The Gift Of Addiction

What if your greatest affliction—your addiction—has really been your greatest gift? The Gift of Addiction offers you a new understanding of how addiction operates, why you are walking its path, and the purpose for it in your life, providing you with the comfort of knowing that you possess all the necessary components to arrive at a place where you are able to create a life beyond your wildest dreams. Within these pages you will discover the vast spiritual intelligence behind the “disease” yet to be understood in our society, and author Sherry Burditt, RN, HN-BC, explains how our current addictions epidemic is the precursor to a new discovery and human transformation. Sherry Burditt has truly given us an important gift. From cover to cover, The Gift of Addiction contains a vast amount of practical, beneficial, and illuminating information with a storyteller’s grace and a clinician’s insight. It has been masterfully researched, eloquently written, and deeply felt. —Tina Haney, RN, BSN The Gift of Addiction offers an enlightened view of healing addiction through a deep understanding of the seven energy centers in the spine—the chakras. Sherry offers practical techniques that holistically incorporate healing of mind, body, and spirit. She provides a spiritual, “heart-based” approach that aligns us to the invincible soul within, and reawakens our knowing that our lives are divinely guided, guarded, and protected by the God of our understanding. —Patricia Fleming, CAcT, RYT, CMT, CRT

You did it again. You drank. You got high. You slept with him/her. You surfed the Internet. What gift could you possibly find in so much failure? But when your helplessness drives you to turn to God and admit your need, you will experience the greatest gift of all—his presence, his kindness, his forgiveness and his peace. Author Erik Guzman ...

About the Book Trouble Is a Gift is the story of a recovered alcoholic who humbly asked for help in finding a purpose and meaning in his life, whose prayer was answered, and who then turned his dream into a reality devoted to the care and treatment of millions of sick and suffering addicts and alcoholics. James S. Cusack, alcoholic, caregiver, and astute businessman, recounts his inner struggles and self-doubt, the stages of his recovery from alcohol addiction, and the moment of clarity when his mission came to light and he saw how, with the help of God and a Twelve-Step program, he could fulfill his purpose. Cusack writes with candor and sincerity of his early upbringing in Manhattan, his family s move to Queens, and his boyhood as a tough street kid; then takes us through his difficult times in the U.S. Air Force, where he discovered the therapeutic value of discipline; and through the hard-drinking years that followed his Honorable Discharge and led to his sobriety. In the early years of his recovery, Jim focused mainly on getting sober, working and enjoying success in the trucking business and insurance sales. In time, he began helping others to sober up, meeting with them in the back room of a candy store in Astoria, Queens, and touching their lives with the love, warmth, and honesty that had been given to him. Feeling an ever-greater need to find his mission in life, in 1965, Jim brought his prayer for direction to the Shrine of North American Martyrs, in Auriesville, New York. Shortly thereafter, his prayer was answered when he was hired to manage Glen Acre Lodge in Glen Spey, NY, one of the very earliest retreat centers for alcoholics. As the success of his work gained attention, Jim became part-owner of the Lodge and landed his first big account with the New York City Police Department with the help of Msgr. Joseph Dunn, who developed the Department s Employee Assistance Program. In time, fireman, sanitation workers, and other city employees suffering from alcoholism were also sent to Jim for help getting sober. Jim s story continues through numerous twists, turns, and fateful encounters, including his first meeting with Sue, now his wife and partner in his life work, and several changes of location before coming upon the resort in the Catskills that is now known as Villa Veritas. About the Author A pioneer in the field of chemical dependency treatment, James S. Cusack, CASAC, NCAC II, NCRS, offers his story as an example to all those brave individuals determined to overcome obstacles and turn liabilities into assets. Himself a recovered alcoholic of 60 years, Jim learned through helping other alcoholics find their way to sobriety that the gift is in the giving, and made his service his career. In his 50 years working with those suffering from chemical dependency, Jim has received countless honors acknowledging his groundbreaking accomplishments. In 1981, he and his wife Sue closed on the purchase of a Catskill resort which, through their dedicated efforts, has become Villa Veritas. In 2011, Jim and Sue established the Villa Veritas Foundation, Inc., to safeguard their mission and carry on a 40-year legacy of helping and caring for the chemically dependent. Jim serves as chairman of the board of Villa Veritas Foundation, Inc., and Sue, as Foundation president. They are committed to maintaining their hands-on, individualized approach to ensure that each of the thousands of alcoholics and addicts who pass through the Villa every year receives the love, care, and opportunity to find a new life in recovery he or she deserves. Jim, at age 83, continues to do what every recovered alcoholic with a mission should be doing: He s living one day at a time, and planning his next endeavor.

Inspiring stories from those who encountered life-changing blessings from seemingly unimportant events. "Why try?" we sometimes ask ourselves when faced with the uncertainties and hard work of recovery. But the answers are all around us, in the rich and spirited lives of those who have made the journey before us, each one a member of the joyful possibilities that await. These possibilities come alive in Gifts of Sobriety, a book that gives immediate meaning to the Big Book's promise: "We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness." In this book, Gifts of Sobriety, those who have freed themselves of alcohol or drug addiction share the gifts that sobriety has given them. Their stories are, in turn, a gift--for those who have made the journey and for those who, just embarking, seek gladdening news of the good life to come

Presenting addiction as a universal experience, Dr. Bucklew invites us not to stigmatize or narrowly define it. Whether we turn to heroin, food, or compulsive thought, at the heart of all addiction lies the same dynamic: an unseen resistance to our present moment experience. The Hidden Gifts of Addiction draws our deeper wisdom to the surface. Instead of trading one addiction for another, you will discover a way of living that is freeing and life-affirming, even amid craving and challenge.

Addiction recovery doesn't happen all at once-it's something that must be worked for, every day. Written by two mindfulness and addiction experts, The Gift of Recovery offers quick, in-the-moment tips and tricks to help readers cope with daily stress and stay firmly on the path to wellness. With this gentle, easy-to-use guide, readers will learn how to navigate relationships, take time for self-care, and build a mindful, sustainable, and joyful recovery.

What if your addiction isn't a punishment or a curse? What if your addiction is a precious opportunity, granted to a select few, to achieve the kind of life that most people only dream of? In The Gift of Addiction, 30-year recovery veteran Steven C. presents a case for this novel perspective. This booklet examines the many ways in which a history of addiction, coupled with a decision to recover from that condition, equips us with a set of skills and understandings that improve our chances for a life of meaning, purpose, and joy. The Gift of Addiction is a handbook for reframing life in recovery from a prison sentence to a Golden Ticket.

The author of Reality Therapy and Take Effective Control of Your Life shows readers how to gain strength and self-esteem through positive behavior.

Gold Winner of The 2019 Living Now Book Award (Self-Help) Gold Winner of The 2019 Human Relations Indie Book Award (Recovery) Silver Winner of The 2018 Nautilus Book Award (Personal Growth) Silver Winner of The 2019 IPBA Benjamin Franklin Book Award (Self-Help) If you're recovering from addiction, The Gift of Recovery offers quick, in-the-moment tips and tricks to help you cope with daily stress and stay firmly on the path to wellness. With this gentle, easy-to-use guide, you’ll learn how to navigate relationships, take time for self-care, and build a mindful, sustainable, and joyful recovery. Deciding to get help for addiction is the first step toward recovery. But addiction recovery doesn’t happen all at once—it’s something that must be worked for, every day. Sometimes, it will be easy. When things are going well, you may not be tempted to give in to your cravings. But when life is stressful, you’ll need strategies to help you cope. Written by the authors of The Mindfulness Workbook for Addiction, this on-the-go mindfulness guide offers fifty-two powerful and effective meditations to help you manage the stress, depression, and strong emotions that can get in the way of a full and lasting recovery. You’ll also find skills based in cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to help you stay grounded, as well as links to online resources. Deciding to overcome an addiction can feel like leaving a relationship. It’s hard and sometimes lonely—but it is truly an act of courage. This book will help guide you as you continue making courageous steps toward peace, joy, and fulfillment. This book has been selected as an Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Self-Help Book Recommendation—an honor bestowed on outstanding self-help books that are consistent with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) principles and that incorporate scientifically tested strategies for overcoming mental health difficulties. Used alone or in conjunction with therapy, our books offer powerful tools readers can use to jump-start changes in their lives.

This inspirational memoir shares one man's journey through addiction, recovery, and the eventual realization that God is his savior. Mitchell Green has been to hell and back. For more than thirty years, demonic forces intertwined within him, tearing his life apart, testing his sanity, and destroying every good thing he ever found, created, or was given. In his moving testimony, Green shares his inspiring life story of addiction and of the glorious heights to which a soul has the potential to riseeven after its descent into darkness. In his candid portrayal of life before, during, and after addiction, Green recalls sitting in drug dens, his face sunken, skin ashen, eyes wild, and pumping cocaine into his systemall while wondering where he would find the money for his next hit. Most of all, Green remembers running. But when he was charged with assault during a robbery, the running stoppedat least for the next eleven years. As Green shares the challenging journey of his recovery, he describes the joyless process that it became until the voice of a loving God spoke to his suffering soul and revealed his true identity. The Gods of Addiction is an inspirational story about the power of the gods of addiction to destroy lives and the power of God to save them.