Empowering Your Sober Self:
Frequently Asked Questions |
Q: How much does the book cost?
A: The publisher has set the
price at $19.95. But you can get it online from
LifeRing Press for
$13.50 plus
sales tax (if applicable) and shipping/handling. |
Q: Will it be out in hardback or paper?
A: Paper, 262 pages, standard 7" x 10" trade format. |
Q: When can I get a copy?
A: Now!
Click this. |
Q: Who's the publisher?
A: Jossey-Bass, a division of John Wiley & Sons,
Publishers. See the listing for
Empowering Your Sober Self on
the publisher's web site
here. |
Q: Is this the first or only book about LifeRing?
A: It is the first book about LifeRing issued by a commercial
publisher. Two earlier books about LifeRing
are in print, issued by nonprofit
LifeRing Press. They
are
Recovery by Choice, a 300-p. workbook, and
How Was Your Week?, a 250-p. handbook for LifeRing
meeting facilitators. Both are available exclusively
direct from
LifeRing Press. |
Q: Is this primarily the story of one individual's
recovery -- you know, the usual sinner-redemption formula?
A: No. It's a book about what addiction does to
many people's lives, and about different roads to recovery. There's a bit of the author's own story
in the Intro, but there are also dozens of short stories
about and/or by other LifeRing participants, and the book
cites a great deal of research to paint the larger picture. |
Q: Is this book addressed to treatment professionals,
or to people who are trying to get free of addictive
substances?
A: It's addressed to both, but primarily to people
starting out on the road to freedom from addictive
substances, and their family and friends. In
treatment lingo, it's client-centered.
Empowering Your Sober Self
reports on a lot of research and has extensive references,
but it's written for a general audience, and does not have
the style of an academic text. |
Q: What qualifies the author to write this book?
A: The author has been free of addictive
substances since Oct. 2, 1992. He's one of the
founding members and the current CEO of LifeRing. You
can look up his education and other publications
here. The book also contains
short contributions by more than 20 LifeRing participants
who speak from their own experiences and investigations. |
Q: Is the author available as a speaker?
A: Yes. Contact the author
here. It's not hard getting him
to speak. He's a lawyer. It's hard getting him to
stop. |
Q: Will this book help me get sober?
A: It might, if you put its ideas into practice.
It's designed as an introduction. If you want to get
more deeply into recovery work, you can step up to the
Recovery by Choice workbook. |
Q: Will this book help me start a LifeRing meeting?
A: It has enough information to get you moving.
But it's meant as an introduction. If you want to get
more deeply into the project, you can read
How Was Your Week? |
Q: If I just want to cut down, or drink/use at a
moderate level, is this the book for me?
A: Moderation works for some people, but this is a
book for people who are looking beyond moderation or who
have decided that moderation does not work for them.
More than nine out of ten people who decide that they must
do something about their drinking/using opt for abstinence.
This book embraces and supports the abstinence option. |
|
Q: I've heard that LifeRing is
only for atheists or
agnostics. Is this true?
A: No, it's false. LifeRing includes people with all different degrees
of belief and disbelief. About 40 per cent of LifeRing
participants in a recent
membership survey report that they attend church (or
synagogue, etc.). That's about even with or higher than the national
average. Our meetings are free of any religious or
anti-religious component. They're much like meetings
of WeightWatchers® or similar groups, where people's
religious beliefs aren't relevant and remain private during
the meeting.
|
Q: Where can I find out more about LifeRing?
A: The
unhooked.com (lifering.org) website is a great place to
start. For example, there's an
FAQ page. And check out
the brochures, pamphlets, and books at
LifeRing Press. But
the best way to find out about LifeRing is to participate in
a meeting, either online (here)
or face to face (here). |
Q: Is LifeRing against AA?
A: Not at all. Many people find a way to
stay clean and sober in AA and other 12-step organizations,
and that's great. However, most people who check out AA
quickly walk away, and the majority of people who get and
stay sober long-term do it without AA. (This is
discussed in the book.) There are many roads to
recovery, and there is a definite need for a greater range
of support group and treatment options. Ideally,
persons starting recovery everywhere should have a choice of
12-step, LifeRing, and other flavors of support and
treatment. The broader the range of options, the
greater the number of people who will find success.
That's what the book advocates. |
Q: Is this book official LifeRing literature, in the
same way that certain AA publications are "Conference
Approved"?
A: No. The only official LifeRing literature to
date -- in the sense that it's been reviewed and adopted by
the annual LifeRing Delegates' Assembly (the LifeRing
Congress) -- is the
LifeRing Bylaws. Every other publication,
including Empowering Your Sober Self,
is unofficial and represents its author(s)' opinion. |
Q: How can I get a copy of
the book signed by the author?
A: LifeRing has a deal where if you donate $100 or
more to LifeRing, you'll get the signed book as a bonus. [Sorry,
that deal is closed now]. Or you
could attend an event where the author is speaking, such as
the 2009 LifeRing
Expo.
Check the website for
announcements. |
|
Have more questions you want to see answered in this
space? Contact the author.
|
