Richard emails: Hi Luke
I just thought I’d let you know that I have been a suffering porn
addict who developed a fascination for your porn blogs for many years.
I am based in the UK. I liked your site because (a) you have a gift
for writing and (b) you seemed to be genuinely wrestling with your
conscience, which mirrored my own struggles, and that you really
wanted to help people. However, you kept slipping back into the
clutches of the deadly porn industry that was ruining you (and me).
I recently returned to Anglicanism (mainstream Protestantism here in
the UK) at the age of 37 and have discovered, after going cold turkey
on porn, that my relationship with women has been ruined by my
obsession with pornography. Even though I have never paid for internet
porn in my life, preferring to read about it, look at free previews
and then pirated tube sites in recent years, I feel that the implicit
misogyny has harmed me massively.
I had a mini-relapse today by looking at www.lukeisback.com, which
went against my new “zero tolerance” attitude to pornography. But on a positive side, it was great to find the interview with you and read about your progress in life.
I enjoyed your beard-shaving video. You seem a lot happier
than I have seen you in the past. I remember a ghastly video a few
years ago showing you living in a garage (is my memory serving me
correctly?), taking lots of medication. It’s great to see you with a
sense of a higher purpose and enjoying membership of a benevolent
community. I also have those two benefits.
You mention in your article here that there are various 12 step sex addiction groups. May I ask which one you chose? I have considered joining one myself, although probably an “accountability partner” at my local church (which a friend is organising for me) will be the permanent solution.
