Welcome to Recovery Road, a podcast from Hazelden Publishing. Here you'll find the best thoughts, excerpts, and reflections from our most popular resources. These words, feelings, and insights from world-renowned authors have helped millions of people conquer substance use disorder so they can live their best lives. What's in these podcasts represents the best of the best—and we present them here for inspiration on your journey. Now more than ever, we need to find the calm in the chaos, stay focused on self-care, and remain on our path to long-term recovery. Remember, you are not alone. We are all in this together. So join us each day here on Recovery Road.
Mar 31, 2022
When we were using, alcohol or another substance controlled us. It directed our thinking and acting, formed our goals and ran our lives. And that didn't go so well for us and for the people who care about us. We'll never be able to make peace with our addiction when it's active; we have to be fully committed to recovery. Half measures are not enough.
A Program for You: A Guide to the Big Book's Design for Living is written as a companion to the Big Book. It directly applies to those who are working the Twelve Steps. Understanding that some of us don't frame our recovery according to the Twelve Steps, we can still take lessons from this tried-and-true tradition and apply them to our own journey.
For those of us who are using the Big Book, the following excerpt is a reminder about the limits of self-will and the need to give one's life over to the direction of a Higher Power. Whether it happens in a miraculous moment or over a long process, the authors assure us that once a power greater than ourselves is directing our will and our life, our whole life is going to improve.
This excerpt is from the book A Program for You: A Guide to the Big Book's Design for Living. It has been edited for brevity.