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Ordinary Recovery: Mindfulness, Addiction, and the Path of Lifelong Sobriety
The key to ongoing freedom from alcoholism or any other kind of addiction is right before us, here and now, in the ordinary and perfect present moment. The problem is that addictions are often the result of our efforts to escape living in the present in the first place. Bill Alexander’s unique approach uses mindfulness (a nonjudgmental awareness of our moment-to-moment experience), story, and meditation to help alcoholics and others learn to come back to the present moment and find healing there. Emerging scientific research suggests that mindfulness can help prevent addiction relapse.
Ordinary Recovery is a revised edition of Alexander’s book Cool Water , with a new foreword, a new preface by the author, updates throughout the book, and a new resources section.
Ordinary Recovery is a revised edition of Alexander’s book Cool Water , with a new foreword, a new preface by the author, updates throughout the book, and a new resources section.
- GenresAddiction
176 pages, Paperback
First published August 19, 1997
21 people are currently reading
93 people want to read
About the author
William Alexander
481 books35 followersNote: There are several authors by this name on Goodreads. This is William^Alexander.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 20, 2010
When I read the blurb for this book, I became excited. As a longtime member of AA I am always on the lookout for books that do not follow the Christian slant of the majority of AA related literature.
This book was a huge disappointment for me. From my perspective on 17+ years in the AA program, there is little of use in this book, to aide in recovery from alcoholism.
In the meeting rooms of the AA fellowship there is a term used when a share is too personal to be helpful to the fellow alcoholic sufferer. We call it a ‘drunk-a-log.’ Sadly, I find this book teetering on the edge of being such a share.
While there were small portions of the book where the author starts to connect the dots on how to use his philosophy to find recovery, they were too short and too buried in his personal memories to be of use to me.
The book shifts back and forth between Mr. Alexander’s drinking days, his childhood, his time spent studying Zen and his active Recovery in a confusing manner leaving the reader wondering when (if ever) he will come to the point.
As an example, he suggests to the reader the use of a recipe to cook rice mindfully. I do not know if this is a lesson taken from Zen practices, but the recipe is eerily similar to the one I use for preparing sushi rice. Preparing sushi rice is something that takes hours to accomplish properly, with or without the extra steps the author includes to “breath” during the preparation process. What eludes me is why this recipe, which will make wonderful fluffy and perfectly cooked rice, is included to teach mindfulness with little or no instruction on understanding the usefulness of said mindfulness.
I also strongly disagree with the author’s assessment that one becomes “recovered” and moves beyond needing to identify as an alcoholic. Alcoholism is a disease of mind and body. In my understanding one can never stop being an alcoholic any more than one can stop being a diabetic (disease of the body) or a schizophrenic (disease of the mind.) Both of these other conditions require constant attention and medication. To claim one is recovered and cease to follow prescribed treatments for either only causes the symptoms of the disease to again take over, the end-result being hospitalization and in worst case scenario – death. An alcoholic cannot get over being an alcoholic, the symptoms may be in remission, but the disease is always there.
A person picking up this book in the struggles with being newly sober will most likely be so confused as to find the contents meaningless in understanding how to achieve the mindfulness Mr. Alexander seems to think he is relaying. Someone more seasoned, such as myself, might be able to pick the useful bits out and translate them into practice, but they’re so deeply buried in autobiographical prose, I seriously doubt most readers will bother.
This book was a huge disappointment for me. From my perspective on 17+ years in the AA program, there is little of use in this book, to aide in recovery from alcoholism.
In the meeting rooms of the AA fellowship there is a term used when a share is too personal to be helpful to the fellow alcoholic sufferer. We call it a ‘drunk-a-log.’ Sadly, I find this book teetering on the edge of being such a share.
While there were small portions of the book where the author starts to connect the dots on how to use his philosophy to find recovery, they were too short and too buried in his personal memories to be of use to me.
The book shifts back and forth between Mr. Alexander’s drinking days, his childhood, his time spent studying Zen and his active Recovery in a confusing manner leaving the reader wondering when (if ever) he will come to the point.
As an example, he suggests to the reader the use of a recipe to cook rice mindfully. I do not know if this is a lesson taken from Zen practices, but the recipe is eerily similar to the one I use for preparing sushi rice. Preparing sushi rice is something that takes hours to accomplish properly, with or without the extra steps the author includes to “breath” during the preparation process. What eludes me is why this recipe, which will make wonderful fluffy and perfectly cooked rice, is included to teach mindfulness with little or no instruction on understanding the usefulness of said mindfulness.
I also strongly disagree with the author’s assessment that one becomes “recovered” and moves beyond needing to identify as an alcoholic. Alcoholism is a disease of mind and body. In my understanding one can never stop being an alcoholic any more than one can stop being a diabetic (disease of the body) or a schizophrenic (disease of the mind.) Both of these other conditions require constant attention and medication. To claim one is recovered and cease to follow prescribed treatments for either only causes the symptoms of the disease to again take over, the end-result being hospitalization and in worst case scenario – death. An alcoholic cannot get over being an alcoholic, the symptoms may be in remission, but the disease is always there.
A person picking up this book in the struggles with being newly sober will most likely be so confused as to find the contents meaningless in understanding how to achieve the mindfulness Mr. Alexander seems to think he is relaying. Someone more seasoned, such as myself, might be able to pick the useful bits out and translate them into practice, but they’re so deeply buried in autobiographical prose, I seriously doubt most readers will bother.
March 28, 2019
William Alexander is a highly, highly talented writer. He's a Buddhist addiction counselor and this book describes what recovery looks like from his perspective in language that flows like butter. There were more than a few times when I was reading this book when I had to stop myself, go back to the start of the sentence, and just admire how smooth his sentences were. He really inspires me to be a better writer.
But his book is about his way of recovery, which overlaps and conflicts with AA. His method is called "Ordinary Recovery" because the goal of recovery for him is the substitution of the world for his addiction. The ultimate aim of recovery is to appreciate the little miracles going around him all the time, like the sound of a dry, crunchy leaf underfoot or the way the wind blows an awning. Both the process of recovery and the result of recovery are ordinary, just as ordinary as drinking a glass of water. Glasses of water can be easy to overlook because they aren't thrilling, but with the right mindset, a glass of water can be a very beautiful and enriching thing. In his words, the problem with addiction isn't in the substances themselves but the minds of the drug/alcohol abusers. So the simple process of meditating, staying with your thoughts, and staying with reality moves you closer to Ordinary Recovery.
I really love this book. Nice, short, powerful, ordinary.
But his book is about his way of recovery, which overlaps and conflicts with AA. His method is called "Ordinary Recovery" because the goal of recovery for him is the substitution of the world for his addiction. The ultimate aim of recovery is to appreciate the little miracles going around him all the time, like the sound of a dry, crunchy leaf underfoot or the way the wind blows an awning. Both the process of recovery and the result of recovery are ordinary, just as ordinary as drinking a glass of water. Glasses of water can be easy to overlook because they aren't thrilling, but with the right mindset, a glass of water can be a very beautiful and enriching thing. In his words, the problem with addiction isn't in the substances themselves but the minds of the drug/alcohol abusers. So the simple process of meditating, staying with your thoughts, and staying with reality moves you closer to Ordinary Recovery.
I really love this book. Nice, short, powerful, ordinary.
April 22, 2016
One of the best recovery books I've read, Alexander offers his experience of discovering Buddhism while clashing with some of the dogma of A.A., including, but not limited to the aspects that require belief in a Christian god. His writing offers experience and insight without pandering, a rarity, I've found, in books on recovering from alcoholism.
April 3, 2017
Using the concept of Karma, instead of monotheistic recovery discourse ("God chose me and wanted to save me from ad.") is a satisfying concept. The author's discussion on addictive tendencies of the creative person helps us to contemplate about creativity once more. Creativity test in the book seems beneficial, too. However the book, with its expected language and metaphors, is a 3* book imho.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews