Books on Recovery, Spirituality & Codependence
Member
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Melbourne, Victoria Australia
Posts: 1,202
Anna, thanks so much for the full list - easier to print out for my library / online book buying excursions :-)
Some I'm working with now / and or have returned to:
Breathing Under Water: Spirituality and the Twelve Steps, Richard Rohr.
He's a prolific author, Francisan and founding director of the Centre for Action and Contemplation in New Mexico. He's written quite a few books for men, which someone might wish to make note of to the Men's Group here.
Steps to Life: A Spiritual Journey with Christian Mysticism and the Twelve Steps , Joanna Thyer.
A Burning Desire: Dharma God and the Path of Recovery, Kevin Griffin.
This is his more recent sequel to One Breath at a Time: Buddhism and the Twelve Steps.
Buddhism and the Twelve Steps Workbook, even more recent one (2014) also by Kevin Griffin.
Full Catastrophe Living: How to cope with stress, pain and illness using mindfulness meditation , Jon Kabat-Zinn
NOTE: This is a new revised edition (2013) in which K-Z highlights the newer science of mindfulness as it's grown and evolved since the first editions (1990 US, 1996 UK).
The Happiness Trap: Stop Struggling, Start Living Russ Harris.
This is essentially a very readable approach to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), which is increasingly being used in drug and alcohol rehabs for reasons that are pretty obvious!
Some I'm working with now / and or have returned to:
Breathing Under Water: Spirituality and the Twelve Steps, Richard Rohr.
He's a prolific author, Francisan and founding director of the Centre for Action and Contemplation in New Mexico. He's written quite a few books for men, which someone might wish to make note of to the Men's Group here.
Steps to Life: A Spiritual Journey with Christian Mysticism and the Twelve Steps , Joanna Thyer.
A Burning Desire: Dharma God and the Path of Recovery, Kevin Griffin.
This is his more recent sequel to One Breath at a Time: Buddhism and the Twelve Steps.
Buddhism and the Twelve Steps Workbook, even more recent one (2014) also by Kevin Griffin.
Full Catastrophe Living: How to cope with stress, pain and illness using mindfulness meditation , Jon Kabat-Zinn
NOTE: This is a new revised edition (2013) in which K-Z highlights the newer science of mindfulness as it's grown and evolved since the first editions (1990 US, 1996 UK).
The Happiness Trap: Stop Struggling, Start Living Russ Harris.
This is essentially a very readable approach to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), which is increasingly being used in drug and alcohol rehabs for reasons that are pretty obvious!
Recovered from Hopeless State
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: New Jersey, USA
Posts: 2,156
I just posted this in another thread...
"After fighting the God concept all my life, I finally decided if you can't beat Him, join Him. I found a way that worked for me".
I'm going to have to check out the books on this list. It took me 7 long, miserable years, in and out of AA, to find a God I could understand, get sober and develop a better outlook on life in general. Perhaps if I had found this list earlier, it might have saved me, and others, a lot of grief.
"After fighting the God concept all my life, I finally decided if you can't beat Him, join Him. I found a way that worked for me".
I'm going to have to check out the books on this list. It took me 7 long, miserable years, in and out of AA, to find a God I could understand, get sober and develop a better outlook on life in general. Perhaps if I had found this list earlier, it might have saved me, and others, a lot of grief.
Sober Alcoholic
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 3,539
Ernie Kurtz and Katherine Ketcham have a new book out which is a follow up to their very popular "Spirituality of Imperfection". The new book is called "Experiencing Spirituality". It's only been out a month or so. It's very good.
Member
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Canada
Posts: 2,449
Originally Posted by Jessicacat1 
Have finished the Caroline Knapp book 'Drinking - a love story' and I found it very enjoyable, I could relate to much of the story and it was thought provoking. I have nearly finished 'Dry' by Augusten Burroughs- a very different story but an excellent read.
Part of my plan to stay sober is to immerse myself in books and make time in my day, no matter what, for reading.
Part of my plan to stay sober is to immerse myself in books and make time in my day, no matter what, for reading.
I really enjoyed it.
Member
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Cardiff
Posts: 144
I have read a few books that have really helped me become positive and focused:
Feel the fear and do it any - Susan Jeffers
~ fantastic book for anyone whose feeling scared or down in the dumps.
Eat that frog - Brian Tracy
~ Good book for getting your life back on track. Helps you deal with indecision and procrastination.
The Chimp Paradox - Dr Steve Peters
~ A book that helps you achieve your true potential in life. Simple steps to silence negative thought patterns.
All these books are very positive and great for personal development!
Feel the fear and do it any - Susan Jeffers
~ fantastic book for anyone whose feeling scared or down in the dumps.
Eat that frog - Brian Tracy
~ Good book for getting your life back on track. Helps you deal with indecision and procrastination.
The Chimp Paradox - Dr Steve Peters
~ A book that helps you achieve your true potential in life. Simple steps to silence negative thought patterns.
All these books are very positive and great for personal development!
waking down
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 4,641
Two that have helped me and should be added to the big list:
The Mindful Path to Addiction Recovery by Lawrence Peltz, M.D.
The Mindfulness Workbook for Addiction by Rebecca E. Williams, Ph.D. and Julie S. Kraft, MA
The Mindful Path to Addiction Recovery by Lawrence Peltz, M.D.
The Mindfulness Workbook for Addiction by Rebecca E. Williams, Ph.D. and Julie S. Kraft, MA
Administrator
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Dancing in the Light
Posts: 61,514
Thanks, everyone, I so appreciate all your additions.
Sadly, I am behind but don't let that stop you from continuing to contribute here.
I have finally updated the list, so, please, please continue to post new ideas for books you read and love.
Sadly, I am behind but don't let that stop you from continuing to contribute here.
I have finally updated the list, so, please, please continue to post new ideas for books you read and love.
Member
Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 344
"Drunk Mom" by Jowita Bydlowska
Three years after giving up drink, Jowita Bydlowska found herself throwing back a glass of champagne like it was ginger ale. "It's a special occasion," she said to her boyfriend. And indeed it was. It was a party celebrating the birth of their first child. It also marked Jowita's immediate, full-blown return to alcoholism and all that entails for a new mother who is at first determined to keep her problem a secret.
Her trips to liquor stores are in-and-out missions. Perhaps she's being paranoid, but she thinks people tend to notice the stroller. Walking home, she stays behind buildings, in alleyways, taking discreet sips from a bottle she's stored in the diaper bag. She know she's become a villain: a mother who drinks; a mother who endangers her child. She drinks to forget this. And then the trouble really starts.
Jowita Bydlowska's memoir of her relapse into addiction is an extraordinary achievement. The writing is raw and immediate. It places you in the moment--saddened, appalled, nerve-wracked, but never able to look away or stop turning the pages. With brutal honesty, Bydlowska takes us through the binges and blackouts, the self-deception and less successful attempts to deceive others, the humiliations and extraordinary risk-taking. She shines a light on the endless hunger of wanting just one more drink, and one more again, while dealing with motherhood, anxiety, depression--and rehab.
Her struggle to regain her sobriety is recorded in the same unsentimental, unsparing, sometimes grimly comic way. But the happy outcome is evidenced by the existence of this brilliant book: she has lived to tell the tale.
Three years after giving up drink, Jowita Bydlowska found herself throwing back a glass of champagne like it was ginger ale. "It's a special occasion," she said to her boyfriend. And indeed it was. It was a party celebrating the birth of their first child. It also marked Jowita's immediate, full-blown return to alcoholism and all that entails for a new mother who is at first determined to keep her problem a secret.
Her trips to liquor stores are in-and-out missions. Perhaps she's being paranoid, but she thinks people tend to notice the stroller. Walking home, she stays behind buildings, in alleyways, taking discreet sips from a bottle she's stored in the diaper bag. She know she's become a villain: a mother who drinks; a mother who endangers her child. She drinks to forget this. And then the trouble really starts.
Jowita Bydlowska's memoir of her relapse into addiction is an extraordinary achievement. The writing is raw and immediate. It places you in the moment--saddened, appalled, nerve-wracked, but never able to look away or stop turning the pages. With brutal honesty, Bydlowska takes us through the binges and blackouts, the self-deception and less successful attempts to deceive others, the humiliations and extraordinary risk-taking. She shines a light on the endless hunger of wanting just one more drink, and one more again, while dealing with motherhood, anxiety, depression--and rehab.
Her struggle to regain her sobriety is recorded in the same unsentimental, unsparing, sometimes grimly comic way. But the happy outcome is evidenced by the existence of this brilliant book: she has lived to tell the tale.
Recovered from Hopeless State
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: New Jersey, USA
Posts: 2,156
Originally Posted by lawgirl82
"Drunk Mom" by Jowita Bydlowska
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