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    The Essence of Twelve Step Recovery: Take It to Heart
    The Essence of Twelve Step Recovery: Take It to Heart
    The Essence of Twelve Step Recovery: Take It to Heart
    Ebook92 pages1 hour

    The Essence of Twelve Step Recovery: Take It to Heart

    By Damian McElrath

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    About this ebook

    The Essence of Twelve Step Recovery: Take It to Heart, was written in gratitude to the Jellinek patients at Hazelden, whose lives, struggles and pain are witness to what spirituality is all about. Dedicated to Sandy McElrath, Damian's wife of 26 years, the book defines spirituality and the essence of Twelve Step living--and the essence of Hazelden.McElrath begins his Hazelden-published book with a quote from the Big Book: "The spiritual life is not a theory. We have to live it." (Alcoholics Anonymous, page 83). He goes on to eloquently provide his view of spiritual fitness. "The person seeking recovery must reconnect with his true self, with others, and with his Higher Power--the God of his understanding," he writes.He addresses "the spiritual protocols of recovery" in separate self-contained chapters: (1) The Community, (2) The Spirituality of Addiction, (3) The Twelve Steps--Relational Spirituality, (4) Benchmarks for Spiritual Growth, and (5) The Cultivation of the Interior Life.Gail Gleason Milgram, EdD, director of the Center for Alcohol Studies at Rutgers University, endorses the book: "Damian is a born teacher. He presents complicated and difficult content in a clear and concise fashion. He helps the reader understand that 'the heart of what makes us human/spiritual beings is our search for integrity, purpose and meaning.' This book is a gift to all who are in search of the meaning of life."Says Craig Nakken, author of The Addictive Personality: "Damian has written a simple but profound guide for addicts that goes to the very heart of what is needed for recovery. The book has purpose and meaning beyond its pages. It's a must read for those looking to embrace or deepen their recovery. Follow the spiritual protocol!"
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHazelden Publishing
    Release dateNov 5, 2013
    ISBN9781616495497
    The Essence of Twelve Step Recovery: Take It to Heart

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      Book preview

      The Essence of Twelve Step Recovery - Damian McElrath

      Damian McElrath is a born teacher; he presents complicated and difficult content in a clear and simple fashion. Thank you, Damian, for writing this book! It is a gift to all who are in search of the meaning of life.

      —GAIL GLEASON MILGRAM, ED.D.

      Professor/Director, Education and Training Division, Rutgers University Center of Alcohol Studies

      "Damian McElrath, a man with much integrity, has put together a simple but profound guide for addicts that goes to the very heart of what is needed for recovery. The Essence of Twelve Step Recovery has purpose and meaning beyond its pages. It’s a must read for those looking to embrace or deepen their recovery."

      —CRAIG NAKKEN, M.S.W.

      Author of The Addictive Personality

      A terrific book! Damian McElrath has wonderfully captured the heartfelt journey that all of us in recovery must make, from the isolation and despair of addiction to the deeper connection to God, community, and a life of meaning and purpose.

      —JOHN CURTISS

      President, The Retreat

      Addiction may be a brain illness, but living with it requires (to paraphrase Jung) a spiritual upheaval. I have such a great respect for the fragility of the wounded heart ever-so-slightly opening to the idea of not being alone, not being afraid, not being on the outside, letting someone IN. As Damian McElrath so aptly puts it, few church services or rituals are equipped to penetrate the walls so many of us build. Yet, time after time, I have, just as Damian has, observed the most hardened soul within hours of being on a treatment unit drape his arms around the shoulders or hold the hand of another addict at the end of a group meeting, mouthing the words of a prayer they aren’t sure they get." I am certain that The Essence of Twelve Step Recovery will help those who come close enough in their journey to reach for it—which I believe will be many."

      —MIKE SCHIKS, M.S., ACATA

      Executive Director/CEO, Project Turnabout Addiction Recovery Center

      The Essence of Twelve Step Recovery

      Hazelden Publishing

      Center City, Minnesota 55012

      800-328-9000

      hazelden.org/bookstore

      ©2008 by Damian McElrath

      All rights reserved. Published 2008

      No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise—without the express written permission of the publisher. Failure to comply with these terms may expose you to legal action and damages for copyright infringement.

      ISBN: 978-1-61649-549-7

      Editor’s note

      The names, details, and circumstances may have been changed to protect the privacy of those mentioned in this publication.

      Alcoholics Anonymous, AA, and the Big Book are registered trademarks of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.

      Cover design by David Spohn

      Interior design by David Swanson

      To Sandy,

      loving wife and gentle critic

      Contents

      From the Author

      Foreword

      Introduction

      Chapter 1: The Community

      Chapter 2: The Spirituality of Addiction

      Chapter 3: The Twelve Steps: Relational Spirituality

      Chapter 4: Benchmarks for Spiritual Growth

      Conclusion: The Cultivation of the Interior Life

      References

      About the Author

      From the Author

      The spiritual life is not a theory. We have to live it.

      ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, PAGE 83

      This book, The Essence of Twelve Step Recovery, is based on a series of four presentations that I developed for the patients of Jellinek, the long-term treatment unit at Hazelden, an alcohol and drug rehabilitation center located in Minnesota. The positive responses I received from patients about these lectures appeared genuine so I decided to write out my thoughts for myself, for the patients, and for anyone interested in getting an initial handle on AA spirituality in its relational dimension. However, my disclaimer is this: I am not an expert on spirituality.

      Many definitions and descriptions of spirituality have emerged in the three decades since I began working in the world of recovery. However, it would be foolish for anyone to claim expertise in a matter that is so personal and subjective. I can only offer here my interpretation of spiritual fitness in an honest fashion. Moreover, my task is made easier by focusing on the spirituality of the Twelve Steps and the statement from the Big Book that I have quoted above: "The spiritual life is not a theory. We have to live it."

      Foreword

      In The Essence of Twelve Step Recovery, Damian McElrath defines spirituality as relational. That is, spirituality is not found alone in the desert, isolated on the snowy peak of a mountain top, or even in solitude on the shore of the Aegean Sea, but surprisingly, it can be found at home in our relationships with each other. This view of spirituality is an unusual one to come across today in our American culture of wanderlust, self-sufficiency, and independence.

      McElrath believes that the spiritual path is best understood in the context of the world of dialogue with others. He even views the deeper Self as an a priori relationship, the first relationship upon which others are built, which in recovery we can develop or not. In fact, McElrath defines a triad of key relationships: self, others, and

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