .wsite-form-field label {font-size:14px !important;} I had to find something. Jacobs Ladder at Brookside Farm is a six-month residential addiction recovery program started almost three years ago in response to the growing health crisis facing our nation and in particular my home, West Virginia. Rush, 26, contends with depression. The documentary, directed by Elaine McMillion Sheldon, who also made Heroin(e), really humanizes the opioid epidemic, which was the mission. Opioid addiction and overdoses have wreaked havoc on the state, but the resilience and strength of people in recovery is fighting to get attention amid a barrage of depressing news stories. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this article as I researched ways to formulate my own review about the documentary and how its helped me on my own recovery journey. Dave and Adam enter the barn to begin predawn farm chores. .wsite-headline-paragraph,.wsite-header-section .paragraph {} looking forward to the documentary's release, I know [the opioid crisis] in a very personal way, experience life's trials and tribulations sober. Jacob's Ladder is a long-term residential recovery program for men, situated in a private farming community. Parents need to know that Recovery Boys is a documentary set in West Virginia that deals exclusively with the current, ongoing opioid epidemic. Photo by Rebecca Kiger. The documentary has definitely opened many viewers eyes to the real affects of opioid addiction, in a humanizing that many haven't seen before. Grieving the loss of a best friend she couldnt protect, an ex-bodyguard sets out to fulfill her dear friends last wish: sweet revenge. He was going through a lot. In West Virginia, it descends into the pits of personal despair, offering one rung, one day, at a time. #wsite-title {} There's Jeff, who's 25 in the documentary, and is worried about the wellbeing of his two young daughters. The strongest point of Recovery Boys is the acknowledgment that the path to the greatest temptations winds through lifes most mundane realities. These days, the men are back home, and it sounds like they are finding their footing after leaving Jacob's Ladder. Read all Director Elaine McMillion Sheldon Everybody thinks of the guy under the bridge with the tattoos, the beard. Recovery from opioid addiction is terribly difficult, as documented in Recovery Boys, a new film that follows four men at a rehab facility in West Virginia. Filmmaker Elaine McMillion-Sheldon, who lives in the state, and her team spend 18 months tracking four young, white men and their struggle to recover. Blankenships holistic, long-term residential facility incorporates meditation, music and art programming and farm work into the healing process. Photo by Rebecca Kiger. He wonders if he never . And it turned out it was Jacobs Ladder.. The documentary shows the reality of the addiction epidemic from a personal perspective - highlighting the residents' individual struggles and the struggles of their loved ones. Sheldon did an excellent job, showing the ups and downs of the recovery process that felt real. Sharing this side of the story was a concerted decision by director Elaine McMillion Sheldon, who is from West Virginia. 2023 BDG Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Then, something quietly revolutionary occurs: the men consider Jeffs options, his feelings, and share their own experiences with sexual assault and losing custody of their children. I know what people want to hear so it is really easy for me to skate through a program undetected, he explains in the film. Jeff, Ryan, Rush, and Adam, all make their way through the program before re-entering society in West Virginia. .wsite-button-inner {} Despite only focusing on a single demographic (straight, white male), "Recovery Boys" soberingly depicts what it means to struggle through the eyes of four young menJeff, Ryan, Rush, and Adam, each seeking to escape the ravaging implications of addiction through Jacob's Ladder led by Dr. Kevin Blankenship. Belt Magazine is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Ill never forget those words. "I went through overdoses and car wrecks, and I was jailed a couple times but I didnt want to give up, Ryan explained in the doc. #wsite-content div.paragraph, #wsite-content p, #wsite-content .product-block .product-title, #wsite-content .product-description, #wsite-content .wsite-form-field label, #wsite-content .wsite-form-field label, .blog-sidebar div.paragraph, .blog-sidebar p, .blog-sidebar .wsite-form-field label, .blog-sidebar .wsite-form-field label {color:#2a2a2a !important;} } And then there's Adam, who's been homeless and has relapsed before. Standard Digital includes access to a wealth of global news, analysis and expert opinion. t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0]; Recovery Boys, from Academy Award nominated director Elaine McMillion Sheldon (Heroin(e)), is an intimate look at the strength, brotherhood, and courage that it takes to overcome addiction and lays bare the internal conflict of recov See production, box office & company info. Rush so proud of you confronting your reality and wanting to be different. Ever. .wsite-background {background-image: url("/uploads/1/3/0/1/13016045/background-images/987004106.jpeg") !important;background-repeat: no-repeat !important;background-position: 50.00% 31.29% !important;background-size: 100% !important;background-color: transparent !important;} Ryan wrangles a sheep for hoof cleaning. Her work has been published on the Lens blog, TIME magazine, Vox, Everyday Rural America and Looking at Appalachia. Compare Standard and Premium Digital here. }}\"\n\t\t{{\/membership_required}}\n\t\tclass=\"wsite-menu-item\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t{{{title_html}}}\n\t<\/a>\n\t{{#has_children}}{{> navigation\/flyout\/list}}{{\/has_children}}\n<\/li>\n","navigation\/flyout\/list":"