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Recover to Live: Kick Any Habit, Manage Any Addiction: Your Self-Treatment Guide to Alcohol, Drugs, Eating Disorders, Gambling, Hoarding, Smoking, Sex and Porn
From Symptoms of Withdrawal and Moments of Clarity Christopher Kennedy Lawford comes a New York Times bestselling book that will save lives.
For most of his early life, Christopher Kennedy Lawford battled life-threatening drug and alcohol addictions. Now in recovery for more than 25 years, he works to effect change and raise global awareness of addiction in nonprofit, private, and government circles, serving as the goodwill ambassador for drug dependence treatment and care for the United Nations.
For the first time, the New York Times bestselling Recover to Live brings together all of the most effective self-care treatments for the seven most toxic compulsions affecting every culture on the planet today-alcohol dependence, drug dependence, eating disorders, gambling, hoarding, smoking, sex, and porn.
In Recover to Live, more than 100 of the world's top experts interviewed by Lawford share their research and wisdom on how to determine if your bad habit is becoming a dependency, what treatments will work best for you, how best to help yourself or a loved one recover from addiction, and how to lead a fulfilling and productive life in recovery.
For most of his early life, Christopher Kennedy Lawford battled life-threatening drug and alcohol addictions. Now in recovery for more than 25 years, he works to effect change and raise global awareness of addiction in nonprofit, private, and government circles, serving as the goodwill ambassador for drug dependence treatment and care for the United Nations.
For the first time, the New York Times bestselling Recover to Live brings together all of the most effective self-care treatments for the seven most toxic compulsions affecting every culture on the planet today-alcohol dependence, drug dependence, eating disorders, gambling, hoarding, smoking, sex, and porn.
In Recover to Live, more than 100 of the world's top experts interviewed by Lawford share their research and wisdom on how to determine if your bad habit is becoming a dependency, what treatments will work best for you, how best to help yourself or a loved one recover from addiction, and how to lead a fulfilling and productive life in recovery.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published December 18, 2012
40 people are currently reading
342 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
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September 8, 2013If you can pay experts to write for you and you're related to a lot of famous people, you can probably produce a compendium of info with a personal anecdote or 12 and sell it as a book. Parts of it were probably worth reading. But I wasn't motivated to stick around and find out. Thanks anyway.
October 23, 2015
Christopher Kennedy Lawford's Recover to Live focuses on different ways to fight and manage different addictions including alcohol, drugs, bulimia and anorexia and the like, gambling, hoarding, cigarette and nictone, and sex addictions. The book read like a series of quotes from medical experts loosely stitched together with some occasional citations from medical journals supporting the recommended treatment. This is to say not only was the structure of the book a little too transparent, it also made for poor reading.
The upside of the book is the "self-care tools" that Lawford recommends, which are actually good activities for anyone to engage in, whether an addict or not. He encourages people seek cognitive therapy, do meditation, eat right and exercise, keep a journal, and engage in mindfulness exercises (the latter is where you think about your thoughts and then seek not to identify with them if they are unnecessarily or irrationally negative). Also the book was helpful for me because it made me realize I'm a workaholic and how my workaholism seriously hampers my personal relationships and distorts my way of thinking. It's possible you might discover something by reading it, but I wouldn't suggest buying it.
The upside of the book is the "self-care tools" that Lawford recommends, which are actually good activities for anyone to engage in, whether an addict or not. He encourages people seek cognitive therapy, do meditation, eat right and exercise, keep a journal, and engage in mindfulness exercises (the latter is where you think about your thoughts and then seek not to identify with them if they are unnecessarily or irrationally negative). Also the book was helpful for me because it made me realize I'm a workaholic and how my workaholism seriously hampers my personal relationships and distorts my way of thinking. It's possible you might discover something by reading it, but I wouldn't suggest buying it.
April 2, 2013
Habits, Dependencies, Addiction: Recovery
Early on in the probing and almost self-effacing introduction to this book Christopher Kennedy Lawford offers such thoughts as the following: `Although this book begins with the experience of dealing with dependency, it becomes a self-help guide for a wide range of human behaviors, from eating and sex to managing money and smoking cigarettes. It builds on the foundation of the 12-Step fellowships to guide you to solutions to the many distortions in human behavior caused by the hijacking of your brain's reward system.' While that pretty much condenses what the reader may gain from the first reading of this book, there is so very much more here that the information will touch just about everyone who picks up this both scholarly and warmly user friendly book.
Lawford is a recovering drug and alcohol addict and has been substance free for twenty five years. To his credit he has turned his life experiences into a channel for assisting those who are at various stages of dependency: he has been through it all and has climbed out of the hole and now is a world-class speaker and motivator. One reason his book makes such an impact is that It contains input from about one hundred experts on addiction - medical, psychological, scientific, social worker, theorist and writers - and instead of simply piling up the fine contributions of these experts, he instead uses their input to add credence to his beliefs he has gained because of his journey.
He lists the seven toxic compulsions (one is reminded of the Seven Deadly Sins!) - alcohol abuse, drug abuse, eating disorders, gambling dependence, hoarding, sex and pornography, and nicotine dependence. If that sounds like he is stretching the limits of the concept of addiction, then read on, because the manner in which these each become dependencies and progress towards life threatening problems is similar. There are many books written about drug and alcohol addiction, but how many about the remainder of the seven toxic compulsions? Very few if any.
Lawford postulates (and proves) that addiction is a brain illness that alters neurotransmitters to change behavior and thinking. And if the brain can be trained to follow addictive pathways, then it can be trained by everyone who has an addiction to erase or alter those pathways and cure addiction. `There are proven tools such as mindfulness and meditation that can vanquish the cravings and enable those who want to change their lives to make different choices in the moment.' `For all of the Seven Toxic Compulsions, it's going to be more or less the same prescription. You need the same support systems. You are going to need to develop techniques like mindfulness, meditation, journaling, cognitive behavioral therapy, exercise and nutrition, and body work to deal with the symptoms.' And from there Lawford proceeds to outline all of his thoughts and reasons for his approaches and the result is a book that will inform even the most resistant reader. This is a valuable book written with a sense of dedication that in itself is magnetic. Highly Recommended for everyone.
Grady Harp
Early on in the probing and almost self-effacing introduction to this book Christopher Kennedy Lawford offers such thoughts as the following: `Although this book begins with the experience of dealing with dependency, it becomes a self-help guide for a wide range of human behaviors, from eating and sex to managing money and smoking cigarettes. It builds on the foundation of the 12-Step fellowships to guide you to solutions to the many distortions in human behavior caused by the hijacking of your brain's reward system.' While that pretty much condenses what the reader may gain from the first reading of this book, there is so very much more here that the information will touch just about everyone who picks up this both scholarly and warmly user friendly book.
Lawford is a recovering drug and alcohol addict and has been substance free for twenty five years. To his credit he has turned his life experiences into a channel for assisting those who are at various stages of dependency: he has been through it all and has climbed out of the hole and now is a world-class speaker and motivator. One reason his book makes such an impact is that It contains input from about one hundred experts on addiction - medical, psychological, scientific, social worker, theorist and writers - and instead of simply piling up the fine contributions of these experts, he instead uses their input to add credence to his beliefs he has gained because of his journey.
He lists the seven toxic compulsions (one is reminded of the Seven Deadly Sins!) - alcohol abuse, drug abuse, eating disorders, gambling dependence, hoarding, sex and pornography, and nicotine dependence. If that sounds like he is stretching the limits of the concept of addiction, then read on, because the manner in which these each become dependencies and progress towards life threatening problems is similar. There are many books written about drug and alcohol addiction, but how many about the remainder of the seven toxic compulsions? Very few if any.
Lawford postulates (and proves) that addiction is a brain illness that alters neurotransmitters to change behavior and thinking. And if the brain can be trained to follow addictive pathways, then it can be trained by everyone who has an addiction to erase or alter those pathways and cure addiction. `There are proven tools such as mindfulness and meditation that can vanquish the cravings and enable those who want to change their lives to make different choices in the moment.' `For all of the Seven Toxic Compulsions, it's going to be more or less the same prescription. You need the same support systems. You are going to need to develop techniques like mindfulness, meditation, journaling, cognitive behavioral therapy, exercise and nutrition, and body work to deal with the symptoms.' And from there Lawford proceeds to outline all of his thoughts and reasons for his approaches and the result is a book that will inform even the most resistant reader. This is a valuable book written with a sense of dedication that in itself is magnetic. Highly Recommended for everyone.
Grady Harp
December 31, 2016
This is my second 10 star out of a 5 rating this month that I read. Its such a great book for anyone....whether you're addicted to drugs, alcohol, eating disorders, gambling, hoarding, smoking, porn, sex or many other addictions that aren't discussed. It's amazing how we can become addicted to certain things and avoid the realization of that addiction, simply because we don't want to deal with it. Today there are actual several really good options for helping you kick any bad habits and manage any addiction you might have as this book discusses in detail. Check it out by picking up this book today. It's fantastic! One of my faves! I want to give it out to any addicted person who is willing to pick up a book to read. It should be delivered to all prisons!
January 17, 2013
Lawford's latest book stands as one of the best mass market books on addiction and recovery to come out in the last few years. Several features make this a strong read.
For starters, he makes it a point to bring in a variety of top experts in the field such as Tom McLellan (former director of the ONDCP and a very respected authority), Dr. Andrea Barthwell, Dr. Drew Pinsky, Dr. Howard Shafer, Dr. Nora Volkow (director of NIDA), Dr. Bob DuPont (first director of NIDA) among many, many others. He quotes these experts directly as he reviews the statistics and the evidence behind what we know about addictions and their treatments. As expert on addictions myself, I've reviewed many books on addiction and recovery. This book stands out in that (for a mass market book) it's heavily referenced with solid citations and credible sources. There are so many books on addiction and recovery that it can be hard to know what to believe. This book's citations, quotes and expert insights lend significant gravitas.
He connects various "toxic compulsions" (his term) such as alcohol, drugs, eating disorders, gambling and porn and explores their similarities and differences. Although his proposed/reviewed solutions for these conditions are weighted towards 12-step approaches, he reviews other methods as well. To be fair, since those approaches are more widely available and utilized, I don't begrudge him for that. He also takes to task non-evidence-based methods (such as the "scientifically decorated shamanism" often practiced in less developed nations) and provides a sound rejection of the view that addiction is a moral failing.(disclaimers: I am an addiction psychiatrist and former medical director of Hazelden, a 12-step oriented treatment center that is listed in the resources appendix, author of Craving: Why We Can't Seem to Get Enough , and I know many of the experts cited in this book).
The first half of the book reviews the various addictions, and the second half focuses on what works to help the sufferers. I'm pleased that he also reviews the affected, not just the afflicted (families, loved ones, etc). He is thorough in his treatment of this topic, even looking at cultural issues and barriers (for example, he writes about the particular challenges for Hispanic families).
One of the most valuable suggestions of the book, if not the most valuable, are the "seven self-care tools with proven benefits." These are cognitive-behavioral therapy (or CBT), 12-step programs/other groups, Mindfulness, Meditation, Nutrition and Exercise, Body Work and Journaling. Although there are other evidence-supported tools that are useful, he covers many of the major ones and even reviews the evidence behind them, again, citing many experts with whom he communicated directly.
Given the author's background/family, I think you would expect an exploration of the public policy implications of the findings that are reviewed in the book. His discussion of the "Global Recovery Initiative" advocates for policy changes that make sense and are scientifically supported (integrate addiction services into primary care, eliminate barriers to recovery that are created by legacy/discriminatory policies and advocate for evidence-based strategies that support access to and maintenance of recovery).
Finally, the appendices are essentially a reference guide to drugs, treatments and recovery resources, and are fairly comprehensive.
The book is worth it for the preface, foreword, introduction and appendices alone. It's very accessible/readable, avoids technical jargon, and provides a really excellent review of what we know about addictions and recovery from them. I strongly recommend it as one of the best books on this topic to come out in several years.
Omar S. Manejwala, M.D.
Author of Craving: Why We Can't Seem to Get Enough
For starters, he makes it a point to bring in a variety of top experts in the field such as Tom McLellan (former director of the ONDCP and a very respected authority), Dr. Andrea Barthwell, Dr. Drew Pinsky, Dr. Howard Shafer, Dr. Nora Volkow (director of NIDA), Dr. Bob DuPont (first director of NIDA) among many, many others. He quotes these experts directly as he reviews the statistics and the evidence behind what we know about addictions and their treatments. As expert on addictions myself, I've reviewed many books on addiction and recovery. This book stands out in that (for a mass market book) it's heavily referenced with solid citations and credible sources. There are so many books on addiction and recovery that it can be hard to know what to believe. This book's citations, quotes and expert insights lend significant gravitas.
He connects various "toxic compulsions" (his term) such as alcohol, drugs, eating disorders, gambling and porn and explores their similarities and differences. Although his proposed/reviewed solutions for these conditions are weighted towards 12-step approaches, he reviews other methods as well. To be fair, since those approaches are more widely available and utilized, I don't begrudge him for that. He also takes to task non-evidence-based methods (such as the "scientifically decorated shamanism" often practiced in less developed nations) and provides a sound rejection of the view that addiction is a moral failing.(disclaimers: I am an addiction psychiatrist and former medical director of Hazelden, a 12-step oriented treatment center that is listed in the resources appendix, author of Craving: Why We Can't Seem to Get Enough , and I know many of the experts cited in this book).
The first half of the book reviews the various addictions, and the second half focuses on what works to help the sufferers. I'm pleased that he also reviews the affected, not just the afflicted (families, loved ones, etc). He is thorough in his treatment of this topic, even looking at cultural issues and barriers (for example, he writes about the particular challenges for Hispanic families).
One of the most valuable suggestions of the book, if not the most valuable, are the "seven self-care tools with proven benefits." These are cognitive-behavioral therapy (or CBT), 12-step programs/other groups, Mindfulness, Meditation, Nutrition and Exercise, Body Work and Journaling. Although there are other evidence-supported tools that are useful, he covers many of the major ones and even reviews the evidence behind them, again, citing many experts with whom he communicated directly.
Given the author's background/family, I think you would expect an exploration of the public policy implications of the findings that are reviewed in the book. His discussion of the "Global Recovery Initiative" advocates for policy changes that make sense and are scientifically supported (integrate addiction services into primary care, eliminate barriers to recovery that are created by legacy/discriminatory policies and advocate for evidence-based strategies that support access to and maintenance of recovery).
Finally, the appendices are essentially a reference guide to drugs, treatments and recovery resources, and are fairly comprehensive.
The book is worth it for the preface, foreword, introduction and appendices alone. It's very accessible/readable, avoids technical jargon, and provides a really excellent review of what we know about addictions and recovery from them. I strongly recommend it as one of the best books on this topic to come out in several years.
Omar S. Manejwala, M.D.
Author of Craving: Why We Can't Seem to Get Enough
February 16, 2013
I am really glad that I am reading this book. Both my husband and I have addicts in our family tree, and have lost loved ones to addiction. In my ignorance, I have in the past tried to "help" these loved ones. But I had done very little reading on the subject. I have recently tried to begin educating myself on the topic, and this book is the most helpful one so far. First off, it covers the mechanism of addiction and thus can help you understand any addiction- drugs, alcohol, gambling, smoking, sex, eating disorders, etc. Secondly it is written for either the addict or a loved one concerned about the addict. Finally, it contains very little religious or "pray over it/higher power " crud, which I consider useless. It contains science, stats, medicine, and facts. I am devouring the book and I wish I had read something like it years sooner. I might have actually known how to help. At the very least I would have understood what the addicts in my life were facing.
February 27, 2013
This book helped me reach a 30-day mark completely smoke free, so of course I recommend it to anyone dealing with addiction! I read the sections on smoking, nicotine, general drug abuse, recovery and self treatment. Each section offers commentary from noted professionals in the study of drug abuse, compulsive behaviors and therapies. This book helped me understand the science of addiction, and introduced me to resources I can use to make sure I remain smoke free for the rest of my life.
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February 4, 2013The bottom line of the book is that science has discovered that the brain has neuroplasticity, which means new pathways can be forged with new behaviors - but it's not easy to do. Lawford recommends a multi-pronged approach to recovery and that seems like the most likely thing to work. It worked for Robert Downey Jr.!
February 24, 2013
When I saw this book being discussed on the Today show I thought it sounded interesting. After reading it though, I found it to be overly long and a bit repetitive. The most interesting points to me were the statistics on the various types of addictions (Drug, Tobacco, Alcohol, etc.) and the relationships between addictions.
January 26, 2022
Outstanding read!
Excellent insight into the disease of addiction. Information is well substantiated by experts in the field. Above all, the resources shared are quite beneficial for those seeking or who are in recovery.
Excellent insight into the disease of addiction. Information is well substantiated by experts in the field. Above all, the resources shared are quite beneficial for those seeking or who are in recovery.
Want to read
March 13, 2018362.29
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews