Words, wellness and Trainspotting, 20 years' on

Abstract

It has been two decades since the movie release of Irvine Welsh’s novel ‘Trainspotting’. Saturated with the emotionally charged, experiential grittiness of drug addiction, infant death, and living in deprivation, it touched the hearts and minds of critics and moviegoers alike. It offered glimpses into perspectives and pressures that some of us may have to deal with on a daily basis in recovery work, and especially insightful those of us who may never come to know or even hear about such circumstances in our lifetimes. Whether or not you believe these were dramatisations or ‘reality’, Trainspotting offered the audience the possibility that these experiences may have been experienced – many scenes were deeply troubling...