Mark Lefebvre is an American author, consultant, radio DJ, and podcast producer, renowned for his work in addiction recovery and community engagement. His books include A Place in Time: Youth, Community & Baseball (2022) and Healing a Village (2025). He is also in long-term recovery from addiction himself.
He founded and directed the Maine Recovery Friendly Workplace programme and served as Director of Community Engagement at the Pinetree Institute. In this role, he spearheaded the development of Recovery Ready Communities across the Seacoast region of New Hampshire and southern Maine.
His book, Healing a Village, presents a clear, hopeful plan for building community-based recovery systems. It responds to the ongoing national crisis of drug overdoses and excessive alcohol use, which claimed the lives of over 107,000 and 178,000 Americans, respectively, in 2023. The spread of synthetic drugs such as fentanyl, methamphetamine and xylazine provides the context for his call to action.
In the book, Lefebvre shares his own experience of recovery. 'When I left our local hospital after a four-day detox, there were no treatment or recovery resources in my community,' he writes. 'I was forced to travel to the West Coast for treatment.' He contrasts this with current efforts to build local support systems for individuals and families in need.
Drawing on his personal experience and professional insight, Lefebvre outlines the key steps for building a community's capacity for recovery. He provides real-life examples of successful local coalitions and includes a detailed case study of the Greater Portsmouth Recovery Coalition.
Healing a Village focuses on reducing barriers to treatment and improving access at every stage, from prevention and harm reduction to treatment and long-term recovery. This practical guide is intended for individuals seeking to effect local change and reduce addiction-related deaths.
Photo credit: www.healing-a-village.com
