OK, so here’s one more quote from the recovery book i’ve been reading:
We need to define very clearly what recovery is, because recovery is not only abstinence … Recovery will mean different things to different people, but it’s going to mean forgiveness of yourself … What are the things that people need to do in terms of improving their lifestyle and filling in the gaps where the alcohol was or where the drugs were? … I would say my best teachers have been my patients and people who have lived this and who have been successful. The people I admire the most actually are people who are in recovery, because they’ve had a very difficult journey. When you have to come face to face with yourself and you have to come face to face with your fears and your demons, you’re kind of looking at your own humanity and you’re looking your own mortality straight in the face. And so I admire those individuals who’ve been able to really do that, been able to turn their lives around in such a way as to make this addiction and their past history of addiction work for them rather than against them. They’re not a victim. They’re not a prisoner of the past. They’re really not able to erase that past, but they’re able to actually move ahead. Some days may be great, some days may not, but they’re able to move ahead honestly. And to me, that’s a great inspiration.
This quote is from the book Recover to Live: Kick Any Habit, Manage Any Addiction, by Christopher Kennedy Lawford. His lovely publisher sent me a copy of the book to ‘review’. It’s pretty amazing in terms of the research it contains; he interviewed over 100 of the world’s leading experts in recovery:
- How to determine if a bad habit is becoming a dependency
- What treatments work best for any individual person
- How best to help yourself or a loved one recover from addiction
- How to lead a fulfilling and productive life in recovery
A word of warning though… I quite enjoyed this book and found it had lots of really great ideas and quotes. But it is a research book. Full of citations. Full of quotes from lots of people (the author talked to 100 people, remember). It is NOT a gushing true-life story of one guy’s recovery… this is more scientific and (in some ways) more practical. If you’re looking for a ‘story about sobriety’ then this isn’t the book for you. BUT if you’d like another tool in your toolbox, then you might enjoy the 1 squillion quotes and ideas and genius bits of research collected all in one volume (OK, there are probably more than 1 squilion good ideas here, i didn’t actually count them).
Chris’s publisher (Lindsey) has also said (yippee) that I can give away one copy of the book : )
Here’s what you can do for a chance to win:
- To win a copy of the book sent directly to you by the publisher, leave a comment below saying that you’d like to win.
- You need to be comfortable giving me your email address (go create a fun one on hotmail if you need to).
- I will pick one comment using a random number generator. That person will be the winner.
- I will send the winner’s email address to the publisher’s contact (her name is Lindsey).
- Lindsey will ask you by email for your mailing address so that she can send out your winning book to you.
- I (Belle) will not know your name/address, etc., nor will it show up on this site or anywhere else. But you do need to be comfortable communicating directly with the publisher so that she can mail the book to you.
Would you like to win? If so, post a comment below. I’ll pick one comment using a random number generator on Friday, February 15th.
OK, one more quote from the book:
Recovery is another word for freedom: Recovery is a lot like enlightenment — most of the people who have excellent recovery, you wouldn’t even know until you spent time with them. They are human beings first and recovering people second. The recovery ideology does not define them, but it’s an integral part of their life. Recovery is not a feeling. It is a state of awareness and realization. You realize that you are free. No matter how good or bad things get, the fundamental realization is that you are free.
Would you like to win a copy of Recover to Live: Kick Any Habit, Manage Any Addiction, by Christopher Kennedy Lawford? If yes, post a comment below.
One entry per person. Unless you share this giveaway on your blog, then you can post a second comment below saying that you’ve shared 🙂