[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Cool-Water-Alcoholism-Mindfulness-Ordinary/dp/157062254X]Amazon.com: Cool Water: Alcoholism, Mindfulness, and Ordinary Recovery: William Alexander: Books[/ame]
Work in Progress recommended this. I bought it and am mostly finished. Overall it's a light read, 150 pages with lots of white space. It centers almost entirely over the life experience of the author William Alexander.
This book seeks to answer the question: Now that I've been AF for 30/60/90 days, how do I eliminate the cravings forever? The author gives an approach he names "Ordinary Recovery" which in part shows his own adoption and satisfaction of Buddhist faith to help create a new lifestyle that makes AL unimportant.
This is not a book about detox or going AF. Only half a page is spent on the topic dismissing it as a time when the author felt "crazed and off center". He says he got through it by attending up to seven AA meetings a day, a total of 250 AA meetings in his first 90 days of sobriety.
This author recovered through AA and 12 step programs and refers often to the tools of those programs in detail. I think people who are involved with AA will be very comfortable with his frequent references and opinions of the strengths and weaknesses of the program.
The author writes well, and it's easy to read. I felt a little too much time spent on his drinking life and also on the people involved with his sobriety and learning his Buddhist faith. I guess I'm always the impatient one, wanting to get to the lesson and not wading through the prequel and people involved in his own learning the lesson.
The book touches early on the concept of people trading one addiction for another. I think this author is essentially leading down this path throughout the book suggesting that Buddhism is a suitable addiction for AF people. This may not be a bad suggestion in general, and I think you can expand this to Christianity and other religions as well as any number of "healthy addictions" like volunteering, exercising or racing.
The author is ostensibly single throughout his life, making references to girlfriends and his daughter who was taken away during his drinking days. Even though I'm also childless, I find his capability as a single person to go through months of monastic zen training, or to jet off to another continent to meet a particular master, to be a bit unrealistic for those who are trying to live AF within the context of a spouse and family.
A good read for anyone who is dealing with long term cravings and looking for ideas. There's a lot positive to learn from this author's experience.
Work in Progress recommended this. I bought it and am mostly finished. Overall it's a light read, 150 pages with lots of white space. It centers almost entirely over the life experience of the author William Alexander.
This book seeks to answer the question: Now that I've been AF for 30/60/90 days, how do I eliminate the cravings forever? The author gives an approach he names "Ordinary Recovery" which in part shows his own adoption and satisfaction of Buddhist faith to help create a new lifestyle that makes AL unimportant.
This is not a book about detox or going AF. Only half a page is spent on the topic dismissing it as a time when the author felt "crazed and off center". He says he got through it by attending up to seven AA meetings a day, a total of 250 AA meetings in his first 90 days of sobriety.
This author recovered through AA and 12 step programs and refers often to the tools of those programs in detail. I think people who are involved with AA will be very comfortable with his frequent references and opinions of the strengths and weaknesses of the program.
The author writes well, and it's easy to read. I felt a little too much time spent on his drinking life and also on the people involved with his sobriety and learning his Buddhist faith. I guess I'm always the impatient one, wanting to get to the lesson and not wading through the prequel and people involved in his own learning the lesson.
The book touches early on the concept of people trading one addiction for another. I think this author is essentially leading down this path throughout the book suggesting that Buddhism is a suitable addiction for AF people. This may not be a bad suggestion in general, and I think you can expand this to Christianity and other religions as well as any number of "healthy addictions" like volunteering, exercising or racing.
The author is ostensibly single throughout his life, making references to girlfriends and his daughter who was taken away during his drinking days. Even though I'm also childless, I find his capability as a single person to go through months of monastic zen training, or to jet off to another continent to meet a particular master, to be a bit unrealistic for those who are trying to live AF within the context of a spouse and family.
A good read for anyone who is dealing with long term cravings and looking for ideas. There's a lot positive to learn from this author's experience.
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