Contributor

Lora Fougere

Winter, grief, and the long walk back to yourself.

Lora Fougere is a wilderness therapy facilitator and writer based in Duluth, Minnesota. Seven years sober, she leads grief retreats for women in recovery and writes about winter, loss, and the slow work of becoming trustworthy again. Her essays explore what the outdoors demands of us when we stop asking it to save us.

Stories by Lora

Politics and Stigma

The Great Decline: Unpacking the Inevitable Fall of Alcohol Culture

Something is happening. It’s a groundswell, a seismic shift in the tectonic plates of our culture that’s been a long, long time coming. You can feel it in the air, you can see it in the choices people are making, and now, the hard data is screaming it from the mountaintops. The once-unquestioned reign of alcohol is beginning to crumble, and frankly, it’s about damn time.

August 27, 2025 · 9 min read

Politics and Stigma

Liberation, Not Cure: Let’s Stop Building a World That Hurts

“This wasn’t a rhetorical question. He wasn’t looking to debate treatment modalities or argue about what “worked for him.” No, he was asking because he wanted the answer—desperately. You could see it in his eyes. This wasn’t curiosity. This was hope. The kind that clings to a lifeline, even when the waters have dragged you under more times than you can count.”

April 24, 2025 · 15 min read

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