Book Review of Roland William’s “Recovery Is A Verb”

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MEDIA: Book Recommendation –

January 15, 2020 – The book is divided into four separate but interrelated parts, each dealing with different aspects crucial to getting and staying clean and sober.

Each chapter has detailed writing assignments designed to encourage the reader (addict/alcoholic) to dig deep and uncover their personal using history, motivation, triggers and feelings.

Chapter 1 starts out with one assignment – get a journal. My journey to sobriety also began with a journal-of which now I have dozens. Interestingly journey and journal have the same root, “jour” which means “day” in French. Recovery is achieved “one ‘jour’ at a time”

In Chapter 2, Mr. Williams addresses one of the addict/alcoholics most critical but ignored needs – self-care. “Many people will stop using drugs and alcohol and turn to food, caffeine, sugar, nicotine or otherwise abuse or neglect their physical health”. Chapter 2 invites the reader to take an in-depth look at the other ways he/she has been self-inflicting damage.

Relationships in Recovery are the topic of Chapter 3. As Mr. Williams explains … “relationships are the graduate level of recovery. To help determine the difference between healthy and unhealthy ones I found the lists on p. 51 very instructive. The rest of the chapter also deals with family of origin questions and writing prompts, each of which is ultimately designed to help the reader “uncover, discover and discard, ” in order to establish and form healthy, happy unions with other humans.

“You don’t get a ticket from the cop that you see” (p. 88.) Chapter Four deals with warning signs of relapse and how to make the changes necessary to protect one’s recovery. I found Chapter 4 very detailed, instructive and chock full of information on relapse and how to avoid it. According to Mr. Williams, one of the biggest causes of relapse is the abuse of prescription medication. (p. 103). Besides the usual opioid and benzos, there’s also an extensive list of OTC medications that can trigger drug related feelings.

Recovery Is A Verb is an invaluable resource for anyone in recovery, regardless of whether they are in a 12-Step program, SMART recovery, Refuge Recovery, or the faith based programs, like Celebrate Recovery available.