Books about addictions:
Addiction and Grace: Love and Spirituality in the Healing of Addictions (Plus)
Gerald G. May$14.95(USD)
Addiction and Grace offers an inspiring and hope–filled vision for those who desire to explore the mystery of who and what they really are. May examines the "processes of attachment" that lead to addiction and describes the relationship between addiction and spiritual awareness. He also details the various addictions from which we can suffer, not only to substances like alcohol and drugs, but to work, sex, performance, responsibility, and intimacy.
Drawing on his experience as a psychiatrist working with the chemically dependent, May emphasizes that addiction represents an attempt to assert complete control over our lives. Addiction and Grace is a compassionate and wise treatment of a topic of major concern in these most addictive of times, one that can provide a critical yet hopeful guide to a place of freedom based on contemplative spirituality.
Addiction
$24.98(USD)
This groundbreaking HBO series teams some of America's foremost experts on the vexing problem of addiction with some of the most talented documentary filmmakers working. The result,
Addiction, is a riveting pastiche of short spotlights on the deep wounds, scars, and battles affecting the growing numbers of people plagued with addictions, especially to drugs and alcohol. In
A Mother's Desperation by
Grey Gardens co-filmmaker Albert Maysles and Susan Froemke, a Pittsburgh mom is wrung nearly dry in her frantic attempt to keep her daughter alive through her horrifying addiction to opiates. At one point, she resorts to having her arrested: the ultimate in tough love. Other segments look at the devastation wreaked by alcohol, that most sanctioned of social drugs, and how people in varying social and economic strata have tried (and in some cases, failed) to overcome their heart-breaking diseases. A lot of emphasis is given to medical solutions and research, and less to some methods with very established success records (notably, Alcoholics Anonymous and other 12-step groups). But the filmmakers may have felt the work of A.A. has been explored deeply over the years, and also doesn't necessarily work as a film subject. The ones they have chosen to focus on, including struggling teens, insurance lapses, workplace stigma, etc., are gripping enough.
The set comes with even more intense and deeply reported footage (more than four hours' worth of extras) including interviews with addiction experts, and fascinating brain research that shows how the flawed addict brain reacts. There's also a helpful paper guide to the series, with talking points, which can make the series a useful tool for health professionals, teachers, 12-step groups, and even families who are desperate to understand this often baffling condition. It's not a breezy experience, but watching Addiction will surely change hearts and minds of those touched by one of the most destructive conditions in modern life. --A.T. Hurley
Ritual de lo Habitual
Jane's Addiction$11.98(USD)
By far Jane's Addiction's best album,
Ritual De Lo Habitual is chock full of songs that are both catchy and experimental. The singles "Stop" and "Been Caught Stealing" are good examples; "No One's Leaving" has a nice funk edge with some busy guitar work, and "Ain't No Right" and "Obvious" are strong as well. Unfortunately, "Three Days" and "Then She Did . . ." are overlong and get bogged down well short of halfway through, but the album finishes strongly with "Of Course" and "Classic Girl". Jane's Addiction's funk-punk-rock mix is appealing, and never more so than on this album. --
Genevieve Williams
Facing Love Addiction: Giving Yourself the Power to Change the Way You Love
Pia Mellody$16.95(USD)
The author of the bestselling Facing Codependence unravels the intricate dynamics of toxic love relationships and shows us how to let go of toxic love. In this revised and updated edition of Facing Love Addiction, internationally recognised dependence and addiction authority Pia Mellody clearly outlines the debilitating 'toxic' patterns played out by love addicts and the unresponsive love avoidants to whom they are painfully and repeatedly drawn.
Addiction: Why Can't They Just Stop?
$25.95(USD)
This companion book to the HBO documentary of the same name sheds light on the hidden American epidemic of addiction. Blending compelling personal narratives with statistics and expert opinion, all gleaned from over two years of research and reporting, ADDICTION offers a comprehensive and provocative look at the impact of chemical dependency on addicts, their loved ones, society, and the economy. Breaking the stigma that addicts are simply weak and immoral, it delves into new brain research proving that drugs and alcohol change the chemical composition of addicts' brains, making it veritably impossible for them to quit. The nation's top experts persuasively argue that the time has come for the blame to stop and the healing to begin.
ADDICTION also features material not included in the documentary: testimonials, original graphics and images, additional elaboration on theories and treatments of addiction, and more. Featuring a foreword by Sheila Nevins, the president of Documentary and Family Programming at HBO, an afterward by the best-selling author Susan Cheever, and the writing of David Sheff, this book is essential reading for anyone who has been impacted by what is now realized to be a very real and widespread disease.
Nothing's Shocking
Jane's Addiction$11.98(USD)
Though the songs aren't quite as good as those on
Ritual De Lo Habitual, this album is much more consistent, with a heavy rock-funk-punk mix that's a pleasure to hear. The slower songs (especially "Summertime Rolls" and "Jane Says") work well, while the up-tempo material--in particular the closer "Pig's in Zen"--is both catchy and ambitious. It's a fine album overall, and if the band's Zeppelin-ward aspirations don't quite work, their music is still quite good in its own right. --
Genevieve Williams
Treating Pornography Addiction: The Essential Tools for Recovery
Ph.D. Kevin B. Skinner$14.95(USD)
This book carefully walks someone struggling with porngraphy through the steps to recovery. This book begins with how pornography becomes a problem in the mind and how it becomes addictive. Then it teaches the reader how to rewrite the patterns in the mind. It closes with the key steps of recovery.