Dr. Michael Hoffman wrote The Thirsty Addict Papers for the thousands of counselors searching for practical wisdom and how-to instruction on enlivening spirituality in the delicate process of recovery. This is the first book to apply the diverse fields of Jungian depth psychology, Buddhist mindfulness practice, mythology and folklore, cognitive behavioral therapy and contemplative prayer to addiction. The Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous opened the door; now The Thirsty Addict Papers offers new knowledge for readers with open minds. Stories of courage combine with stark clinical facts about struggles with sobriety and death from self-destructive addiction. As Dr. Hoffman traces the roots of obsessive-compulsive behavior back to their ancient origins, The Thirsty Addict Papers provides a roadmap for expanding consciousness and enlivening the human soul. It is a provocative psychological work and a must-have reference for anyone struggling to find a way out of the nightmare of addiction.

This book explores the path of recovery. James Nelson writes, as he lives, with a very special blend of insight, wisdom, humor, and humility. Sobriety sustainers and spirituality seekers will be encouraged and enlightened by his work.

A certified addiction counselor and renowned recovery speaker offers a new perspective on addiction, presenting addictive behavior as a search for wholeness. Original.

Named a Best Book of the Year by The New Yorker and The Boston Globe An authoritative, illuminating, and deeply humane history of addiction—a phenomenon that remains baffling and deeply misunderstood despite having touched countless lives—by an addiction psychiatrist striving to understand his own family and himself “Carl Erik Fisher’s The Urge is the best-written and most incisive book I’ve read on the history of addiction. In the midst of an overdose crisis that grows worse by the hour and has vexed America for centuries, Fisher has given us the best prescription of all: understanding. He seamlessly blends a gripping historical narrative with memoir that doesn’t self-aggrandize; the result is a full-throated argument against blaming people with substance use disorder. The Urge is a propulsive tour de force that is as healing as it is enjoyable to read.” —Beth Macy, author of Dopesick Even after a decades-long opioid overdose crisis, intense controversy still rages over the fundamental nature of addiction and the best way to treat it. With uncommon empathy and erudition, Carl Erik Fisher draws on his own experience as a clinician, researcher, and alcoholic in recovery as he traces the history of a phenomenon that, centuries on, we hardly appear closer to understanding—let alone addressing effectively. As a psychiatrist-in-training fresh from medical school, Fisher was soon face-to-face with his own addiction crisis, one that nearly cost him everything. Desperate to make sense of the condition that had plagued his family for generations, he turned to the history of addiction, learning that the current quagmire is only the latest iteration of a centuries-old story: humans have struggled to define, treat, and control addictive behavior for most of recorded history, including well before the advent of modern science and medicine. A rich, sweeping account that probes not only medicine and science but also literature, religion, philosophy, and public policy, The Urge illuminates the extent to which the story of addiction has persistently reflected broader questions of what it means to be human and care for one another. Fisher introduces us to the people who have endeavored to address this complex condition through the ages: physicians and politicians, activists and artists, researchers and writers, and of course the legions of people who have struggled with their own addictions. He also examines the treatments and strategies that have produced hope and relief for many people with addiction, himself included. Only by reckoning with our history of addiction, he argues—our successes and our failures—can we light the way forward for those whose lives remain threatened by its hold. The Urge is at once an eye-opening history of ideas, a riveting personal story of addiction and recovery, and a clinician’s urgent call for a more expansive, nuanced, and compassionate view of one of society’s most intractable challenges.

Brave Tsavo, the first African lion hound, never dies. A nature god blesses him with reincarnation, and he lives again and again as an angel of mercy for the people he loves. Follow his heroic journey from the Dark Continent to the 9/11 disaster site and the Battle of Gettysburg. Watch him outwit a famous psychiatrist and cross the genetic line between man and animal to heal his old master's broken heart. Magical realism makes anything possible in these unusual, irresistible stories.

Contains papers read at the quarterly meetings of the society, and extracts from the discussions following them with other communications dealing with alcohol and alcoholism

Contains papers read at the quarterly meetings of the society, and extracts from the discussions following them with other communications dealing with alcohol and alcoholism

Perspectives on Substance Use, Disorders and Addiction, Second Edition, is a philosophical and clinical text that suggests new ways to think about the relationships, enjoyment, and troubles with substances of pleasure. The book is designed for students and clinicians who come in contact with and treat individuals and families struggling with the causes and consequences of substance use disorders and addiction. The second edition of Perspectives presents a refreshing blend of ancient and contemporary ideas on the natural pleasures and potential powers of alcohol and drugs in our everyday individual and collective lives.