Today we’d like to introduce you to Matt Andersen.
Hi Matt, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
As I smoked the last of my methamphetamine, outside in the alley of the hotel I was just kicked out of, I figured I was in trouble.
I started doing drugs for the same reason most addicts start doing drugs. They were the simplest solution to the problem I had with living. Depression? Two pills of ecstasy from the guy at the party with a pom-pom beanie could fix that. Anxiety?
Ameliorated by one rip from a bong carved from an apple. I had all the tools at my disposal to build a great life without drugs: a happy family, and strong friendships. I knew my neighbors and my neighbors, neighbors (even my neighbors, neighbors, neighbors.) The problem wasn’t environmental. I sought the drugs out. The problem was me.
When I left Utah, it only got worse. My problems culminated until I was smoking heroin and meth on the streets of Seattle because no one would let me in. No restaurants. No hotels. No homeless shelters between the hours of 8 AM and 6 PM.
So I started getting clean for the same reason most addicts start getting clean. It’s either that or death. Sobriety took me from Seattle to San Diego, and from San Diego to Connecticut. I had to rebuild the environment I had destroyed by rebuilding relationships and forming new ones. There was a sustainable solution to the problem I had with living–one that I had had at my disposal for most of my life but abandoned for drugs. The solution was environmental. I had to seek it out. I had to solve my problems with the help of other people.
Seven years later and I’m back in Utah, less than 25 miles from where I grew up. Full circle. Different plane.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It never is. Not for anyone. Perhaps a unique challenge I’ve faced is my attempts through the years to reconcile the Mormon God I grew up with, with the Higher Power AA prescribes, with the Atheism that I subsume.
All who wander may not be lost, but all those who wander without a ground to wander upon are just falling. At least, that’s been my experience.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Some people have a face for radio. I have a voice for writing.
Music is what initially drew me into the craft of writing. I prioritized lyrics over everything else, but when it came time to share those lyrics, well…you wouldn’t want to hear me at Karaoke let alone on the stage. So I shifted from music to poetry, then from poetry to fiction. I blame Bret Easton Ellis and Chuck Palahniuk for that.
I’m currently publishing my novel “Still Life of Desert Animals” as a serial novel on Substack. Since I don’t have a publicist, I just have to say…it’s pretty good.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
It’s beautiful, right? It’s hard to find a place to live that doesn’t have a good view.
Mountains everywhere, wide-open skies, and wide-open roads when everyone else is at church on Sunday. On the downside, food options have a long way to go. Perhaps I’ve been too spoiled by living in places I could get fresh fish every day.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://idiotspit.substack.com/
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/idiotspit
