Loud Is Who I Really Am

Writen By, Martha S.

The start of my sobriety from weed coincided with the end of my 24-year-marriage to the man who was originally my gay best friend. We had adventures. We survived 9/11, left the City to start a small farm in the mountains, adopted an infant from an African country (both of us parents white and idealistic,) sold the farm and raised our boy; he is 18 now.

Now I am single and back out as lesbian. During the marriage I always identified as a lesbian married to a man, to those who cared enough to know. I was continually high except for the first 9 years of our son’s life.

When my son’s father and I started being lovers, the sex was divine and stayed so for about 3 years—but it was always penis-centric and I never got past missing a woman’s body. He did not use cannabis or much alcohol. I used pot daily and alcohol to bring myself down enough to sleep. The marriage survived a long time with these imbalances.

Recently, alone and sober, I attended a jazz concert at an intimate venue. I whooped and hollered with pleasure at the performance, and when the lead artist asked where she could get a cup of tea in this small town at 6AM, I raised my hand and said I would be honored to bring her some. In the past I would do impulsive, noticeable things like this and my husband would be ashamed of me. I would be ashamed of myself because I thought it was because I was high. But now I know this is who I am: a loud, generous, lesbian weed addict who is clean by the grace of my higher power and the MA rooms.

Published in A New Leaf – July 2026

  • This Tune Shall Pass

    By, Jesse P. It started out as one teenaged wishthe click of a lighterand turned into a lifeIt was excitingand floating from the groundcame the laughter and the closeness I needed to have somehowyou turned into a danger from someone I held so close, I don’t knowbut it was time for you to go Oh…

    This Tune Shall Pass
  • Dear Cannabis Sativa

    By, Melissa H. Dear Cannabis Sativa,We were introduced by a cool, blond-haired rebel girl from Colorado. I was a 15-year old flatlander from Pennsylvania who had never even heard of you. I took to you because you elevated fun to a new level. I hadn’t known that fun was smokable. You made rolling over on…

    Dear Cannabis Sativa
  • Depression and the Twelve Steps

    By, Carol M. I am an addict and a depressive. I wish I were manic depressive, but I have never experienced the up, just the down. Getting to the “almost OK” has been a struggle all my life. My first attempt at suicide was at eleven. Depression is a disease. In many ways it’s like…

    Depression and the Twelve Steps
  • Thought of the Month

    “Life, Itself, Is The Proper Binge.” – Julia C. Published in A New Leaf – February 1991

    Thought of the Month
  • Break-Up Letter

    By Vinnie C. Dear Mary Jane, We are now broken up, retroactive to Dec. 29th, 2024. It’s not you. It’s me. Let me explain. When we first met back in February of 2004, you absolutely rocked my world. I’ll never forget that first time, smoking with a shady Russian guy in a New Jersey college…

    Break-Up Letter
  • The Birth of a Sobriety Baby: A Man’s Labor Story

    By T Money Nine months in, and Justin was glowing— Not from booze, not from weed, not from anything flowing. He’d been carrying this thing, deep in his soul, A sobriety baby—his life’s new goal. At first, it was easy, just a little bloat, Some cravings, some mood swings, but he stayed afloat. Then came…

    The Birth of a Sobriety Baby: A Man’s Labor Story