When You Love Someone in Recovery: A Hopeful Guide to Understanding Addiction

Addiction recovery advocate Beidler (Downstairs Church) provides a down-to-earth guide for readers with loved ones in addiction recovery. She frames recovery as a process that rests on four core pillars: hope (research shows that “when family members believe in and have hope for their loved ones, they are more likely to maintain recovery”); physical, emotional, and spiritual wellness (a strong faith identity promotes resilience and a solid sense of self); community; and giving back to others. Using that framework, addicts can construct an individual path to recovery that fosters fulfillment and renders addiction less necessary as a coping mechanism. Along the way, the author wisely reminds readers that recovery isn’t “one size fits all,” and provides valuable clarification on how to support a loved one with addiction without “enabling” their harmful habits. (Small acts, like providing a hot meal, “assure our family member or other loved one that no matter what happens, we know there is a pathway of change waiting for them once they are ready to take action.”) This compassionate, gently faith-infused guide will inform and empower friends and family of those suffering from addiction. (Apr.)