Faces & Voices of Recovery Book Club

Start the discussion here!

Dannie Greenberg — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 22:03:29 GMT

Send a message to Gary Stromberg about his new book, Second Chances, today!

Forum: Conversations about Second Chances with Gary Stromberg

Moments of Clarity

merlyn Karst — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 20:10:12 GMT

Chris: We met at the Johnson Institute Honors event in late September. At the dinner the night before you told me the nature of your new book (now published) and the response from so many for inclusion was so great; however, there were also many who were not comfortable being a part of I am so pleased with the addition of so many special people who are now faces and voices of recovery. Do you feel, with your book in print, that some of the reluctant may now contact you about a "sequel" or, at least, become an identified, comfortable, and obvious face and voice of recovery?

Merlyn Karst

Forum: Conversations about Moments of Clarity with Christopher Kennedy Lawford!

Insight

Michelle Ramirez — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 16:34:49 GMT

Mr. Lawford,

Love the book, the stories are fascinating! After interviewing these 40 or so people about their recovery stories and moments of clarity, what insight, if any, did you gain about your own journey in recovery?

Forum: Conversations about Moments of Clarity with Christopher Kennedy Lawford!

Question for Christopher Kennedy Lawford

Janet Stephenson — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 22:38:33 GMT

Hi Mr. Lawford,

I read in your introduction that at first you did not want to write this book, because you felt that you had already accomplished the task of writing a book on recovery with Symptoms of Withdrawal. But since the publishing of Moments of Clarity, you have been widely embraced by the recovery community and have become somewhat of a face and a voice for the movement. My question is, do you feel more comfortable now as you have been placed in this position, and if so, do you see yourself writing another book about addiction recovery? Thanks for your time!

Forum: Conversations about Moments of Clarity with Christopher Kennedy Lawford!

How did amino acids help your recovery?

Carolyn Reuben, L.Ac. — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 19:39:38 GMT

Mr. Lawford, my question is about changing the paradigm of addiction from the consequence of someone not willing to "just say no" to the recognition the person has neurotransmitter deficiencies that never were diagnosed or treated and the understanding that those deficiencies can be treated easily, cost-effectively, and quickly, starting with signs in childhood in many cases. I wonder if you have explored the connection of behavior and nutrition (especially the research of Stephen Schoenthaler, PhD in schools and jails and that of Kenneth Blum, PhD) showing the craving for alcohol or other drugs indicates a need for any or all of the neurotransmitters dopamine, serotonin, endorphins, and GABA . Has anyone told you of the instantaneous relief someone craving alcohol or sugar gets from dropping the amino acid L-glutamine on their tongue? For those on the cutting edge of addiction nutrition like Julia Ross, MFT, author of The Mood Cure, the easiest drug to treat is methamphetamine, since someone craving meth needs one amino acid, L-tyrosine, because it is the raw material the nerves use to produce more dopamine and dopamine receptor sites. Do you talk about this at all in your book? If this is new to you, I'm excited to share it with you. Look online at http://www.allianceforaddictionsolutons.org for people who apply these principles in their treatment programs. Many are speaking at the conference called Brain Repair for Addictive Disorders: Cost-Effective, Successful, Drug-Free Therapies co-sponsored by the California Dept. of Alcohol and Drug Programs April 17-19th in Sacramento. Info about it is at http://www.carasac.org. I invite you to come and sell your books there and hear what might be a breakthrough for you, your friends, and family members. Contact me at carolynreuben@carasac.org for a questionnaire to give your kids, to see if there are dietary and nutrient supplements they need right now to avoid going through what you, Patrick, Ted, and others have had to go through due to no one paying attention early enough to biochemical needs. I wish you many sales and smooth sailing in the sea of recovery! Carolyn Reuben, L.Ac., Executive Director, Community Addiction Recovery Association, Sacramento http://www.carasac.org

Forum: Conversations about Moments of Clarity with Christopher Kennedy Lawford!

5th Annual Art of Recovery Expo

Barbara Brown — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 22:01:22 GMT

In celebration of National Recovery Month 2009, the Art of Recovery Expo is pleased to announce Christopher Kennedy Lawford will be this years Keynote
Speaker. September 19, 2009 in Phoenix Arizona. Details can be found at http://www.artofrecoveryexpo.com

MOMENTS OF CLARITY IS A MUST READ!!!!

Forum: Conversations about Moments of Clarity with Christopher Kennedy Lawford!

A Brother Who Has Struggled For a Long Time

Syndra — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 21:01:48 GMT

I don't know if this discussion board is for this, but I am searching for answers.......been searching for about 18 years. My brother has struggled with addiction since he was 13 years old. It is very difficult to grasp since I feel as if he died then. I am in the counseling field so I understand the "whys" of why he does what he does and it is easy for me to see, but it is more difficult to handle b/c I am dealing with it in my family. The hardest part is seeing how it affects my mother. We are trying the tough love approach.......it is getting to the point where I am so tired of believing in him b/c he always hurts me, mom, his son. He is depressed, but he always drowns in alcohol/drugs. He will do good for so long and then mess up...... He has been through rehab 3 times and in jail 4.......I am so frustrated! Share your thoughts.............

Forum: General Discussions

RECOVERY MONTH 2009 DAYTONA BEACH

SINI SUMMERLIN — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 18:02:35 GMT

As part of the recovery community, included is a link to one of Daytona Beach's efforts in promoting recovery for 2009. Thank you for all you do in the name of recovery! http://www.facebook.com/people/Recovery-Month-Daytona-Beach/519273596>Facebook

Forum: General Discussions

Information

Dale B. — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 19:59:34 GMT

Dear Paul Molloy,
I have an older publication from SAMHSA, "Self-Run, Self-Supported Houses for More Effective Recovery . . ." (US Department of Health 1992). Are there any updated publications about Oxford Houses? Do Oxford houses still adhere to the original core values/traditions mentioned in the publication? As a social worker in Ohio I am still interested in starting one.
Thank you for your time and service - Dale

Forum: Conversations about Rescued Lives: The Oxford House Approach to Substance Abuse

Rescued Lives

Paul Molloy — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 19:14:04 GMT

I am online and hope that many of you got a chance to learn more about Oxford House from Lenny Jason's book Rescued Lives. Paul

Forum: Conversations about Rescued Lives: The Oxford House Approach to Substance Abuse

CEO and Co-Founder of the Oxford House will join in the discussions on Fridays

Billy Lossiah — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 03:58:48 GMT

Just wanted to pass this along.

The CEO and co-founder of The Oxford House, Paul Molloy, has agreed to join our online discussion boards at 2pm EST on Fridays through the month of December! He'll be here to answer any questions and to contribute to the discussion.

We look forward to any discussions generated as a result of this gracious offer from Paul Molloy.

Your's in long-term recovery,

Billy Lossiah

Book Club Committee

Join Faces & Voices of Recovery Today!

Forum: Conversations about Rescued Lives: The Oxford House Approach to Substance Abuse

What are your thoughts about this months selection?

Billy Lossiah — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 03:55:54 GMT

I hope you enjoyed your holiday and had an opprotunity to read this month's book selection.

Rescued Lives:The Oxford House Approach to Substance Abuse (2008), by Leonard A Jason, Bradley D. Olson, and Karen Foli. Oxford Houses succeed because their treatment approach to alcohol and other drug problems instills the most powerful medicinehope for recovery. Rescued Lives: This book presents the success stories of the people living in these community homes and explains just how it has worked for them

If you have not had the chance to read the book and you are familiar with the Oxford model of recovery houses, your insight is most welcomed.

So let me pose a few opening questions to get the discussion going.

1. What was your opinion about this book?

2. Do you think the Democratic approach untilized in community homes is successful?

***** I'll share a quick note here about a local "Oxford House" in my area.

In the early stages (it's infancy), the residents had some issues of "power Struggles" but they have since been ironed out and the house is running smooth and success is high. Have you encountered this in your area (power struggles with residents)? if so, how were they handled?

3. What avenues do you think society could pursue to increase the amount of community homes?

I hope these are not to many opening questions? It is my intention to get the conversation started.

Of course please feel free to comment on anything regarding the contents of the book or "Oxford Houses" in general.

We look forward to hearing from you and reading your posts.

Your's in long-term recovery,

Billy Lossiah
Membership and Outreach
Book Club Committee Member

Forum: Conversations about Rescued Lives: The Oxford House Approach to Substance Abuse

What are your thoughts about this months selection?

Billy Lossiah — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 03:55:36 GMT

Forum: Conversations about Rescued Lives: The Oxford House Approach to Substance Abuse

Discussion of November's Selection Extended

Billy Lossiah — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 02:54:05 GMT

Following a recent meeting of our membership and outreach committee, it had been decided to extend the discussion of the following book of the month selection:

Rescued Lives:The Oxford House Approach to Substance Abuse (2008), by Leonard A Jason, Bradley D. Olson, and Karen Foli. Oxford Houses succeed because their treatment approach to alcohol and other drug problems instills the most powerful medicinehope for recovery. Rescued Lives: This book presents the success stories of the people living in these community homes and explains just how it has worked for them.

We will use the month of December as the time to discuss "Rescued Lives". I hope you have had an opprotunity to read Novembers selection and we look forward to the upcoming discussions. As it has been decided to extend the discussion to include the month of December as well, we are in the process of arranging for either the Authors of this book and or members of actual Oxford Houses to help answer any questions that might be generated.

We will keep you posted as to the dates that we might have these people available to join in the discussions during the month of December. As always, at anytime, if you have questions that you would like to ask or comments regarding the book or Oxford houses, please post them on the message board.

We look forward to the upcoming discussion and hope you have a wonderful upcoming holiday.

Your's in long-term recovery,

Billy Lossiah

Book Club Committee Member

Forum: Conversations about Rescued Lives: The Oxford House Approach to Substance Abuse

Novembers discussions

Billy Lossiah — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 05:54:45 GMT

Well as November kicks off with an election process, I'm hoping as soon as the dust settles, we can begin discussing the book of the month which details recovery houses utilizing the Oxford model.

Here on the Cherokee Indian Reservation, we have an Oxford house named "The Journey House". Since it's beginning in 2003, it has become quite an effective resource for people in early recovery but there still remains one primary issue. There just are not enough of them in rural areas and the pending discussions should be very useful and insightful in determining a proactive course for changing this.

I personally look forward to all posts regarding the book of the month.

Yours in long-term recovery,

Billy Lossiah
Book Club Committee
Southeastern Regional Representative
Faces and Voices of Recovery

Forum: Conversations about Rescued Lives: The Oxford House Approach to Substance Abuse