R4R @ Rutgers: Reading for Recovery

Alcoholics Anonymous has two million members worldwide; yet this fellowship remains a mystery to most people, and is even viewed by some as a cult or a religion. Written by an award-winning psychiatrist and educator in the treatment of alcohol and drug abuse, What Is Alcoholics Anonymous' provides the most in-depth overview to date of this popular and established yet poorly understood recovery movement. Author Dr. Marc Galanter integrates findings from the latest research in psychology, cultural history, and clinical science with a diverse range of first-person experiences with AA. The result is a thorough, objective, and accessible investigation into what AA is, how it works, and how the organization might be considered and used by both healthcare professionals and anyone affected by pursuit of recovery.

Sponsorship is a rich and enduring part of tradition of Alcoholics Anonymous. Twelve Step Sponsorship delivers both the theory and practice--how to do it and why--in a clear, step-by-step presentation. Written by the author of Getting Started in AA, a widely acclaimed guide for the newcomer to the program of AA, Twelve Step Sponsorship is the first truly comprehensive look at sponsorship, a role recovering people benefit from both as sponsees and ultimately as sponsors. Twelve Step Sponsorship includes informative sections that deal with: Finding a sponsor Being a sponsor. Twelve Step Sponsorship offers a welcome reinforcement to the tradition of "passing it on" from one generation of sponsors to the next.

Discover how the author of The Little Red Book--and the founders of Alcoholics Anonymous--brought its enduring wisdom to millions in recovery. Inspired by Step Twelve--to "carry the message" to others--AA visionary Ed Webster began in the 1940s to compile some Twelve Step insights for newcomers to the Fellowship, using his home group as a sounding board. Later, when this guide was published as The Little Red Book, it quickly became a recovery mainstay, a beloved companion to the "Big Book," the basic text of Alcoholics Anonymous. AA historian Damian McElrath tells the lively story behind the little book that has helped millions transform their daily lives. Through Webster's letters with Bill W. and Dr. Bob, we see the roles AA's founders played in the book's development. And, as the years passed, Webster's revisions--revealed here through his own margin notes--show both the evolution of the author's ideas and the staying power of the heart of the work. AA historian Damian McElrath tells the lively story behind the book that has helped millions put the Steps to work in their daily lives. We see how Webster's ideas evolved, revealed by the margin notes in his own copy of The Little Red Book. His letters with Bill W. and Dr. Bob reveal how AA's founders helped ignite the book's popularity among those in recovery. As the book went back to press dozens of times, Webster's revisions show both the staying power of the heart of the work and the flexibility of the author and his supporters as they grew and learned on their own recovery journeys.

Being in a new relationship is hard enough, but if the person you're dating is a recovering alcoholic or addict, there may be more to consider than just mutual interests and attraction. [...] By gaining a greater understanding of your companion's recovery program, you can help them stay sober, learn how to deal with character flaws, and also build your confidence in the potential for a healthy, successful relationship.

It is hard to find Alcoholic Anonymous literature that has the same flavor as your favorite meeting... until now. This book was written in the same spirit that claims - "We are not a glum lot." [...] It is filled with witty heartfelt clichés that are so true, so sharp, they make the old-timers smile and the newcomers cringe. The clichés are used to teach newcomers the greater truths about the cure for alcoholism. Each cliché is a parable, an allegorical truth that is then explained using plainly stated information from knowledgeable sponsors and the Big Book with humorous commentary from a recovered alcoholic.This book is not fluff, nor is it for the faint hearted. The world of alcohol and drug abuse is not pretty, nor one easily explained or understood. This book is gritty, informative, and at the same time inspirational and full of joy and hope, but most of all it was written with the newcomer in mind, so it does a balancing act just for them.

Since the publication of Alcoholics Anonymous in 1939, the Twelve Steps have been central to staying sober for millions of people around the world. Countless recovery and treatment organizations have adopted the Steps as their program for abstaining from addictive behaviors. But recently a growing chorus of critics has questioned the science behind this model. In this book, Nowinski calls upon the latest research, as well as his own seminal Project MATCH study, to show why systematically working a Twelve Step program yields predictable and successful outcomes. Whether you are thinking of joining a Twelve Step group, or simply want to understand the science fueling one of the greatest social movements of our time, this book is for you. As any AA member will tell you, "It works if you work it"

Recovery is not a man's world, and yet to a woman it can sometimes seem that way. Geared specifically to that woman, this book brings a feminine perspective to the Twelve Step program, searching out the healing messages beneath the male-oriented words. Based on an open exploration and a flexible interpretation of the Twelve Steps, this new perspective takes into account the psychological development of women as it relates to addiction and recovery, as well as the social and cultural factors that affect women in particular.

In this hopeful and useful guide, Dr. John MacDougall explains how to maintain our spiritual condition so that we can remain reliably sober, and come to restore our relationships with God, ourselves, and those we love. By practicing the spiritual principles of the Twelve Step programs, and making a daily commitment to our program of recovery, we reliably become happy.

An exposé of Alcoholics Anonymous, 12-step programs, and the rehab industry--and how a failed addiction-treatment model came to dominate America. AA has become so infused in our society that it is practically synonymous with addiction recovery. Yet the evidence shows that AA has only a 5-10 percent success rate--hardly better than no treatment at all. [...] But The Sober Truth is more than a book about addiction. [...] The Sober Truth includes true stories from Dr. Dodes's thirty-five years of clinical practice, as well as firsthand accounts submitted by addicts through an open invitation on the Psychology Today website. These stories vividly reveal the experience of walking the steps and attending some of the nation's most famous rehabilitation centers. (From the Hardcover edition.)

For those of us in recovery, Mindfulness and the 12 Steps offers a fresh approach to developing our own spiritual path through the Buddhist practice of mindfulness, or bringing one's awareness to focus on the present moment. We can revisit each of the Twelve Steps, exploring the interplay of ideas between mindfulness and Twelve Step traditions--from the idea of living "one day at a time" to the emphasis on prayer and meditation--and learn to incorporate mindfulness into our path toward lifelong sobriety.

This workbook is intended to help people study the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous. The author has been continuously sober since April 1, 1981 and is actually working his own Twelfth Step by sharing his own experience, strength, and hope that he personally gets from the "Big Book"of Alcoholics Anonymous. As he has often heard, "You can't keep it unless you give it away!"

Designed to be used in conjunction with A Woman's Way through the Twelve Steps, this workbook helps deepen and extend the understanding of the lessons taught in the book and brings them to life with simple exercises and journaling activities. It further empowers each woman to take ownership of her recovery by documenting her growth and recovery process in a personally meaningful way.

It was out of his reverence and respect for the wisdom and therapeutic value of the Twelve Steps that Carnes wrote A Gentle Path through the Twelve Steps, now a recovery classic and self-help staple for anyone looking for guidance for life's hardest challenges. [...] With updated and expanded concepts and a focus on the spiritual principles that lead to lifelong growth and fulfillment, Carnes' new edition invites a fresh generation of readers to the healing and rewarding experience of Twelve Step recovery.

Compiled by a trained therapist in recovery, this workbook will allow you to deal individually with common issues in recovery. The basic principles of many of the popular twelve step programs are combined into one easy text. It provides a method of working the twelve steps of these programs through a series of open-ended questions, thoroughly covering the addictions facing our society today - alcohol, drugs, gambling, anger, food, relapse, and people, places, & things. This workbook would benefit anyone suffering from any of these destructive behaviors.

These inspirational meditations, prayers, and stories were written by an Ojibwe Elder and alcohol and drug counselor to speak directly to American Indians about their everyday experience of recovery from alcoholism. A combination of Ojibwe and Twelve Step spiritual principles and practices, along with stories from Indians struggling with recovery, create an authentic experience of the challenges and rewards of living sober.

Seventeen years ago, Iam was on the verge of either dying or being locked up for a very long time. Instead, he became a very active member of AA and has stayed in the middle of AA ever since and has been sponsoring new members for over sixteen years.

He loves AA so much that other members laugh when they hear him sing his favorite jingle: "I am stuck on AA, 'cause AA's stuck on me!"

Today, Iam lives in southwest Florida with his wonderful Al Anon wife and their happy seven-year-old daughter and delightful eight-month-old baby boy, Iam Junior.

In A Man's Way through the Twelve Steps, author Dan Griffin uses interviews with men in various stages of recovery, excerpts from relevant Twelve Step literature, and his own experience to offer the first holistic approach to sobriety for men. Readers work through each of the Twelve Steps, learn to reexamine negative masculine scripts that have shaped who they are and how they approach recovery, and strengthen the positive and affirming aspects of manhood.