Recovering Anarchist traces belief under pressure.
Across essays, fiction, poetry, conversations, and live events, it examines how beliefs form and come apart.
Readers say it gives them language for their disillusionment—and what comes next.
This is thinking in public.
A Bit About Me
My name is Kier Adrian Gray. I entered adulthood already an activist who was quickly radicalized by an encounter with police violence at the age of 20. Convinced I knew how to fix a broken world, I dove headfirst into anarchism, sacrificing health, relationships and career along the way.
Then, a personal crisis forced me to question everything. I had to choose: stay loyal to total rebellion or build a life I wouldn’t need to run from.
For a long time, I avoided writing about my political disillusionment, fearing judgement and loss. But when I finally pressed “publish”, I was overwhelmed by messages of support from friends and strangers who shared my concerns but felt they had too much to lose to speak out.
That moment made me realize I wasn’t the only one who was no longer certain about how to make the world a better place—there are many people out there who are starting over from scratch.
A specific slice of brutal Canadian honesty.
—Broken Pencil Magazine, on my writing
Inside Recovering Anarchist
When you sign up, you’ll get:
Essays, fiction, and poetry tracing how belief forms, fractures and holds
Conversations expanding on the ideas behind the writing
Live events (with recordings) where these questions are worked through in real time
What Subscribers Get
Paid subscribers receive full archive access and all future work.
Free subscribers receive email updates and selected work.
Status: the newsletter is currently on hiatus; paid subscriptions will resume alongside regular publication.
What Readers Say
“It’s so refreshing to have clearly articulated ideas about social phenomena and the way we relate to one another on the left. Reading your writing identified in words so many feelings I had been having for a long time about social justice culture but couldn’t put words to, and you lay this out extremely succinctly and accessibly. This writing is brave, bold and essential.” —Liv
“Kier Gray’s newsletter is that rare fresh scent on the winds of discourse that brings reason and rationality to today’s tortured public discourse on social justice. Gray gently, but fearlessly and relentlessly, calls out the excesses and extremes of that discourse in a way that compels supporters and detractors alike to engage. It points the way to a more fruitful and positive way for people of all generations to speak to each other.” —Scott
“Kier is one of the few lifelines out there for people on the left who have personally suffered from cancel culture, are alienated from the current state of the left, or both. I honestly think that if there were more people like Kier speaking out, people with empathy and wit, we wouldn’t see so many former comrades driven to the right. I hope other misfits like me find Kier and can start to rebuild a shattered left-the world desperately needs that.” —Shani
Contact
recoveringanarchist@gmail.com
