The Recovery Book

 “A classic. Read it. Use it. It can help guide you step by step into the bright light of the world of recovery.”
—from the Foreword by Harry Haroutunian, M.D., Physician Director, Betty Ford Center
 
“The Recovery Book is the Bible of recovery. Everything you need to know you will find in here.”
—Neil Scott, host, Recovery Coast to Coast radio
 
Hope, support, and a clear road map for people with drug or alcohol addiction. Announcing a completely revised and updated second edition of The Recovery Book, the Bible of addiction recovery. The Recovery Book provides a direct and easy-to-follow road map to every step in the recovery process, from the momentous decision to quit to the emotional, physical, and spiritual issues that arise along the way. Its comprehensive and effective advice speaks to people with addiction, their loved ones, and addiction professionals who need a proven, trusted resource and a supportive voice.

This new edition features the revolutionary Recovery Zone System, which divides a life in recovery into three chronological zones and provides guidance on exactly what to do in each zone. First is the Red Zone, where the reader is encouraged to stop everything, activate their recovery and save their life. Next is the Yellow Zone, where the reader can begin to rebuild a life that was torn apart by addiction. Finally, the reader reaches the Green Zone, where they can enjoy a life of recovery and help others. And the Recovery Zone ReCheck is a simple and effective relapse prevention tool.  The Recovery Zone System works hand-in-hand with the 12-step philosophy and all other recovery methods.

The Recovery Book covers new knowledge about addiction mechanisms and neuroplasticity, explaining how alcohol and drugs alter the brain. The authors outline a simple daily practice, called TAMERS, that helps people to use those same processes to “remold their brains” around recovery, eventually making sobriety a routine way of life.

Written by Al J. Mooney, M.D., a recovery activist who speaks internationally on recovery, and health journalists Catherine Dold and Howard Eisenberg, The Recovery Book covers all the latest in addiction science and recovery methods. In 26 chapters and over 600 pages, The Recovery Book tackles issues such as:

• Committing to Recovery: Identifying and accepting the problem; deciding to get sober.
• Treatment Options: Extensive information on current options and how to choose a program.
• AA and other 12-Step Fellowships: How to get involved in a mutual-support group.
• Addiction Science and Neuroplasticity: How alcohol and drugs alter pathways in the brain, and how to remold the brain around recovery.
• Relapse Prevention: The Recovery Zone ReCheck, a simple new technique to anticipate and avoid relapses.
• Rebuilding Your Life: How to handle relationships, socializing, work, education, and finances.
• Physical and Mental Health: Tips for getting healthy and handling common ailments.
• Pain Control: How to deal with pain in recovery and avoid a relapse if you need pain control for medical care.
• Family and Friends: How to help a loved one with addiction, and how to help yourself.
• Raising Substance-Free Kids: How to “addiction-proof” your child. 
• The Epidemic of Prescription Drugs: Now a bigger problem than illegal drugs.

The Recovery Book will help millions gain control of their mind, their body, their life, and their happiness.

• “A classic. Read it. Use it. It can help guide you step by step into the bright light of the world of recovery.”
  —from the Foreword by Harry Haroutunian, M.D., Physician Director, Betty Ford Center
   
  “The Recovery Book is the Bible of recovery. Everything you need to know you will find in here.”
  —Neil Scott, host, Recovery Coast to Coast radio 
   
  “Every issue is addressed, always with hope and understanding, and often with direct suggestions promising relief...Nothing could be better."
  —from the first edition Foreword by Stanley E. Gitlow, M.D., Clinical Professor of Medicine, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine
   
  “There are still untold numbers of people affected by the disease of alcoholism or drug addiction not knowing where to turn for help. The Recovery Book offers them one of the best lifesaving guides to a solution and a meaningful way of life.”
  —William G. Borchert, author and screenwriter; screenwriter - My Name is Bill W.
   
  “Recovery, emancipation from chemical slavery, is a joyful miracle that must be earned one person at a time on a long and challenging journey. This is a valuable guidebook for that journey.”
  —Robert L. DuPont, MD, First Director, National Institute on Drug Abuse; President, Institute for Behavior and Health; Author of The Selfish Brain -- Learning from Addiction 
   
  “Dr. Mooney has updated the life-saving Recovery Book with the latest scientific findings, clinical experience, and a big dose of the unique wisdom hard-earned in recovery. My patients have been my teachers for decades; I have observed that long-term, stable recovery comes with making the deliberate choice to love, to work, to play. Patients need his guide to recovery that is both brilliant in its simplicity and easy to implement in order to save, build, and live their lives to the fullest. Mooney shows that knowing without doing is never enough.”
  —Andrea G. Barthwell, MD, FASAM; Director, Two Dreams; Former Deputy Director for Demand Reduction, Office of National Drug Control Policy
   
  “One of the top clinicians in the field of addictive disease, Dr. Al Mooney has a firm understanding that treatment of addiction begins the day the patient achieves sobriety. His Recovery Zone System provides a unique and useful approach that, if followed closely, will likely result in a longstanding recovery for his patients - and readers.”
  —Stuart Gitlow, MD, MPH, MBA; Executive Director, Annenberg Physician Training Program in Addictive Disease; Associate Clinical Professor, Mount Sinai School of Medicine; President AMA Delegate, American Society of Addiction Medicine
   
  “A clear, accurate, and comprehensive resource—for patients, their families, and helping professionals.”
  —Anthony B. Radcliffe, M.D., former president, American Society of Addiction Medicine