As we celebrate our 10th Anniversary of the Wooster Collective website. we asked a group of artists who we showcased in the beginnings of the website the following question:

What's the one thing that you learned in the last decade that you had wished someone had told you 10 years ago?

The following response comes from Swoon.

"So, about a year ago, my good buddy Chris Stain blew my mind when he sent me a video by a doctor named Gabor Mate. Chris and I have spent a lot of hours out wheat-pasting together and talking about life, including families and addiction, so when Chris saw this doctor discussing addiction, he sent a clip my way. I immediately got Mate’s book “In the Realm of the Hungry Ghosts.” and devoured it. His understanding of addiction and its roots is so thorough, and so compassionate, taking it in felt life changing.

Once on the trail of this kind of knowledge, I went on to read Judith Miller’s book “Trauma and Recovery.” Again, utterly mind blowing. The whole time reading both of these books I kept thinking to myself, why has nobody told me these things? If only I could have understood this sooner, to better understand so many people in my life, in my family, and in the world at large.

So that’s it, thanks Shortyshitstain! And to anyone interested in the subjects of addiction, trauma, and mental illness, these books are incredibly informative and inspiring. Here’s an excellent video of Mate giving a talk, for anyone who wants an introduction: "