A greatly overlooked recovery book
932559
This is a Hazelden book specifically written as a study aid to The Big Book.  It helps to clarify and illuminate the 12 step process and is often used by sponsors as they guide their sponsees through the steps.  It is a tool which, if used in addition to (and not in replacement of)the basic program literature, may add a layer of depth and understanding to the step process.  This book is also used as the basis of step-study groups in some areas.  It appears to have been used to a much greater extent in the past than it is now and it deserves a second look for what it may have to offer.
2490671
This book helped me a lot - the author explains things simply and tells stories of patients (and herself) that we can all relate to in some way. There were more than a few moments in this book that I smiled and thought, "Wow, I've been there. Maybe there is hope for me too."

I won't say this is the first and last book you should read throughout recovery. I have read several other books, and continue to read books that I find helpful.

I've actually read this book through twice, and go back to it often to rework exercises. I'd recommend it to anyone recovering from an eating disorder.
1255006
This is a remarkable book about "remarkable healings". It's written by a woman psychiatrist who through treatment with hypnotherapy, including past life regression and spirit releasement has healed hundreds, perhaps thousands of patients.

Both the mental and physical problems of her patients turned out to have been caused by:
1) current life traumas incl. prenatal and birth traumas
2) past life traumas
3) possession by earthbound spirits
4) possession by demon spirits
5) soul fragmentation and soul loss.

Demons can occupy different parts of the patients' bodies causing symptoms in these parts. Sometimes these demons are arranged in many layers in their bodies, one on top of another.

These demons are organized by "Satan" and take pleasure in tormenting in heinous ways those whom they have possessed.

Earthbound entities (souls that haven't gone to the Light after death) have possessed many of Modi's patients, and these in themselves may contain demon entities. Many types of demonic devices placed in various parts of the patients' bodies were described by the patients.

It must be noted that everything Modi describes is reportedly what she has been told by her patients, e.g. references to demons, Satan, hell, heaven, angels, etc. These are the terms used by her patients, even though they come from diverse cultures and have different religions, and she says this is why she uses them.

Treatment is carried out by enlisting help from the angels to transform earthbound and demon entities into the Light and send them to the Light. All parts and organs of the patients' bodies were scrubbed by the angels and all negative entities, energies and devices were removed. Their bodies were then filled with the brilliant white Light, shielded by a bubble of Light and covered by spiritual mirrors and rays of white Light. Soul parts that were with Satan and his demons or elsewhere were cleansed, healed before being integrated in the patient,

This is a weighty book amounting to more than 600 pages. It contains comprehensive details of all possible aspects of "possession", and is extremely enlightening (though this is a "dark" subject). It made me think that ALL our various ailments, diseases, etc. may be caused by these possessions, in addition to past life traumas, of course. At any rate, it is one valid explanation of the existence of disease, one that we have heard before, e.g. from Christ, 2000 years ago, modern day evangelists etc. (I have myself seen many examples of healings carried out in this way by the latter.)

At one point early on in the book the thought occurred to me that tha author herself must be under the influence of these demons, since she kept regaling us with multifarious examples of these possessions in her patients, which had the effect of lowering my vibration and making me afraid that I too would be liable to attracting these diabolic beings (or more of them than I already might have) into my system. But then fortunately she began to describe the healings by the angels and also provided us with prayers by means of which we can ask for help and protection. This helped.

But I have to say that the book could easily have been, if not decimated as regards length, at least halved, without this detracting from its message or fullness of necessary information. The author writes extremely simply and clearly. However, both the language of the various patients and the demons speaking through them seems identical to that of the author for some reason (she transcribes the tapes of her regressions/treatments).

In short, I found this to be a useful, edifying book, with great credibility (I am not a Christian in the traditional sense, though believing in Christ.) However, it may well have a negative effect on the reader due to the many, many pages of depressing detail of the various cases of possession and violent past life experiences.
558942
Bill Spriggs has written the definitive book on divorce recovery - from a guy's standpoint.  A cathartic and well written book, that will become dog-eared and highlighted as you start the trip to recovery.
911396
A dysfunctional family that fosters the ongoing emotional and physical abuse of its children produces complex, lifelong disorders that, without a diligent recovery effort, condemn the victims to a dismal life of unending emotional struggle. If any degree of recovery is to be achieved, they must first wake up to the reality that their past is dictating their future; only they have the power to change it. The choice is simple: commit to recovery and all that that entails, or accept a life of dysfunction that far too often results in greater harm to the victim or serious harm to others.
 In my early thirties, having acknowledged the consequences of my own childhood trauma, I spent the next twenty years recovering from the effects of sexual, physical and emotional abuse that had permeated every aspect of my life. The quest to heal my broken spirit caused me to explore many different methods for healing which, ultimately, demonstrated to me that the more subtle and gentle approaches were by far the most successful in helping to traverse the frightening terrain.
 In Solace, Readings for Transforming Childhood Trauma, the author gently takes the hand of the reader and, without confrontation or expectation, assists them in moving through the various stages of awareness, grief and recovery. Unlike their childhood when victims have rarely been allowed personal choice or control, Dr. Oaks demonstrates respect for the readers boundaries, allowing them the choice to explore their inner world and the healing possibilities at their own individual pace. Reading her heartfelt and beautiful poetry, the reader begins to commiserate with the invisible writer causing the door to their own inner voice to open. Words and feelings that may have gone unspoken or even acknowledged for years come to the surface in a cathartic release. This connection breaks the wall of silent isolation; someone has acknowledged their pain and heard their cry. Throughout the process, Dr. Oaks never abandons the reader in a stagnant quagmire, but instead carefully guides the experience forward from awareness, through release and into inspiration for a better future.
 Unlike many recovery books, as I read Solace I was not forced to endure grueling personal scrutiny, therapeutic analysis and labeling, nor did I need to relive every inch of my painful past. Instead, I felt as though I was taking a quiet stroll with a good friend into a field of truth and awakening. I was not alone and I was safe. Over the horizon, looking toward the future, any good thing was possible.
2720602
This book saved my life. Putting recovery in a way that is palatable. A must have for anyone in recovery with the 12 steps.
1748001
Having benefitted from this authors first book on recovery from narcissistic abuse, I made the decision to order her follow-up work. I can recommend this book as a valuable addition to your recovery library. If you happen to have been born to a parent with NPD, it is likely that your self-esteem, indeed your very self-concept, never had a chance to develop. Your creative impulses, your ability to individuate and define yourself on your own terms, was probably derided and indeed obliterated by your parent and his/her enablers. To survive, you may have shut down emotionally and find yourself now living a life where you are not sure who you are, what your gifts are,  if you have anything worthwhile to offer and if you even deserve to be here.  As someone who experienced this devastating type of upbringing as well as the consequences that can plague your adulthood, I can truly say it is impossible to understand the dynamics unless you have experienced it. And this author gets it.  She seems to understand not only the pernicious dynamics involved in the narcissistic family or marriage, but also the experience of surviving it with C-PTSD  and a brain that seemingly betrays you at every turn, leading you to make life decisions that reflect self-sabotage and an incorrect perception of yourself and your innate worth. I spent decades participating in various ineffective therapies and alternative treatments that really did not lead to any kind of meaningful recovery. During most of my adult life, there was no literature on children of personality-disordered parents, or people who have experienced various forms of abuse at the hands of a sociopathic narcissist. And when literature finally appeared, most of it actually reinforced patterns of victimization by keeping the focus on the narcissist and how badly they have hurt you. While validating, all the intellectual information really served to re-traumatize me many times over. Instead, this book is one that rightly puts the focus back where it belongs  on you and your feelings and your gifts, and your birthright to lead a life of freedom and contentment and creativity. It gives you permission to embrace yourself as your own source of unconditional approval, acceptance and security. This work is a roadmap to freedom, and is not only full of credible psychological information, but just as importantly warmth, empathy and compassion.
359275
This book contains valuable information that will save lives, not only the lives of those gripped in addiction who might continue addicted because the treatment industry has  perpetuated folklore about their condition, but also the quality of  thier lives and the lives of their families as well. How many of you have put your loved ones in a "Treatment" Center only to have them return to drink or drugs again? Yet you might be told "relapse" is "normal," in the "disease" of addiction.  Could the problem of frequent "relapse" be perpetuated by the treatment industry itself?  Is there really a medical disease-alcoholism-- that only the religious superstitions of Bill Wilson can arrest?
If the abstinence model dressed with AA dogma is helpful, why so many relapses? Why do so many studies show these treatments are no more effective than nothing at all?
Look at the case of Darryl Strawberry.  Why is his wife out posing in defense religious treatment center magnates when Darryl has yet to be cured--in spite of the  hundreds of thousands of dollars spent at top-name treatment  centers? Could it be these treatments have actually harmed Darryl Strawberry?
What about the insurance companies who pay out tens of thousands of dollars for a "treatment center" that offers religious superstitions as "treatment?" This is a problem, especially since it helps boost medical insurance premiums sky high for everyone, including the vast majority of former addicts who manage to steer clear of treatment and quit on their own when they are ready.
Thanks to bold writers like Stanton Peele, a chink broken in the wall of Treatment Fantasy is becoming an enormous hole. Naturally, treatment moguls don't like Stanton. What else might we expect?
3058829
I just finished reading Reason, The Moment and Recovery, and for the first time in years I feel hope where before I felt like a hopeless drunk with no future.  Mr. Burleson's approach--combining traditional Rational Emotive Therapy with Zen-based stuff like meditation and Mindfulness, is unique; I don't think it's ever been done before and I've looked all over the Internet.  I highly recommend this book to alcoholics and/or addicts; after all it helped save my life!
413945
This is my first read thru of Hopeful Healing. I need to read the book again. There is a lot of information. I'am a recover drug addict and child of alcoholism. There's a lot of antidote's that I remember when I was in rehab. It is a great book to help you guide through recovery at any time. I recommend Hopeful Healing to those who want to recover.
1085814
As a frequent reader of Kathy L's weekly 12-step recovery articles on the website, BellaOnline, ([...]), I was delighted to read more of her writings in her new book "The Intervention Book".

Although not an addict in the traditional sense, I am a codependent addicted to people.  Addicts and co-dependents alike can benefit from Kathy L's book.  It is an excellent account of how recovery works as well as depicting real life stories of addicts and their struggles.  There are also a few real life stories of codependent recoveries.  Kathy L's messages lay the groundwork for understanding how loved ones can best create an environment supportive of recovery.  For codependents involved with an addict, the book is a reminder that the most loving act we can do for an addict is to work on ourselves and get out of the way of their potential recovery.  Her book notes that as we blossom into our authentic selves, we are able to give consistent, healthy messages to the addict that serve as informal interventions which may contribute over time to the addict making the decision to seek recovery.

This is truly a book worth reading over and over again for the inspirational messages of hope and to deepen the understanding of addiction and recovery.  Re-reading works especially well with a Kindle as you can easily retrieve and highlight meaningful information.
2251929
I only wish this book had been more helpful than it is, but that is not the fault of the author. Religious addiction is a stubborn malady, and one that can best be confronted by the addict him/herself. As one who has lost at least one sibling to this painful affliction, I wish it could have given me an easy answer. There are no easy answers to this dilemma.
One of the brightest conclusions Father Leo makes is that one need not give up religion, or God, to develop a healthy spirituality. It would be an incredible challenge indeed, but he assures those who are seeking that giving up God is not the solution to confronting religious addiction. He is very clear about the difference between "religion" and "spirituality," something that is crucial in the healing process.
Father Leo also states that one can be addicted to atheism, and that atheism can be a religion in and of itself. Not necessarily that it is, but that it can become one.
The saddest and most frightening thing he points to is the inevitable outcome of mental breakdown if religious addiction is not treated. He outlines very carefully the possiblity of a loving intervention by those who are concerned for the addict, but when the addiction is religion (translated as "God" by the addict) denial comes way too easy and finding others willing to confront this denial is a very difficult challenge.
I was heartened to find that there is treatment for this addiction, there are places to turn. It is a relatively new field, but it gives me hope. I, too, wish there was acknowledgement of the harm this addiction does to the children of the addict -- but I don't know that I would put any state agency in charge of dealing with it.
One other concern that I have as I continue to study this subject is the subtlety of its intrusion into politics. When it comes to addiction, there IS no separation of church and state. In fact, this separation, if it exists at all, *only* exists for the state -- not for any church, unless it benefits *them*. They don't pay taxes, but they still find it perfectly acceptable to advocate for legislation from the pulpit and to lobby our representatives and to pass out post cards for the congregation to fill out in the middle of a service. It's a despicable practice, and one that becomes even more troublesome within the context of spiritual addiction.
Treatment for this malady has never been more important than it is today.
2913965
I purchased this book in response to an affair. I was the "spouse in the dark". I used this book as a baseline to help recover from the devastation. Dr. Judah wrote this book using a combination of clinical review and religious belief. As explained in other reviews Dr. Judah uses the example of climbing a mountain, which is a good comparison to recovering from an affair.
I believe that without having purchased this book, that recovery may have been impossible. This book is an excellent blue print for couples who wish to stay together and rebuild their relationship / marriage.
In a word -Thanks- Mike.
966339
This is a book which should never have been published. It is the refutation of all of the suggestions of this man's fellowship for recovery. It is not keeping it simple, it does not take it one day at a time, it does not let go, let G-d. Kevin, in his narcissism, tries to co-opt everyone he encounters into the specialness of his enlightened recovery. "I only liked the occasional vodka when eating smoked salmon and listening to Nina Simone," is his way of describing his history with alcohol. Nice way of separating yourself from the others in your fellowship, Kevin, lest they forget how high your bottom is. Kevin manages to make all of his celebrity acquaintances into high spiritual advisors whose every utterance is related here as somehow so perfect in being exactly what he needed to hear at just that exact time. Most of this book reads like a drunk's rambling at his first few meetings when he should be listening with his mouth closed.
1953847
What we have here is a story of recovery stripped to its essentials. There are no lengthy sermons in here. There is no one single Moment Of Truth. There is not one bit of self-indulgent melodrama. What you get is an amazingly candid story of a sick man becoming better, day by day, a slow climb from the depths to success. All the fat has been trimmed away; there's nothing but meat here.

At each step along the way, I laughed, I cringed and I cried.

When you read someone's memoir, what do you look for? What is it you want to gain? Perspective? It's here. Inspiration? It's here. Great stories? This is a great story, and told with a high level of skill.

This is a terrific book and well worth the short amount of time it will take you to read it from start to finish.
3079163
"Tales of Addiction and Inspiration for Recovery" by Barbara Sinor is a collection of stories about addiction and recovery, some of which are inspirational, some which portray the hard-fought successes and some which depict the heart-breaking realities of addiction. The most poignant story by far is the author's own tale of dealing with her son's alcoholism and eventual death. It angers me to read about someone losing their fight with addiction while waiting to get into treatment after being repeatedly told there are "no beds available." It's absurd that this should happen in a country that spends billions in a futile "war on drugs." The focus obviously needs to be shifted from putting people in prison to putting them in treatment. Sinor includes information about many different organizations, one of which is Closing the Addiction Treatment Gap, a national program working to expand addiction treatment for those who desire to reach out for help. Currently, four out of five Americans who need treatment are unable to get it.

  In her own story, Sinor says, "David and I were heartbroken that our son had chosen such a difficult path." I think it's unfortunate that she believes her son "chose" the path that led to his death. If I chose my path, I made that choice long before I first drank alcohol and smoked pot at fourteen. By then, my personality and character were well-formed in a way that made my "choice" more of an involuntary contraction or reaction. I was a curious and naive dare-devil, and I made an ill-informed decision that lead to much misery before I could see what was happening to me. No one knows exactly how one becomes addicted. I believe, for me, it was a recipe with many ingredients. I would say 50 percent of it is genetics since I have addicts and alcoholics on both sides of my family. 25 to 35 percent I would attribute to experiences and conditions in my family and school. And the hand that flipped the switch that my genetics and environmental conditions created had to be my exposure to the drugs themselves at an early age. A close family member introduced me to the needle, and I doubt I would ever have been exposed to it had this relationship not existed the way it did. So basically I'm saying I was too young and too many things were out of my control to say I "chose" the disease of addiction. I'm not absolving myself of responsibility here either. I, and no one else, am responsible for my recovery. I chose recovery after twenty years of hell, twenty years of not believing I had a choice.

  In her stories of addiction, Sinor also includes one by a woman who has been on methadone for forty years and one by a woman who continues to smoke pot every night after deciding not to do hard drugs anymore. I relapsed many times after hearing such stories when I attempted to quit. They always fooled me into believing I could control my use. These two people write about how great their life is "in recovery," but I suspect they are not telling the whole story. I could not begin to recover until I was able to see my addiction as a beast living inside me. Using any drug, even the ones I "never had a problem with," keeps the beast alive and gives him strength. I could not arrest my addiction until I stopped feeding the beast.

  All in all, "Tales of Addiction and Inspiration for Recovery" is a book full of love, heartbreak, compassion, and ultimately, hope. As Sinor says, "Living with addiction is a spiritual journey." Whether we chose this path or not, it is the one we are on and there is much to learn, and this book has taken me another step in the right direction on the right path.

David Allan Reeves
Author of "Running Away From Me"
2198861
I read this book when I was about 13 (I'm now in my mid-40s), when it arrived as a selection in my parent's Book of the Month Club. I recall it being a great help to me at that young age. Though the book is about pill addiction specifically, I began realizing that one of my parents was an alcoholic and both my parents were in denial over it. It was a first step in what became a very long and bumpy personal road to recovery for co-dependency and my own tendency to self-medicate. A very informative and honest account of struggling and overcoming addiction.