Tales of Addiction and Inspiration for Recovery

Tales of Addiction and Inspiration for Recovery
Author: Barbara Sinor
Publisher: Loving Healing Press
Total Pages: 430
Release: 2010-01-01
Genre: Self-Help
ISBN: 1615990372

"This inspiring and penetrating new book by Dr. Sinor shows how we gather the courage and the force of will to make a transformational change."--Mark Thurston, Ph.D.

A Nurse's Story

A Nurse's Story
Author: Tilda Shalof
Publisher: McClelland & Stewart
Total Pages: 354
Release: 2010-02-05
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 1551991411

The team of nurses that Tilda Shalof found herself working with in the intensive care unit (ICU) of a big-city hospital was known as “Laura’s Line.” They were a bit wild: smart, funny, disrespectful of authority, but also caring and incredibly committed to their jobs. Laura set the tone with her quick remarks. Frances, from Newfoundland, was famous for her improvised recipes. Justine, the union rep, wore t-shirts emblazoned with defiant slogans, like “Nurses Care But It’s Not in the Budget.” Shalof was the one who had been to university. The others accused her of being “sooo sensitive.” They depended upon one another. Working in the ICU was both emotionally grueling and physically exhausting. Many patients, quite simply, were dying, and the staff strove mightily to prolong their lives. With their skill, dedication, and the resources of modern science, they sometimes were almost too successful. Doctors and nurses alike wondered if what they did for terminally-ill patients was not, in some cases, too extreme. A number of patients were admitted when it was too late even for heroic measures. A boy struck down by a cerebral aneurysm in the middle of a little-league hockey game. A woman rescued – too late – from a burning house. It all took its toll on the staff. And yet, on good days, they thrived on what they did. Shalof describes a colleague who is managing a “crashing” patient: “I looked at her. Nicky was flushed with excitement. She was doing five different things at the same time, planning ahead for another five. She was totally focused, in her element, in control, completely at home with the chaos. There was a huge smile on her face. Nurses like to fix things. If they can.” Shalof, a veteran ICU nurse, reveals what it is really like to work behind the closed hospital curtains. The drama, the sardonic humour, the grinding workload, the cheerful camaraderie, the big issues and the small, all are brought vividly to life in this remarkable book.

Addiction and Recovery

Addiction and Recovery
Author: Martha Postlethwaite
Publisher: Fortress Press
Total Pages: 152
Release: 2019-02-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1506434304

Companionship for the lifelong journey of recovery In Addiction and Recovery: A Spiritual Pilgrimage, Martha Postlethwaite--pastor and a person in recovery--reflects on her pilgrimage of healing through valleys of despair and vistas of resurrection. Addiction and Recovery is not just Postlethwaite's story, though. She also draws on the wisdom of pilgrims who have walked other paths to explore themes such as surrender, truth telling, shame, powerlessness, grace, forgiveness, and resurrection. Together, these chronicles bring hope to people who struggle with the disease of addiction and to those who love them. Each chapter ends with questions to reflect on with conversation partners or in a journal, and a spiritual practice. The spiritual practices are related to the chapter themes and serve as samplers, but they can be woven into the reader's own pilgrimage. Readers will recognize themselves in these stories and reflections, learn that they are not alone, and find reasons to hope as they make their own pilgrimage.

Voices from the Fallen

Voices from the Fallen
Author: Michael K Tourville
Publisher:
Total Pages: 176
Release: 2021-01-05
Genre:
ISBN: 9781948278324

Voices from the Fallen takes us on an intimate journey inside the lives of people who have experienced the hell of addiction, the relentless defeat of relapse, and hope of recovery. Listen to them speak about fear and desperation, hope and optimism. Sit with them in solitary misery, feel their grief over a lost family member, and share their joy with the promise of a renewed life. Listen closely, for these courageous voices come from those all around us, and can help rebuild shattered families, restore broken hearts, and save lives. "If, like so many others, you've lost sight of your own life in the drama of tending to someone else's addiction, you may find yourself in this book. Fantastic job taking us into the mind of the addict." - Dean Cain, Actor, Producer "This was amazing. I didn't just read these stories, I intensely felt them. My heart was pulled out and put it through the wringer. I seriously was broken reading this." - Jason Campbell, President, JC Films "Voices from the Fallen opens the eyes to the rollercoaster ride for the addicted, as well as the impact on loved ones that must anguish through the daily battle. Mike Tourville illuminates the importance of this problem, which permeates every level of our society. A must-read..." - Paul Connor, West Springfield Chief of Police "These hard-hitting experiences have the potential to save lives. The extraordinary courage of these individuals and family members goes above and beyond normal expectations. This book is essential reading for those who are at risk or know anyone who may be." - William Sapelli, Mayor of Agawam, Massachusetts "...a must-read for anyone looking for insight and understanding into the life of an addict and those affected by it. If you are an addict or love someone who is, reach out. You are not alone. There is HOPE!" - George and Marilyn Ekimovich Ministry Leaders, LifePoint Church, Chicopee, MA Bonus: An excerpt from Michael K. Tourville's A Promise to Astrid included inside!

The Recovering

The Recovering
Author: Leslie Jamison
Publisher: Little, Brown
Total Pages: 539
Release: 2018-04-03
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0316259624

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Empathy Exams comes this transformative work showing that sometimes the recovery is more gripping than the addiction. With its deeply personal and seamless blend of memoir, cultural history, literary criticism, and reportage, The Recovering turns our understanding of the traditional addiction narrative on its head, demonstrating that the story of recovery can be every bit as electrifying as the train wreck itself. Leslie Jamison deftly excavates the stories we tell about addiction -- both her own and others' -- and examines what we want these stories to do and what happens when they fail us. All the while, she offers a fascinating look at the larger history of the recovery movement, and at the complicated bearing that race and class have on our understanding of who is criminal and who is ill. At the heart of the book is Jamison's ongoing conversation with literary and artistic geniuses whose lives and works were shaped by alcoholism and substance dependence, including John Berryman, Jean Rhys, Billie Holiday, Raymond Carver, Denis Johnson, and David Foster Wallace, as well as brilliant lesser-known figures such as George Cain, lost to obscurity but newly illuminated here. Through its unvarnished relation of Jamison's own ordeals, The Recovering also becomes a book about a different kind of dependency: the way our desires can make us all, as she puts it, "broken spigots of need." It's about the particular loneliness of the human experience-the craving for love that both devours us and shapes who we are. For her striking language and piercing observations, Jamison has been compared to such iconic writers as Joan Didion and Susan Sontag, yet her utterly singular voice also offers something new. With enormous empathy and wisdom, Jamison has given us nothing less than the story of addiction and recovery in America writ large, a definitive and revelatory account that will resonate for years to come.

Addict in the Family

Addict in the Family
Author: Beverly Conyers
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 208
Release: 2021-10-26
Genre: Family & Relationships
ISBN: 1616499559

The family recovery classic, Addict in the Family, has been revised and updated to offer parents and other family members even greater support when faced with the reality of a loved one’s addiction. Solid, actionable advice and information about what helps and what doesn’t—and how to care for themselves—make this an indispensable guide. For families of addicts, fear, shame, and confusion over a loved one’s addiction can cause deep anxiety, sleepless nights, and even physical illness. The emotional distress family members suffer is often compounded by the belief that they somehow caused or contributed to their loved one’s addiction—or that they could have done something to prevent it. Addict in the Family is a book about the pain of addiction, but more importantly it is a book of comfort, understanding, and hope for anyone struggling with a loved one’s addiction. As the compelling personal stories reveal, family members do not cause their loved one’s addiction—nor can they control or cure it. What family members can do is find support, set boundaries, detach with love, and eventually discover how to enjoy life more fully. This book helps them do just that—whether the loved one achieves recovery or not.

Now What?

Now What?
Author: William Cope Moyers
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 152
Release: 2012-10-09
Genre: Self-Help
ISBN: 1616494522

Addiction and recovery insider and expert William Cope Moyers answers the question "Now What?" for addicts and their loved ones, every step of their journey from contemplation through intervention, treatment, and recovery. Addiction and recovery insider and expert William Cope Moyers answers the question “Now what?” for addicts and their loved ones along every step of their journey through contemplation, intervention, treatment, and recovery.As the survivor of multiple relapses and near-fatal experiences with his addiction to alcohol and other drugs, William Cope Moyers knows what it’s like to desperately need, but not know how to find, a good treatment program. As Moyers was struggling, his parents--television journalist Bill Moyers and his wife, Judith--were also battling to understand what was happening to their son and what to do about it. Thanks to a successful intervention, intensive inpatient treatment, and a rigorous Twelve Step program, Moyers has been clean and sober since 1994, and has devoted his life to guiding others in getting the help they need.In the course of his work as a recovery advocate and ambassador with Hazelden Foundation, Moyers has talked with hundreds of alcoholics, addicts, and their families and has been a lifeline in helping them get the treatment they need. Drawing from both his own journey and the experiences of those he’s helped, Moyers applies his passion and trademark down-to-earth, style to lead readers through the process ofrecognizing when someone needs help,finding a quality treatment program,navigating the treatment process, andestablishing a support system after treatment.

High Achiever

High Achiever
Author: Tiffany Jenkins
Publisher: Harmony
Total Pages: 386
Release: 2019-06-18
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0593135938

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • An up-close portrait of the mind of an addict and a life unraveled by narcotics—a memoir of captivating urgency and surprising humor that puts a human face on the opioid crisis. “Raw, brutal, and shocking. Move over, Orange Is the New Black.”—Amy Dresner, author of My Fair Junkie When word got out that Tiffany Jenkins was withdrawing from opiates on the floor of a jail cell, people in her town were shocked. Not because of the twenty felonies she’d committed, or the nature of her crimes, or even that she’d been captain of the high school cheerleading squad just a few years earlier, but because her boyfriend was a Deputy Sherriff, and his friends—their friends—were the ones who’d arrested her. A raw and twisty page-turning memoir that reads like fiction, High Achiever spans Tiffany’s life as an active opioid addict, her 120 days in a Florida jail where every officer despised what she’d done to their brother in blue, and her eventual recovery. With heart-racing urgency and unflinching honesty, Jenkins takes you inside the grips of addiction and the desperate decisions it breeds. She is a born storyteller who lived an incredible story, from blackmail by an ex-boyfriend to a soul-shattering deal with a drug dealer, and her telling brims with suspense and unexpected wit. But the true surprise is her path to recovery. Tiffany breaks through the stigma and silence to offer hope and inspiration to anyone battling the disease—whether it’s a loved one or themselves.

Saving Jake

Saving Jake
Author: D'Anne Burwell
Publisher: Focusup Books
Total Pages: 314
Release: 2015-08-27
Genre:
ISBN: 9780996254304

D'Anne Burwell's smart, athletic son-raised in a loving and prosperous home-begins abusing OxyContin as a teenager, and within a year drops out of college, walks out of rehab, and lands homeless on the streets of Boulder. Struggling with fear, guilt, and a desperate need to protect her son, D'Anne grapples with her husband's anger and her daughter's depression as the family disease of addiction impacts them all. She discovers the terrifying links between prescription-drug abuse and skyrocketing heroin use. And she comes to understand that to save her child she must step back and allow him to fight for his own soul. SAVING JAKE gives voice to the devastation shared by the families of addicts, and provides vital hope. Above all, it is a powerful personal story of love and redemption.