Alcoholism is a thief because it takes so much from us mentally, physically, and spiritually. It not only robs us of our wellbeing, our health, and our faith, it steals us away from our family and friends. Above all, alcoholism destroys trust—the bedrock of all relationships. Addiction all but forces us to lie about our actions, sowing suspicion, anger and despair among family members and friends. Worse yet, alcoholism causes us to say things we would never say and do things we would never do, robbing us of our dignity and hurting the people we love the most. It is cruel thief.
Family is primordial. It defines us. It is who we belong to and who belongs to us. … Addiction changes that.
Discernment begins with a dilemma. What should I do? Discernment is also the way out of the dilemma, a method for discovering the way forward.
What remains when we find ourselves in the well of despair—when all is lost? We see no way out of the darkness, no glimmer of light to guide us.
John Curtiss is CEO and co-founder of The Retreat, in Wayzata, MN. The Retreat is the most admired twelve step immersion program in the country.
Sharon Matthew, MA, and Ming Wang, MD, are experts in older adult treatment. They talk about the many special considerations for treating people 55 and older–and their families.
Joe Nowinski, PhD, is the author of “If You Work It, It Works! The Science Behind Twelve Step Recovery.” He is an author and educator who truly understands recovery.
Every fall I feel a renewed sense of gratitude for the people who helped me get sober. I wasn’t looking for help, so their job wasn’t easy. Fortunately, my resistance didn’t stop them from taking action—repeatedly. And for that, I am deeply grateful.
Carver Brown has presented the “Back to Basics” approach to the 12 Steps to more than 7.000 people. He is passionate about recovery.
Spiritual unmanageability grows out of physical and emotional unmanageability, and it is the most pernicious. Where is mercy? Where is love?
What do addiction recovery and religious conversion have in common? Why are the Twelve Steps so powerful?
“Make me a channel of your peace….” —Prayer of St. Francis We can all admire the prayer attributed to St. Francis, no matter what our pastoral, teaching, or care-giving role. But what can I do to keep my own channel clear? Having worked as an addiction counselor for decades, I know something about crisis management […]
Joseph Campbell was an influential thinker, weaving together the stories of many cultures into a seamless narrative. His most famous book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, demonstrated that the travails of our individual lives and the teachings of the world’s great religions have a lot in common—namely struggle, divine help (usually disguised), and deliverance.
Here is a PDF of an article I wrote for Human Development magazine. The article begins on page 8. Addiction and Redemption, by Jeff Jay The article contains some material from my book, Navigating Grace. It also contains material on Steps 1–5. I hope you’ll pass it on. –Jeff
Imagine a young woman, about sixteen years old, living in a conservative religious community, and discovering she’s pregnant.
