An empowering, practical guide to help the brothers and sisters of alcoholics-by a journalist and sibling of two alcoholics, and an addiction specialist

Nearly every child will be offered drugs or alcohol before graduating high school. The good news is that a child who gets to age twenty-one without smoking, using drugs, or abusing alcohol is virtually certain never to do so ... and informed parents have the power to influence their kids to choose not to use. This give parents a realistic picture of the world their teens confront and the tools to help them get through adolescence healthy and drug free. Based on research at the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, this book answers the daunting questions parents across the country have repeatedly asked.

Counseling Addicted Families, Second Edition, is an up-to-date treatment manual that fosters lasting change for families dealing with addiction and addictive disorders. Focused around the clinically esteemed Sequential Family Addictions Model, the book guides counselors through the principles of how to "progressively sequence" a client family during their change process, and explores how family counseling theories and interventions can be applied in treatment settings. This second edition aligns with the DSM-5 Substance Use Disorder criteria and terminology and includes new sections on neuroscience and cutting-edge drug detection assessment methods. Both experienced and entry-level counselors will appreciate how the Model improves their clinical skills and knowledge to address the idiosyncratic needs of each individual family system and create healthy systemic change.

Scotty Stone grew up in a polygamous family in Africa with his father, Chief Eyikemi, a powerful Chief of an entire community. The Chief had seven wives at a time, one of whom was Scottys Mom, Victoria. She died early in life, leaving Scotty and his siblings in the hands of their stepmothers by default. Life was a total misery for Scotty throughout his stay at the Villa. However, he survived everything that was thrown at him, and he became a strong force to be reckoned with in the society. Scotty migrated to the United States of America with the hope of making it big. He did, but not before going through many obstacles, the pains and sufferings that came with his quest for a better life in a foreign land. His dreadful challenges in life, coupled with his powerful survival skills are the key ingredients that make The Capstone a pleasurable must read for everyone.

While laying in an empty bathtub in a Motel 6 in Vermont, Mike takes a handful of OxyContin and waits for the heart palpitations to kill him. As he starts to fade he reads a text on his phone, "Son, I love you and I need to know that you're OK." Struggling to understand why anyone would care about him because of his years of drug abuse, he responds, "Mom, no one can help me." Then, in a moment of clarity, he decides he wants there to be a tomorrow and to be a part of his family again. He makes the call for help to his mother; the call that saves his life. S.O.B.E.R.*, an acronym for "Son Of a Bitch Everything's Real" describes the moment Anita Devlin and her son Mike realize that denying his addiction to pain pills is destroying him. It is the defining moment when they commit to the courageous fight to get their lives back. This is when their family's road to recovery begins. S.O.B.E.R.* offers a rare glimpse at the daily, all consuming relationship between family and addiction, told simultaneously from a mother's view and an addict's perspective. Everyone thinks Mike has it all because he is a star varsity lacrosse player, does well in school and is popular with the girls. However, Mike feels completely alone on the inside. When sports related surgeries introduce him to the world of pain pills, he uses them to mask his insecurities and spirals downward. Once in treatment, he learns that drugs are the least of his problems. The real problem is his mind. The drugs aren't making his demons disappear, they are only masking them and burying them down deeper. Mike is confident that he can be sober but he is not convinced that he can be sober and happy. Anita thinks that being a mother gives her the right to negotiate with God for her child. She sits in church and pleads, "God, I don't care what happens to me, please just take care of my son." She lets go of everything that makes her strong until she has nothing to hold on to but fear. She is afraid of what will happen if she focuses on anything but her son. This is an addiction itself. Anita becomes sick physically and spiritually. She is ashamed that she is afraid of what people will think instead of helping her only son, and she is faced with yet another hurdle... a confrontation with the truth that she herself needs to get healthy and learn to let go. We are allowed a glimpse into the family's recovery through powerful "cost" letters including one from Mike's sister and from the innocent voice of the family dog. Despite an avalanche of life's misfortunes, nothing else matters as long as they don't lose Mike. Anita, her husband Michael and their daughter Alex join forces with the Caron Treatment Center where "the patient is the family, and the family is the patient." "Addiction is an octopus" says Anita, "Whose tentacles wrap tightly around us all choking the life out of everyone in its way. The whole family needs to recover together."

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.

Facing life on its own terms is a goal of every recovering alcoholic; how to go about it requires the experience, strength, and hope of those who have accomplished it. Women with Long-Term Sobriety shares the wisdom of women alcoholics who have successfully maintained their sobriety for ten or more years while dealing with the ups and downs of life.

One of the foremost authorities in the U.S. on the subject of addiction offersthe most complete guide available for dealing with the recovery process. Thisis the first book of its kind to map out the stages of recovery during the first five years, and to serve as a sourcebook for use throughout one's sober life. Illustrated with 10 charts. 25,000 first printing.