Recommendations

This book provides incredible insight into what takes place at a variety of different treatment facilities and approaches. It will also help you to understand that some of the treatments we feel are helping our loved ones may not be the best for them. The first rule of thumb for assessing level of treatment (meetings, OP, IOP, Residential) your loved one needs is to choose the lowest level of treatment that will keep them physically safe. For our daughter there where several times when this required residential treatment, although we later discovered that this radically increased her anxiety. This is a must read especially if your loved one has had a variety of attempts at treatment.

Chasing the Scream: The Opposite of Addiction is Connection Johann Hari Bloomsberry 2015

One of the detriments someone fighting a substance use disorder is the incredible amount of guilt and shame. Often this can be fueled by the stigma that surrounds both mental health and addiction. Lauren would often struggle with the realization that for many people, the moment they realized she was addicted to heroin they instantly made assumptions about her. She asked me to read this book to stretch my thinking about addiction and how we approach it. This book can be very graphic and at times extremely heartbreaking, but it will challenge your view of addiction and the war on drugs. The night before Lauren passed away we discussed the book and I explained to her that although there where a few elements in the book that I was still weighing in my own heart, I appreciated her sharing the book because it helped me see things I did not see before.

Terry George McGovern Villard 2013

This is the first book I read after LaLa’s death on July 6th 2017. It is a very open and honest narrative of how addiction and alcoholism impact a family. It tries to reveal through the life of Terry McGovern how people can sometimes end up where they do. A quote from the book that still reverberates in my heart is “Alcoholics (and addicts) are hard to live with, but they are harder to live with out.” Its true! I wish I had read it before Lauren passed away.

Addiction and Virtue: Beyond the Models of Disease and Choice Kent Dunnigton 2011

This is not an easy book to read. I often had to read several parts several times. It is excellent for someone who is trying to understand addiction in light of faith. Addiction is far too complicated to lump into one category. This book addresses that complexity and reminds us of the powerful role habit (a word we don’t seem to mention much anymore) plays in addiction. A working definition of addiction I often use is ““Addiction is a bio-psycho-social disorder which demonstrates itself in any behavior that a person enjoys or finds relief in and therefore craves in the short term. This behavior results in negative consequences in the long term yet the individual doesn’t give up the behavior despite those negative consequences.”.

Beyond Addiction: How Science and Kindness Help People Change Jeffrey Foote, Carrie Wilkens, Nicole Kosanke, Stephanie Higgs Simon and Schuster 2014

Today one of the buzzwords surrounding treatment is “evidence based”. This book addresses some of the treatments that really are evidenced based. It also helps families to develop a plan that respects their loved ones and assures their actions are moving them toward recovery. If your loved one has been in and out of several treatment models this is a must read.

Insane Consequences: How the Mental Health Industry Fails the Mentally Ill DJ Jaffe Prometheus 2017

As confusing and complicated as getting effective treatment and care for addiction is, when complicated with a mental health issue it is even more confusing and frustrating. More than 50% of people suffering with addiction are also driven to it because of a mental health issue. This book addresses needs relating to people with serious mental health issues and their care. Lauren struggled with extreme anxiety which was greatly complicated with her addiction. It is eye opening and informative.

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