This is my newest book, publication in 2010, and is closest to my heart. The book contains dozens of potent true life addiction stories ranging from triumph over drug abuse to coping with the pitfalls of relapse and the challenges of recovery. Between the stories of those brave people who chose to submit their personal addiction take is one story from my son.
His journal is interwoven throughout the book. My words which echo his pain and personal journey can also be found as my husband and I witness our son's life drama. His journey is long and reeks with stains of alcohol. Like many others written here, his story is an incomplete play boasting glimpses of a warm loving soul trying to fight the frost of alcoholism.
As I begin the Introduction of this book, I write: Addicted or not, we all have stories to tell. Many recovering drug addicts and alcoholics are asked to write their inventory story while going through rehabilitation programs. These stories are sometimes called "drunk-alogs" or "drug-alogs." They try to share only to fumble with words that scratch paper like chalk on a board from years past. Sometimes words come easy, flowing a river of grit and filth covering the pages black. They see only words, words mixed with the flavor of a whiskey-sour or the last pin-drop of vodka settling in an empty bottle next to a slip of dust.
Addicted or not, we all have stories to tell. We tell how our skin crawls at the slightest scent of cigarette smoke or our aversions to kissing a drunk. We tell where our choices took us or how our life was lived without us. Whether stories from addicts or straight-chaired grannies, words keep us searching for truth and in the end, guide us toward that Something More.
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Tales of Addiction Synopsis
This book contains true grit bleeding tales told by people you will never meet but whose words will haunt you for months, years maybe. The contributors are not well known, they are not names you will recognize. The stories are written by every day people trying to stay straight and sober, and others written by loved ones searching for clues to the addiction game. Over two dozen addiction stories are presented, ranging from triumph over drug abuse to coping with the pitfalls of relapse and the challenges of recovery. Between the stories of those brave souls who chose to submit their personal addiction tale is one story from my son, Richard. His personal Journal is interwoven throughout the book and my own words are found next to my son’s echoing his pain and personal journey as I witness his life’s drama as an alcoholic.
The stories were collected for two years through web site
advertisements, workshops, and a “Call for Stories” bulletin. Some lines
jump off the pages to grip the reader’s heart and mind leading him
toward personal insight. Wry humor parts the reader’s lips with, “I am
addicted to anything I take twice and makes me feel good!” and “I went
to a party when I was eleven-years old and didn’t get back until I was
forty-five.” Poetry fills the heart with lines like, “Days seem to run
together like stitches on a hem” and “I turn trash into treasures, the
same way God did with me.” Still other passages fill the heart with
tears.
Tales of Addiction and Inspiration for Recovery offers deep insight into
ourselves and those we love. Between the potent stories, the reader
finds pertinent information surrounding addiction recovery which
presents an awareness of how the public can help those with drug or
alcohol addictions. Various literature is introduced which allows the
reader to discover how anyone of us can be of service to our addiction
population. Issues are addressed concerning Drug Courts, Integral or
Holistic treatment alternatives, the spiritual component in recovery,
appropriate intervention, and new findings in the area of addiction and
neuro-scientific research.
The target readership is the general adult population whether clean and
straight, addicted, or in recovery. This book is for anyone with an
interest in understanding the reality of drug and alcohol addiction; the
impact substance abuse has on our nation’s population; the choices
individuals have taken on their addiction journey; and, instruction on
how to help guide those addicted toward sobriety. This book should be
read by teachers, social workers, medical professionals, counselors,
teenagers, those incarcerated, college students, government officials,
those addicted and their loved ones.
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Below are a few of the early Reviews for Tales of Addiction offered by professionals in the addiction and recovery arena:
Dr. Cardwell C. Nuckols, renown addiction therapist and educator wrote the Foreword. Dr. Nuckols writes, "Alcohol and drugs are not the wrong direction--just the wrong method to search for our path. Alcohol and drugs many times give us a glimpse of the Self and our natural desire for transcendence... Tales of Addiction is a gift from Dr. Sinor's Self to ours; it is her ability to see and understand the love and beauty inside of others that makes this book a source of healing."
“Tales
of Addiction is a collection of real life stories that chronicle
not only the pain of addiction but also show the healing power of
recovery. These heart-wrenching and ultimately heartwarming stories,
provide the inspiration for each one of us to know that recovery works.”
Ken Seeley, Ph.D., Intervention 911 Television Program,
Author, Face It and Fix It
Review from "Addiction Professional"
|
San Francisco, CA — Storytelling has the power to move people toward understanding and inspiration in a way therapy cannot. Aware of storytelling’s magic, Barbara Sinor has assembled a powerful collection of recovery stories to help those struggling with addiction and recovery in “Tales of Addiction and Inspiration for Recovery: Twenty True Stories from the Soul” (Modern History Press, 2010). When attempting recovery from alcohol, substance abuse, or any addiction, stories of how others have succeeded can be priceless. Stories are the basis of the “Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous,” one of the first and most successful recovery programs. Barbara Sinor has created a “Big Book” for the twenty-first century with twenty true stories of people dealing with addiction, undergoing recovery, and dealing with relapses. While pain and frustration fill many of these pages, so does enough hope to inspire any reader. Beyond the stories, Dr. Sinor provides insight into the steps from addiction to recovery by pulling from behavioral theory, recovery philosophy, new understandings from the world of physics, and spiritual development. These true stories were collected from drug addicts and alcoholics as well as many authors who have written about the difficulties and ultimate successes of their recoveries. Interwoven throughout the book is the journal of Barbara’s son, illuminating his journey from alcoholism to recovery. Barbara also details the difficulties she and her husband experienced in witnessing their son’s journey. In the book’s introduction, Barbara writes, “Addicted or not, we all have stories to tell.” Whether the reader is a codependent wishing to help an addicted loved one, or an addict him or herself, this powerful book grows with each story as readers come to understand the truth of addiction, how it affects people in different and similar ways, and how it is possible not only to choose recovery, but ultimately, to find a new day filled with hope and freedom from addiction. Although individual stories cover a myriad of substances, including alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, heroin, barbiturates, and amphetamines, the reader will begin to discover a thread of humanity which binds us all, addicted or not. Reviewers rave about “Tales of Addiction and Inspiration for Recovery.” Ken Seeley, author of “Face It and Fix It” states, “These heart-wrenching and ultimately heartwarming stories provide the inspiration for each one of us to know that recovery works.” Leslie Lovejoy, author of “Create Your Health Using the Five Keys to Wellness” testifies, “one is struck both with the pain and suffering that was experienced, and also the hope for a healthier future.” And Elaine DiNucci of Stanford University calls the book “gut-wrenching…The stories are riveting, each starting out with family history that is inevitably pivotal to the storyteller’s current situation. A must read.” |
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with me about this Book on PageReaders.
The book cover photo is one taken by me titled "Lake Bottom." I took this shot up close of the shallow area of our lake during the spring. When I printed the picture, I was amazed at the beauty and serene quality it displayed.