Stories change hearts. Ideas change systems. Join us to experience both.
This year’s Alliance for Rights and Recovery Annual Conference is proud to feature an exciting Authors’ Corner, where attendees can meet nationally recognized advocates, researchers, and people with lived experience whose books are helping shape conversations on recovery, trauma, disability rights, peer support, and mental health reform.
In addition to book signings and opportunities to meet the authors, don’t miss our Featured Authors Panel: Sacred Stories, where many of these remarkable writers will come together to discuss the stories, experiences, and advocacy that inspired their work, and how each of us can help build a future centered on hope, dignity, and community.
Register for Conference HERE
Get Hotel Rooms HERE
Full Conference Program
Featured Authors Include:
Emily Grossman – Unlocked: 25 Keys to Recovering from Depression, Anxiety or Bipolar Disorder
A nationally recognized speaker, recovery advocate, and Certified Peer Specialist, Emily draws on her own lived experience with bipolar disorder to share practical and spiritual tools for recovery, resilience, and discovering purpose beyond a diagnosis.
Len Statham – Five Greatest Moments: Being Gratefully Present in a Chaotic World
A longtime peer leader, educator, and Chief Operating Officer for the Alliance for Rights and Recovery, Len explores how gratitude and mindfulness can transform everyday life, helping readers find meaning and connection even during life’s most difficult moments.
Phyllis Vine – Fighting for Recovery: An Activist’s History of Mental Health Reform
Historian, author, and advocate Phyllis Vine tells the powerful story of the psychiatric survivors, families, and advocates who built the recovery movement and forever changed the conversation around mental health, civil rights, and community inclusion.
Michael Skinner – The Lunchbox Theory: Lessons Learned from Trauma and Abuse
An award-winning speaker, musician, and nationally recognized trauma advocate, Michael shares his deeply personal journey through childhood abuse and recovery while calling for more compassionate, trauma-informed systems.
Lori Eve Tatarsky – I Dare You to Walk in My Shoes
Through an honest and inspiring account of her experiences with trauma, addiction, and mental health challenges, Lori offers a story of resilience, hope, and the power of perseverance in reclaiming one’s life.
Jeffrey L. McQueen – I Know You Say It’s Red But My Crayon Is Blue
A respected behavioral health leader and recovery advocate, Jeffrey challenges readers to rethink labels and embrace dignity-centered care, arguing that every person deserves the right to define their own identity and recovery journey.
Gayle Bluebird- Lantern to My Soul and Tootles Tails: An Adventurous and Inspirational Dog
A longtime Indigenous leader, peer advocate, author, and educator, Gayle Bluebird brings a unique perspective on healing, recovery, cultural identity, and resilience. Be sure to visit the Authors’ Corner to explore her work and learn from her decades of advocacy and lived experience.
More Than Books: A Conversation About the Future
Whether you’re a peer, provider, policymaker, researcher, family member, or person with lived experience, these authors offer perspectives that challenge assumptions, inspire action, and remind us why recovery, rights, and community matter.
Meet the authors. Hear their stories. Join the conversation. Register today for the Alliance for Rights and Recovery Annual Conference and experience one of our most inspiring conference features: the Authors’ Corner and Featured Authors Panel.
Register for Conference HERE
Get Hotel Rooms HERE
Full Conference Program