win this cover!!! we`re raffling the original jim

Transcription

no.11
WIN THIS COVER!!! WE'RE RAFFLING THE
ORIGINAL JIM WARREN PAINTING OF THIS COVER!
THE VILLAGE CELEBRATES 35 YEARS OF
OUTSTANDING SERVICE TO THE SOUTH
FLORIDA RECOVERY COMMUNITY
PROVIDING:
ADULT TREATMENT and specialized services
such as: Families in Transition (FIT) Program,
which allows mothers and fathers to participate
in intensive residential substance abuse
treatment in order to be reunited with their
children. In fact, children may reside with
their parents in the facility!
AN INTENSIVE OUTPATIENT PROGRAM
which, like the FIT program, provides
continued treatment for one year after
completing inpatient treatment.
A 6 MONTH ADOLESCENT RESIDENTIAL
PROGRAM for children 13–17. Adolescents
can also be seen on an outpatient basis in
their homes by therapists through the
Life Program.
We provide a wide range of affordable individual and group theraputic
rehabilitation services in both residential and outpatient services.
Affiliated with the WestCare Foundation
man Spirit
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Upliftin
“It’s All In The Journey” Number 11
This Magazine is Dedicated to my Daughter Joy
Letter from the Editor by Charlie G
3
Personal Perspective by Terence T. Gorski
The Development and Evolution of The GorskiCenaps Model 6
Detox Diary: A Night Tech’s Log
The Cool Kids Club by Charlie G 10
God & The 12 Steps: A Common
Solution by Dyce K 13
Food Fight: Eating Disorders– Not Just
For Women by Cindy McAlpin 14
Click ‘N’ Pick: “The River Serene”
by Rebecca B 15
An “Amazing” Interview With Richie Supa
by Charlie G 16
Prose’s Posse: Your Poetry & Prose
22
—Elisabeth Kubler Ross
With over 20 years experience in the substance
abuse and mental health fields. Specializing in
addictions, gay-lesbian-bi-sexual relationship issues, grief
/ loss, depression, anxiety, eating disorders and trauma
for individuals, couples and families.
Advocacy Avenue: Establishing & Maintaining
The Continuity of Care by Myles B. Schlam 25
Step 11
Don’t
Stop
Now!
Peeling the Onion: Q&A’s On Recovery
by Val Elsbree 26
One Step At A Time: Step 11 by Kyle S 27
What’s Your Agenda? Let The Good Times Roll
by Mother Henry 28
Sober House Directory
30
The McShin Foundation
A Closer Look: The Ocean Rehab
VIRGINIA’S LEADER IN PEER PROVIDED
RECOVERY SUPPORT SERVICES.
NEW & EXPANDED! Detox/Treatment Directory
12 STEP “GET IN THE HERD” MODEL
$3500 first four weeks,
$125 a week there after.
You buy your own food.
Affiliate of the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD)
www.mcshin.org 804-249-1845
32
33
I met Richie Supa, former guitarist for Aerosmith, at the 12 Step Music Fest
in the Fla. Keys last week. He was there to promote the newest on line sober
community – intherooms.com.
Dawn, Rich, & their company 'No Matter What Productions' have started what
will surely be an annual Mecca for the recovery community.
The festival had 2 stages, 24 hour AA & NA meeting tents, a 24 hour tent for
other fellowships, meetings on the water(!), food tents, and rocking rock
& roll artists.
All alfresco - in the open air.
In the evenings, campfires burned in
front of bivouacs from different eras;
pitched tents nestled between the big
RV's and bigger buses/motor homes, as
a euphonious mixture of music floated
through the air, mixed with the laughter
of children as they ran happily a muck;
no fearful parents demanding they stay
close.
No need.
The camaraderie was unbelievable.
Walking around, I watched as bikers
knelt and spoke with children, people
offered a seat and a plate of food as you passed by their encampments, and
everywhere,
Everywhere,
A smile, a wave, a nod, a … family.
I was introduced to Ken Pomerance, one of the founders of intherooms.com
(www.intherooms.com), and his partner RT. They told me about their friend,
Richie Supa, formally of Aerosmith who wrote the hit song 'Amazing.'
"Really? Do you think he'd agreed to an interview for JOURNEY magazine?"
I asked nonchalantly (as I bounced from foot to foot like a 3 year old that
had to go to the bathroom. NOW!).
"Sure." Ken said, my new best friend, "He's playing Friday night at 5 as a
surprise. Be here around 2."
I agreed, nodding my head like one of those head bobbing Chihuahuas in the
rear window of an old Impala returning from Tijuana.
I also met John and Carol, from Virginia. John runs the McShin Recovery
Center and Carol is a lobbyist and the board chairman of Faces & Voices
of Recovery.
We got to talking about recovery, their center, my magazine, Joy's House,
and then Carol said, "We're having a party in Washington next Monday to
celebrate the Parity Bill being passed. Would you like to come?" She asked,
so nonchalant.
"Well, I'd have to check my schedule." I replied, just as nonchalantly,
Then quickly said, "YES!" before she could change her mind.
I interviewed Richie Supa the next day and afterwards got to watch his show.
Richie shared about his recovery, sang some of his classic hits & then sang
a new song he wrote just for intherooms.com – titled, oddly enough, In the
rooms! (You can see Richie on JOURNEY magazine’s new Journey-Vision
video channel on our website at www.itsallinthejourney.com). After the show
Richie answered questions, posed for pictures, signed autographs and even
huddled with a few fans in prayer. The dude is a class act all the way.
I left for DC on Saturday morning so I'd have the week-end to do the tourist
thing, & on Monday I went to the Parity Party.
The party was held on the rooftop of Faces & Voices of Recovery's building,
right across from the Capitol Building; the Capitol dome making an
incredible background.
Speaking of background; there were Secret
Service agents everywhere;
Standing by as I stepped off the elevator,
Standing by as I walked down the aisle to a
tent that had been set up on the rooftop.
Standing even closer by,
Right behind me closer by,
As I stood at the front of the crowd listening
to the moving & heartfelt accolades of the
speakers; David Wellstone; whose father
the bill was named after, Patrick Kennedy,
Rosalyn Carter and Congressman Jim
Ramstad, especially.
I glanced back to marvel at the various
levels of society gathered here:s The wife of a former President of the United
States, various Congressmen & Representatives, governmental agency directors, and a television network vice president.
To name a few.
And recovered alcoholics & addicts who pay it forward everyday: treatment
center owners, clinical technicians, counselors, a couple of guys who
started a new sober online community (yep, Kenny & RT were there), even
a grassroots recovery magazine's editor!
All trying to do the next right thing, and help another human being.
It was quite a sight; the 12 step promises being fulfilled right before my eyes.
What I also noticed when I turned around to take in the sight of this incredible gathering,
Was that directly behind me was a man with a cord in his ear, speaking into
his wrist.
My first thought was, 'Why are you standing right behind me? Do I look like
I'm going to do something crazy?'
And my 2nd thought?
2 1/2 years ago they wouldn't be standing behind me,
They'd be standing in front of me - keeping me away!
'If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will be
amazed before we are half way through.'
I am.
peace
w w w . i t s a l l i n t h e J o u r n e y. c o m 3
“UNTIL ONE IS COMMITTED THERE IS ALWAYS HESITANCY, the chance to draw
back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative and creation there is one
elementary Truth, the ignorance of which, kills countless ideas and splendid plans. That
the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves, too. All sorts of
things occur to help one that would otherwise not have occurred. A whole stream of
events issues from the decision raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents
and meetings and material assistance which no man could have dreamed would have
come his way.”— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
“It’s all in the Journey” is dedicated to Joy.
PUBLISHED BY KICKING & SCREAMING, INC.
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Charlie G
Terence T. Gorski
Dyce K
Mother Henry
Kyle S
Val Elsbree
Cindy McAlpin
Myles B. Schlam
Rebecca T. Balko
ART DIRECTOR
Joel Weltman
Jim Warren is one of the most
successful and versatile artists
in the world today!
From the wild and whimsical
to the sweet and sensuous, for
over 35 years Jim Warren has
been painting his way into the
hearts and minds of people the
world over.
Already considered a “living
legend of the art world”, Jim
continues to surprise and
constantly amaze his fans.
His versatility ranges from
his unique portraits for
celebrities, CEOs and families,
to his illustrations ( from the
1980s) for books, movies and
album covers, most notably his
Grammy award-winning artwork
for Bob Seger’s 1981 album
“Against the Wind”.
How Grammy Award winning
artist, James Warren took charge
of his life forty years ago.
Life
confronting
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
Cindy Yarghn
COVER ARTIST
Jim Warren
NEW MEDIA and WEB DESIGN
Bob Cohen
[email protected]
Jim’s fine art oil paintings and
limited edition giclee prints are
currently featured in some of
the top galleries in the world,
most notably the Wyland Gallery
chain in Florida, California,
Hawaii, Las Vegas and other
locations.
Visit our web site:
www.jimwarren.com and join
our mailing list to receive the
latest MEET THE ARTIST show
schedule, as well as other
surprises and updates straight
from the studios.
“I didn’t like drinking luckily and I decided to get away from drugs when I was around twenty. It was simply a
decision that I could do better without drugs even considering that life can sometimes be too challenging.”
CG Welcome to “It’s all in the JOURNEY”, Jim. I gotta tell you,
your fantasy and your surrealism artwork are incredible. If the work
we’ve used on our last two covers were women, I’d marry them!
Where do you get your inspiration?
demanded to see “first thing when he woke up” even though the
painting was still wet. They got me a seat on the plane for it so
that I could keep my eye on it.
CG
JW I get inspiration from just living and observing life around me.
CG The cover you did on Bob Seiger’s album, ‘Against the Wind’ for
which you won a Grammy, is probably your most famous art work.
CG
What is your favorite?
CG You have been clean and sober for over forty years. What do you
say to a newcomer reading this, who is trying to ‘get this’?
I didn’t like drinking luckily and I decided to get away from
drugs when I was around 20. It was simply a decision that I
could do better without drugs even considering that life can
sometimes be too challenging. If you learn to confront life and
its problems, the problems go away.
Drugs are just a way of not confronting—so the problems stay,
even get worse, and so stays the need for more drugs.
I do special requests, most often portraits.
CG Say someone wants to buy one of your pieces, but they don’t make
a lot of money; like, say…oh, I don’t know…an editor of a recovery
magazine? Do you make lithographs, or posters that we can buy?
I do have posters of some of the images as well as puzzles and
greeting cards which make nice gifts.
CG
How can we order something from you?
I have a gift shop on my website at www.jimwarren.com.
CG
Do you answer your e-mails? Personally?
Yes. I pass on the sales and business request to my assistants to
handle, but I like to get the emails first, and answer the personal
ones.
CG
Can you tell us about some memorable events in you career?
Painting Bob Seiger’s album cover and also, I was flown to
Cincinatti to show Prince a painting that he commissioned, and
1909 HARRISON ST. SUITE 109, HOLLYWOOD, FL. 33020
TOLL FREE: 866-66JOURNEY / www.itsallintheJourney.com
What was your first piece?
A lot of people are going to want to see your work after reading
this interview, and our Florida readers have many opportunities.
Where else are galleries that display your work located?
Do you take on rquests if someone gives you an idea?
SUBMISSIONS WELCOMED! All e-mails, letters, phone calls and inquiries will be
considered submissions. All submissions are subject to editing or comments by
editorial staff. To submit an article, story, poem, prose, art work, photography, or
for any inquiries, send to: [email protected]
A face which I painted in oil but used my fingers and a pencil
to paint it.
Maybe “Mother Nature”, which we are using on the cover of
this magazine. I also used it on the cover of my book “The Art
of Jim Warren” I have about 100 favorites out of around 3000
paintings that I have done.
CG
i t ’s a l l i n t h e J o u r n e y. c o m
[email protected]
It’s all in the JOURNEY Issue No. 11 is published by Kicking & Screaming, Inc.
It’s all in the JOURNEY is not affiliated with any 12 step fellowship or program.
We welcome and support anyone in any form of recovery.
In Florida, I am in the Wyland Galleries in Key West, Orlando
(Disney’s Boardwalk and Polynesian hotel) and Sarasota, (St Armond’s Circle) and the James Coleman gallery in St Augustine.
18
MOR Printing
Rebecca T. Balko
CG
IT’S ALLIN THEJOURNEY INTERVIEWSJAMES WARREN
Lynda A.
Rik B.
PRINTING and DISTRIBUTION
SUBMISSIONS EDITOR
ADVERTISING
PROOF READERS
CG
Serenity Bookstore in the The Hanley Resource Center
What is life like for you now, clean and sober for over 40 years?
It’s great, challenging as I said, but I stay clean and sober to
better deal with the challenge or it will do me in.
CG And finally, just between you and I (seriously, don’t worry about
those 25,000 people looking over our shoulders reading this. It’ll be
our little secret!), can we look forward to you allowing “It’s all in the
JOURNEY” to use another piece of your art for one of our covers in
the future?
You can use all the covers you want, Charlie.
I had a sales person from one of my galleries, the James
Coleman gallery in St Augustine, call me and say that he saw
the cover at one of his meetings that he goes to in St. Augustine.
He thought that was cool as he sells my art. He saw a stack of
your magazines there.
CG Jim, I want to thank you for taking the time to do this interview, your graciousness in allowing a grass-roots magazine use your
art on our covers, and bringing such unbelievable beauty into people’s lives. I mean this when I say that your work is not only beautiful, but thought provoking. Now, how cool is that?
Peace
If any of you guys are interested in Jim’s work, go to www.jimwarren.com. It is a journey through
some beautiful landscape! Also! It’s all in the JOURNEY’s Recovery T-shirts will have our magazine’s covers with Jim’s art available on T-shirts! (See our ad next to Mother Henry’s column).
i t ’s a l l i n t h e J o u r n e y. c o m
19
®
®
W
E WERE BOTH WORKING AS PSYCHIATRIC ASSISTANTS
atGrant Hospital of Chicago and taking intensive training
in addiction psychotherapy from Richard Weedman, the
director of the hospital’s addiction program. The training
was working. My emotions were stirred up. My motivation
was high. My mind was working in a state of creative overdrive.
As I sat there, I realized that the past year of clinical training and practical experiences had brought me into a new world. I was just beginning to
explore that world and learn how to talk about it with trusted friends. Pieces
of new knowledge and systems for personal growth were clashing in my
mind. I was struggling to organize what I was learning.
Three different bodies of knowledge were in competition: my college
psychology courses taught by Dr. Stan Martindale, a former student of Carl
Rogers; my intensive training in addiction psychotherapy with Richard
Weedman, who would latter draft the first standards for addiction treatment
for the Joint Commission for the Accreditation of Hospitals; and the practical applied therapies and Twelve Step Recovery methods I was using with
clients on the combined addiction and psychiatric unit of Grant Hospital.
I could sense the value of all three perspectives, but something was
missing. I needed a higher perspective – a bigger frame of reference that
could organize this information into a practical system. I knew a lot, but
I was struggling to figure out how to apply what I was learning in the real
world of treatment and recovery.
On that cold night in September of 1970, a vision of how to do
this came together in my mind. This was a moment of clarity – a peak
experience that Fritz Pearls called “the Aha moment” and many people in Twelve Step Programs call “a blinding flash of the obvious.” As
I struggled to explain this vision to Joe, I found myself at a loss for words.
The vision was general and I lacked the words to explain the sense of knowing that seemed to have reorganized the very circuits of my brain. But the
vision was there. From that moment, I didn’t have the vision, the vision had
me. I didn’t know it then, but this vision would shape the rest of my professional career and personal life.
At first the vision was poorly articulated. It was a sense of how to build
a containing framework that would allow the information and skills I was
6 w w w . i t s a l l i n t h e J o u r n e y. c o m
learning to come together in a practical and effective way. It was the idea of
building a higher order model of addiction treatment.
This model, which would slowly evolve into The CENAPS® Model
of Recovery & Relapse Prevention, would have to be big enough to
include and integrate the major therapeutic approaches to addiction. The vision was to create an effective and easy to use system that
integrated the physical, psychological, social, and spiritual aspects of
recovery. Most importantly, the model needed to be a living, growing, and
evolving system capable of integrating new research information as it became available.
To do this, the model needed a simple and no-nonsense language
that eliminated psychological jargon, complex research abstractions,
and recovery clichés. This no-nonsense language, however, would need
to maintain a clear focus on the core issues of how to recover from
addiction and avoid relapse. It would need to clearly describe practical
methods that could work in the real world.
As a result of this conversation with a trusted friend on a cold night in
September of 1970, I developed the conviction that such a system could be
developed and taught to both therapists and recovering people. I was convinced that it could include the rich and effective therapeutic systems that
had evolved over time, while transcending their limitations. I knew this
system could open up a bigger frame of reference that would provide new
and more effective approaches to recovery and relapse prevention.
Although the vision was vividly clear in my own mind, describing it and
developing the supportive materials became a life-long work. As I began
using these new ideas with clients, the system took on greater clarity. Concrete recovery exercises were developed that evolved into a flexible system
of manualized treatment.
The description of this system emerged from the training sessions that
I conducted with both recovering people and multidisciplinary treatment
professionals. Since the training sessions were skill oriented and experiential I usually learned as much from the students as they did from me.
Each time I did a training workshop, it integrated new research, knowledge
and experiences I had gathered since the last experience. The training was
designed to help participants to connect their real lived experiences, both
professionally and personally, to the practical methods of recovery and
relapse prevention that were part of The CENAPS® Model. The responses
were usually positive, and most people attending the advanced skills training sessions started adapting and using various parts of the model in their
work with addicts in the real world. They reported that they saw dramatic
changes in how their clients responded to treatment and recovery.
As the training handouts grew into training manuals, and the manuals
grew into books the model expanded in its scope. Over time The CENAPS®
Model focused on the critical path of recovery. It shrugged off a lot interesting but unnecessary information and recovery tasks that could sidetrack the
treatment and recovery process.
Over the years I have published many books and articles describing aspects of the CENAPS® Model. Looking through this catalogue
and our website www.relapse.org you can see the wealth of information that
has been made available. There has always been one vital publication that
has been missing – a concise overview of the entire CENAPS® Model.
I have been working on this description for years, yet I never felt the
model was complete. I viewed it as a work in progress, and I still do. So I
was reluctant to commit myself to a publishing an overall description that
I knew would grow and change as more research and experience became
available. Recently I was persuaded by my colleagues that a decisive overview of the entire model was necessary. I was convinced that many people
are using a small piece of the CENAPS® Model and are not even aware that
other components of the model exist.
As a result, I am publishing a comprehensive overview of the CENAPS®
Model. This is meant to provide an overview of the entire system and how
the different parts of the system work together.
HERE IS A GENERAL OVERVIEW: The GORSKI- CENAPS® Model consists
of three primary theoretical models. These are the Biopsychosocial Model
of Addiction, the Development Model of Recovery, and the Relapse Prevention Model. Each of these components is built upon a solid foundation
of research.
The Biopsychosocial Model of Addiction is based upon an integration of four
science-based models of addiction: the Neuropsychological Predisposition
Model, the Neuropsychological Response Model, the Social Learning Model, and the Cognitive Therapy Model of Substance Abuse. The components
of these models have been translated into simple language and carefully
integrated for consistency.
The Developmental Model of Recovery (DMR) (DMR) was initially developed
from the observations of client’s recovery over the course of two years of
outpatient substance abuse treatment. This model was first published as the
Chapter of a recovery education book in 1982, as a training manual in 1985,
and by Hazelden in 1989 .
The Developmental Model of Recovery used in the GORSKI-CENAPS®
Model is consistent with the Stages of Change Model developed by Prochaska and Diclemente and the Developmental Model of Recovery developed by
Stephanie Brown .
The Relapse Prevention Model is consistent with the original cognitive model of relapse prevention (Marlatt & Gordon 1988), state-of-the-art relapse
prevention methods described in the Comprehensive Textbook of Substance
Abuse (Daley & Marlatt 1997) Relapse Prevention has been demonstrated
to be effective by a number of research studies.
What evolved was a system of Manualized Treatment in the form of
recovery workbooks. Research suggests that the most effective treatment
programs utilize a manualized clinical system that includes reading assignments, journal assignments, self-assessment questionnaires, and preparation assignments for group and individual therapy sessions.
The primary focus of all sessions is to guide the patient in the completion of structured exercises contained in a recovery workbook. Workbooks
are available for Cognitive Restructuring for Addiction, Denial Management
Counseling, Relapse Prevention Counseling (Practical Exercises for Managing High-Risk Situations), Relapse Prevention Therapy (Managing Core
Personality and Lifestyle Issues), Addiction-Free Pain Management, Recovery and Relapse Prevention for Food Addiction, and others. A process has
been developed for customize the design of treatment manuals that address
specific recurrent issues within treatment programs.
All applications of the GORSKI-CENAPS® Model rely on the use of
core clinical processes directed at teaching clients specific recovery skills.
The basic recovery skills that are adapted to each level of a patient’s recovery are:
1. Introspection Skills which include the ability to identify self-talk, feelings and emotions, and urges to act.
2. Social Awareness Skills which include The ability to observe and accurately assess the behavior of others.
3. Cognitive Skills which include the ability to identify and challenge
addictive and irrational forms of thinking.
4. Affective Skills which include the ability to recognize feelings and
emotions, accurately describing them in words, and communicated them to
others when appropriate.
5. Behavioral Skills which include impulse control and self motivation.
Impulse control is the ability to recognize cravings and self-destructive urges and to stop acting out on those cravings or urges. Self-motivation is the
ability to force yourself to engage in healthy and productive behavior even
when you don’t want to.
6. Social Skills which include relationship building models based upon
guiding clients to slowly rebuild their social network centered around sober
and responsible activities rather than addictive and irresponsible ones. The
core social skills include: the ability to engage in productive communication using an active listening model, the ability to set and enforce appropriate boundaries and limits in social situations, the ability to stop using controlling and manipulative behaviors, and the ability to engage in negotiation
and conflict resolution.
7. Problem & Warning Sign Identification which include the ability to identify
and develop a personalized list of the unique personal problems that lead
people from stable recovery back to the use of alcohol, drugs or self-defeating behaviors. These problems are called relapse warning signs.
8. Problem or Warning Sign Management Strategies which consist of concrete
situational and behavioral coping skills for managing the warning signs
without returning to addiction or other self-defeating behaviors.
9. Recovery Program Development which include instruction in how to
develop a schedule of recovery activities, which provides a regular daily
structure for maintaining a healthy and sober lifestyle. Any break in
the structure of the recovery program also is viewed as critical relapse
warning sign and immediate steps to intervene upon the impending relapse
are taken
I am excited about publishing the comprehensive overview of the
entire system. The CENAPS® Model is also being expanded to address related mental health problems including Depression, Suicide, and Antisocial
Behaviors.
It is exciting for me to look back over the last thirty years and see
a vision of a recovery system become a reality that is helping people in
the United States, Iceland, England, Denmark and many other countries
around the world. I will continue devoting my energies to the refinement of
the CENAPS® Model and its systematic application to a broad spectrum of
behavioral health and societal problems. I hope you will enjoy and benefit
from an understanding of the current state of the Model and that this understanding will help you to use its individual components more effectively.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT the CENAPS Office at 352-596-8000. Visit CENAPS Publications
at www.relapse.org or 1-800-767-8181 or contact www.GorskiSoberLiving.com
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O ne night a disagreement broke out between 5-6 patients who had been here
awhile and were fairly cleaned up, cliquish & feeling a little cocky, and a patient
who had just came in the day before, and was definitely NOT feeling the same.
She was arguing with everyone, over anything. She had already had an altercation with a nurse. Finally she got mad at a 'blonde' joke I made. Not to me
directly, but after I left.
Other patients came and told me. She was saying it was racist, and what if she
told a black joke?
They told me that they had told her, "No, that's just Charlie. He is the tech that'll
make you laugh at 3am when he wakes for vitals."
She wasn’t listening. She was yelling at all of them. Could I get her away
from them?
I went outside and asked her to come into the office.
We sat and I talked. I told her I was sorry if the blonde joke bothered her.
I explained to her that the joking was not aimed at her.
She said it was. So I told her the following;
I told her I had lost a daughter, a brother, & a wife, spent over a decade in
prison, and then lost a second wife and my house, before finally getting clean.
I told her I had not been happy, truely happy, in over twenty years until I finally
got a sponsor, worked the steps, and met God.
And now that I was, I didn’t know how to express that happiness.
So I do it with jokes.
Stupid jokes.
Lots of stupid jokes.
I told her I understood why she was so defensive. That she was protecting
herself from being hurt. She looked at me & sneered, I'm not worried about
being hurt.
10
w w w . i t s a l l i n t h e J o u r n e y. c o m
I took her hand and looked her in her eyes and told her, "Yes, you are, but
these people are not out to hurt you. They are hurting too."
She said, "They were mean to me."
I asked her, "Were you mean to them?' Maybe they were defending themselves
from being hurt by you, by being mean first?"
"You've been lashing out at everyone since you got here, and I understand. You
are in a new environment. We are naturally apprehensive when we go into an
unknown."
And you can't get high here to numb those feelings.
"I know. I felt the same way when I came here."
I told her, "If you are nice to them, I bet they will be nice to you. But YOU have
to be nice."
"Want to try something?" I asked. "Whenever you talk to one of them, imagine
you are talking to someone with a broken heart, because most of us have had
one at some point."
Before I could say any more she slipped out, "Yeah, I know what that feels like."
'SEE!' I said. 'You understand.' "And I promise it will help you to get along with
people."
"That's a nice way to see things." she said. "And the blonde joke was not for me?"
"Promise", I said. Then,
"Hey. you want to break the ice with them and start over? You go out there and
tell a blonde joke! They'll love it!"
"You think? I don’t even know any blonde jokes." Her eyes were twinkling a
possibility, then, "I know a dirty joke!"
"Ah..no. I'm sure it’s funny, but a blonde joke they'll relate to, because of
what happened."
So I told her a simple blonde joke.
The Recovery Project is dedicated to raising national
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recovery is possible.
Get involved today and help make recovery a reality!
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11
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She went to see the nurse, and while she was gone I went outside to speak to
They are cracking up, laughing. (And the crowd goes wild)
the Cool Kids Club.
"You guys understand?"
As soon as I stepped outside, their righteous assault began.
They do.
"Charlie, keep her away from us!" "What IS her problem?" etc..etc..etc..
"When she comes out here, she is going to tell you a blonde joke. She's trying
"Easy, easy," I said as I sat down at the table with them and asked them to
to make up, OK? Be nice.
listen for a second.
They are excited. They are excited about being nice!
I told them about personal defenses. About walls.
How cool is that?
About putting themselves in her shoes and remembering how they felt when
The new paitent comes outside at that point (Don't think God has perfect
they came in those doors.
timing?).
This particular Cool Kids Club (A new one forms every week or two, as 'friends' The Cool Kids Club all invite her over, "Sit, sit."
leave and new ones enter), was a middle class group.
She looks at me, I nod to her, smiling, and she sits.
They didn't know how to relate to this new person, who was definitely NOT
Then, the president of the Cool Kids Club, a Jewish kid almost ready to leave,
middle class.
asks her;
"Hey guys, take it easy. Listen, let me ask you something. Do you think she was
"Hey ----, Do you know what canoes and Jews have in common?"
born this way? That she came out of the womb bitching at the doctor?"
She looks at him. She knows he's Jewish, "No."
The response was 50/50.
"Eventually, they will both tip!"
"I promise you, she wasn't. She's detoxing, uncomfortable, and scared."
Everyone laughs. She looks at me, then him. "That doesn't bother you?" She
I'm going to tell you something my sponsor told me, and it's made my life so
asks.
much easier: "When you meet someone like her, someone that is really getting
"Naw." He says, "It's funny." (I could kiss him).
under your skin. When you deal with them, deal with them as if you are dealing She looks at me.
with someone who has a broken heart, because you probably are.
"Didn't you have a joke you wanted to tell them?" I ask.
You feel me?"
"What," She starts. Then stops, then starts again, "What do you call a blonde
I look at each of them.
who dyes her hair black?"
They're quiet now.
EVERYBODY asks, "WHAT?"
They understand broken hearts.
"Artificial intelligence." She finishes, looking exhausted, apprehensive, and
I've talked with each of them at one time or another, telling them my story
excited, all in one beautiful expression.
and listening to theirs.
And the crowd goes wild!
They understand.
Laughing.
While I have their attention I tell them something else.
Hysterically.
"Guys, listen to me, and I promise this will make you all members of the coolGeorge Carlin would not get a vote if this were a contest.
est Cool Kids Club.(A name I give the new cliques). When someone like this
The look on her face.
gets on your nerves, not just here, but in life, don't just think to yourself,
Acceptance.
'What an ass.'
Beautiful.
Think to yourself, 'What has happened (I emphasized this to them because so
They are all talking now, laughing together. The Cool Kids Club has a new
much has happened in their lives) to this person in their life to make them so
member.
miserable? So angry? So.. whatever it is, that is getting under your skin.'
I get up and go back inside to my desk, feeling pretty good, to be honest
"It will make you look at that person in such a different light. It will make life
with you.
so much easier for you, and you a better person."
Bleed: 8.5 in
Then I add, "How do you think I stay so nice to you guys? You'all drive meTrim:
nuts 8.375
So inmany damaged people in the world.
sometimes!"
So ineasy...to make it easier.
Live: 8.125
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AT THE HEART OF RECOVERY IS UNITY,
and we in recovery share the common history
of substance abuse. The literature tells us,
however, that the bond that unites us is deeper
than our addictions. Page 17 states that we
share a “common solution upon which we
absolutely agree.” This common solution
is God reliance, vigilant introspection, and
altruistic service to others.
It is absolutely heartbreaking to watch
people relapse and die year after year
while trying to get or stay sober. Despite this, the message of recovery
found in the Big Book is immensely powerful and has been the key to
millions of recoveries world wide. But these recovery rates would be
much higher if this pure message is emphasized and understood on
a greater scale in the rooms. In fact, the forward to the 2nd edition
tells us that recovery was once at a rate upwards of 75%. Anyone
that studies our history will discover that there was a radically
different movement in recovery than what we often see today. As the
solution presented in the Big Book continues to be diluted into what
is more palatable to the suffering newcomer and ourselves, the words,
“Rarely have we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our
path,” (Pg 58) convicts those of us who have tasted the truth to
proclaim it boldly in meetings. Sadly, this is not proclaimed boldly
enough. Statistics show that only 2% of us enjoy sobriety for 10 years,
a sharp contrast to the initial recovery rate of 75%. The question is:
what has caused the “path” that we follow to change over the years?
There are two main contributing factors to dismal returns on
the efforts of sincere but unsatisfactory sponsorship in recovery as
we know it today: 1) The lack of emphasis of God reliance and 2)
The negligence to teach the application of the 12 steps in the lives
of newcomers immediately after detox (assuming they are willing).
But the problem does not stop there; page 164 states that “you cannot
transmit what you haven’t got”, and how true that has proven to be.
It is impossible to exemplify the power of faith and application of
the 12 steps into our lives for the newcomer if we sponsors don’t
demonstrate it ourselves. To put it bluntly: just because you can quote
the Big Book doesn’t mean you are freed of the bondage of self.
Perhaps this is a call to raise the bar. The real question is, “what
do we really believe?” And, “Why do we believe what we believe?” We
often gather belief systems from our
experiences. The travesty, however, is that
we tend to disbelieve that which is inconvenient for us. The spiritual truths that
we discover in the Big Book are crucial
for our survival, but can often be
extremely difficult for us to stomach
Any belief system that would actually
require us to change our thought, life and/
or actions are often quietly, ignored. Page
53 states “God is either everything or else
He is nothing at all.” Would that statement be true if we tested it with
our actions and expected a miracle? It is the God given duty
for those who have seen and felt the monstrous power of God to
heal broken lives, to boldly and publicly answer that question with
a resounding “yes!”
I find the opening line of Chapter 7 to have a profound meaning on
all of us that wish to survive this disease. It reads, “Practical experience
shows that nothing will so much insure immunity from drinking as
intensive work with other alcoholics. This is our twelfth suggestion.
Carry this message to other alcoholics!”(Pg 89) Notice that the 12th
step actually gives us a promise of immunity from drinking??? Those
of us that know this and apply this truth must shout it on the mountain,
for people are perishing for lack of knowledge. Notice that the
“immunity from drinking” is NOT promised in the first step, the tenth
step, fourth step, or even the third step. There is obviously something
intrinsically powerful in the 12th step that has everything to do with my
survival and I ought to make it my business to experience it myself if I
am to stay sober. Page XVII states that Bill and Bob, upon getting sober,
“set to work almost frantically upon alcoholics.” In fact, reportedly all
of the first hundred actively carried the message of recovery with all
their might. This was their “path” which we must follow to survive.
The whole pretense of the 12 steps is this, “If you want what WE
have and are willing to go to any length to get is, then you are
ready to take certain steps.” The twelve steps can really only give
us the healing that we desire when we get out and help others.
Merely praying and introspection is not enough. We must make
ourselves available for God to use us as vessels to carry His
message. Then can we expect to receive “immunity from drinking,”
as well as all the promises the 12 Steps carry.
Eating Disorders:
When thinking of eating disorders, we
rarely picture a man working out obsessively,
starving himself to look lean or wanting to emulate celebrities on magazine covers.
Eating disorders are considered “women’s
illnesses”. In our society, men are not allowed to
show the weakness of having mental health disorders, much less suffer from eating disorders. In
view of the fact that men and eating disorders is
a problem, they virtually always keep this a painful secret. According to the National Association of
Anorexia and Associated Disorders, men comprise
about one million Americans who are suffering
with eating disorders and the numbers are rising.
James recalls his first introduction to his eating disorder as a young
high school athlete. He was a wrestler and during wrestling session he
was forced to keep his weight below 160 pounds to be eligible to compete
in a certain weight class. With tears in his eyes, James describes the rituals he endured to maintain his weight including restricting calories and
working out obsessively. James also recalls a period of purging in an attempt to lower his weight further when attempting to compete in an even
lower weight class.
Everything is calculated. He knows the calorie content of every
morsel of food or beverage he ingests even though his days of wrestling
have long passed. James exercises excessively, knowing exactly how many
calories he burns with each work out. James has been
suffering with anorexia for nearly 10 years. However, he
was only recently diagnosed.
The diagnostic criterion for anorexia focuses on
women, which is evident with symptoms of amenorrhea
(the absence of menstruation) and fear of fatness.
Though some men do exhibit a fear of fat, others typically want to be muscular, obsess over attaining a low
body fat percentage and focus their efforts on excelling
at a sport.
James ended up in treatment after collapsing in the
gym. He had just completed a particularly grueling
workout during a period of fasting. James tells the story
of one young female Doctor in the ER, “She confronted
me and asked me point blank if I restricted calories as regular practice.
That was my moment, finally the gig was up and it was no longer my secret, I felt a tremendous burden lifted when I answered yes”.
From that hospitalization, James was transferred to an inpatient
treatment center for eating disorders in Arizona. His roommate is a compulsive overeater named Paul. James and Paul have found strength in
each other, knowing they are not alone as men with eating disorders. Their stories are very different but the journey to recovery from eating disorders is the same, one day at a time. –Cindy McAlpin, Director of
Alumni Relations at Rosewood Centers for Eating Disorders. For more
articles on eating disorders visit www.hope4eds.wordpress.com
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I REMEMBER WHEN I FIRST WALKED THROUGH THE DOORS OF RECOVERY AND BEGAN MEETING FOLKS WITH YEARS OF SOBRIETY.
I thought to myself, “They are SO together”! I wanted
to be JUST like them! I would sit and imagine how totally AWSOME it
was going to be when I to, was “fixed”, just driften’ in my boat down
that sweet river called Serene! Yep, it was going to be FABULOUS! Because after all, life in addiction had been really difficult, it was only
logical that life sober would be nothin’ but smooth sailing….right?
Sure enough I got sober and sure enough I found myself floating
down that sweet river Serene. There were people who offered to go
with me, but you know…this was MY trip & they weren’t really “my
type” anyway. I wanted to do it alone. Yep… just me & the river. It
was everything I had hoped for and more! I was just floatin’ down
that peaceful stream, the water so clear and smooth, a gentle breeze
blowing my hair while the warmth of the sun was cascading over me.
I floated along in an almost total state of bliss, thinking to myself,
“Man, sober living is a snap!” As I gazed at the water I noticed the ever
so slightly gentle ripples in the water, slowly building and multiplying around me. I thought, “Wow, look at the water. It looks so pretty.
I love water.” I laid back, feeling so comfortable and peaceful as I
drifted ever faster down stream.
Hearing something in the distance unfamiliar to me, I raised myself up from a relaxing state of slumber in a feeble attempt to figure
out the strange sound. Far ahead of me I could barely make out something white on the water. “Hey”, I thought to myself, “that looks like
snow. It’s so pretty!” For just a moment I thought, “Strange that there
is snow on such a warm sunny day.” But…not wanting to leave the
comfort of my sweet trip down the river Serene I laid back to enjoy
my ride filled with peace and joy that would never ever have to end.
BLAM!! BUMP!! BOOM!! BAM!!
“AHHHhhhhh!”
I shot straight up! “What was that?!! “What in the Sam hell is going
on here?!!” Suddenly I realize…“That’s not SNOW! Arrrggghhh!!! I’m
in the middle of white water rapids!!!” I thought, “How did I get here?
How did this happen? I don’t know how to do this! Don’t I need a raft?
But I’m in a canoe!!! What happened to my ride?” Then…up ahead…
I see it. (Just when I thought it couldn’t possibly get any worse.) That
loud noise…”Oh hell, it’s the falls!!!!” I grab the ore, paddling against
the current with all that was in me! For every 6 fast “paddles” I moved
backward another foot! Realizing my efforts were ultimately futile,
moving ever closer to the edge of the falls, I begin searching the shore
line for someone…ANYONE!!!! I paddle and I paddle…I’m still moving backwards! In desperation I cry out, “GOD!!!!! HELP MEEEEE!!!
PLEASE!!!!”
Then, I hear a voice… “Hey! Grab the rope when I throw it!” I turn
and see some people on the shore line. I think, “Where the heck did
they come from?” Then I think, “Who cares!” They throw the rope
and I grab it. Exhausted I can’t even pull my own self in. All I can do
is hang on tight and let them pull me to shore.
So, (as in my metaphor), this was my experience in early recovery.
Thinking I could do it, thinking it wouldn’t be hard and freaking out
when the reality of “living” came crashing towards me. Finding that
when my “self sufficiency” reached its limits, there was a God and a
fellowship of people that could do for me what I couldn’t–pull me to
safety. I am so thankful for that realization and that over the years the
truth that was there in the beginning continues to be the same truth
that saves me today.
FROM ROCKING WITH AEROSMITH TO ROCKING IN RECOVERY!
CG: Richie, it's a pleasure to meet you.
RS: How are you, Charlie?
CG: Let's start with the question; how did you come to play with Aerosmith?
RS: I was a singer/song writer signed to Columbia records, and I had the
same management company that Aerosmith had. One day they were leaving a
management meeting as I was going into one, and my manager said you guys
need to meet, and introduced us. And Steven (Tyler) and I became very good
friends.
CG: And you wrote "Amazing"?
RS: I wrote "Amazing", yeah.
CG: Amazing.(everyone laughs) The song is...amazing. No other word for
it.
RS: Well, thank you. Thank you. I think that was really the first song that
really hit radio, that was about recovery.
CG: That's the kind of song that makes me have to say, “No, no, I just have
something in my eye” whenever I hear it.
RS: (Laughs) Yeah. Yeah, yeah. It's OK, I know. Steven, & I, have gotten ten's
of thousands of letters from addicts who said, I was putting crack in a pipe, or
I had a needle in my arm, and that song came on the radio, and I stopped
what I was doing and went to a meeting.
CG: Really?!
RS: Yeah. Touching stuff.
RS: Yeah. My dad bought me a guitar when I was 13. I played all through
high school in a local band. Then I went to the University of Miami, and my
parents wanted me to become a doctor. I went through 3 years of collage and
realized that this wasn't what I wanted to do.
CG: Thank God for the rest of the world who loves your music!
RS: (Laughs) Right. And in my sophomore year I was tending bar in a club
on Long Island and some friends of mine had a band called 'Rich Kids' and
they asked me to jam with them one night before the bar opened. They loved
the way I played and asked me why didn't I come in & join the band? And that
was it. I never looked back.
CG: How did you get started with the drugs and alcohol?
RS: Ah, the drugs and alcohol. I started smoking pot in the early days on
Long Island, it was sort of the thing to do in the climate of the late 60's &
early 70's. I started smoking with my band. Everybody was doing it; it went
hand in hand with being a musician. Drinking was really a secondary drug for
me, although I would have a few vodka & tonics here & there, but I was
pretty much smoking pot. Traveling from gig to gig in vans, you had a lot of
down time, and....we smoked. And it was fun. It was fun for a long time, until
we cross that imaginary line and then it becomes a problem. It started for me
when I experimented, when I wanted to try another high, like a Quaalude,
then I went to sleeping pills and experimented with other things to get a buzz.
That is when I started crossing that imaginary line. Still not knowing, not realizing, that it was my addiction starting to rear it's ugly head.
CG: Who taught you to play the guitar?
RS: I was self taught.
CG: I wasn't crazy about Quaaludes, but I “experimented” with them anyway, and that led to trying other pills and other stuff, and at the end I was...
opiates were my drug of choice, though I never shot heroin, but at the end I
was shooting coke, smoking crack ... a high I didn't even like(!) and taking
20 – 30 pain pills a day. Shooting coke & smoking crack was because I also
would try anything for a new high – even if it meant hiding in my bathroom,
paranoid out of my head of the imaginary monsters peeking under the door. I
would take anything at that point, but opiates; pain pills, were my downfall.
RS: Yeah, I know. I went through everything. I went through every phase. I
mean I tried every drug, every combination of drugs. But for me, when I found
the combination of heroin and cocaine....I used to cook heroin and cocaine,
CG: Really?
CG: Speedballs
CG: Such a God thing. How cool is that?
RS: I'm telling you.
CG: Richie, how did you begin your professional music career?
RS: Well, I've been playing guitars since I was 13 years old.
CHARLIE G. INTERVIEWS RICHIE SUPA
Richie Supa performing at the recent 12-Step Music Fest in the Florida Keys.
RS: Speedballs. And smoke it, and that's when stuff started disappearing
from my house and I found myself hocking my guitars on 48th Street, and that
was my real love, and I knew I was in trouble.
CG: What was your bottom?
RS: My bottom was in a stolen rental car on 49th Street. I crashed into the
steps of a Brownstone and the car was up ended. I climbed out of the car with
one suitcase and tried to find a place to go to, and I was turned away by all my
friends.
CG: That was your bottom? Your real bottom?
RS: My bottom was getting arrested in 1983 for possession of a kilo of
cocaine, which I had just gotten for me and the band. I was busted by a friend
of mine who had just been busted, and he turned informant and set me up.
CG: He rolled on you.
RS: He rolled on me and I got busted. So my bottom was in Rikers Island. I
was arrested with a kilo of coke and in New York at the time we had a thing
called the Rockefeller Statues and that was a mandatory 15 - life.
And you know, life changed from there. Because of who I was, and me never
being arrested before or having any criminal behavior in my past, they went
very easy with me and I ended up getting 3 years. The good news is that 10
years later I got a letter from the state of New York, from the Supreme Court,
they expunged my conviction and they gave me a certificate of release, and I'm
no longer a convicted felon. Which is an amazing thing.
CG: Yes, it is. So, do you consider that your end, or was it the car crash?
RS: That was the beginning of the end. I found out about the rooms in
Rikers Island.
At the time I just wanted to get out of my jail cell, so I would sign up to
go up to the meeting. And this guy was there, you know? A Puerto Rican kid
from New York who talked about the same stuff that I had did. That was my
first meeting and that was when I became aware that there was something
outside that I could go to, if I chose to.
CG: Did you get that inner peace that comes at a meeting?
RS: Well, I wasn't finished, you know? To tell you the truth, Charlie I was
such a sick addict that what got me through the 18 months that I had to do
was dreaming about when I could get out and go cop another bundle of dope,
and get 2 hookers. That's what kept me sane, and that's just what I did the day
I stepped out. I went to parole, and then to 110th Street.
CG: I was in and out of the rooms for 8, 10 years. The detox I ended up
working at, where JOURNEY magazine started, I went through 6 times in 8
years. It wasn't until losing my yougest brother, who was with friends in Las
Vegas; he got drunk, passed out, got sick, and suffocated on his own vomit.
That was my bottom. Where I didn't want anymore and I gave up.
What was your real bottom? What was it that made you say, “I'm done.”?
RS: My real bottom, the end, was when I came back out, they put me on
parole...first they put me on work release and I got caught bringing drugs into
work release, OK? They sent me back up for 9 more months. I did my maximum time. When I came out, I was in a hotel on the west side of Manhattan
with two working girls, like I told you before. They were about to do a drug
deal, and they were under surveillance.
The cops busted into the room and I was there, and one of the cops
said, “Richie Supa, right? Aerosmith?” And I said, 'Yeah, who wants to know?”
continued on the next page
"Amazing" continued from page 17
And he said, “I'm one of the guys who busted you 4 years ago.”
CG: Really.
RS: Yeah. So he took me outside, you got to understand something – when
I was first arrested most of the cops that arrested me were Aerosmith fans and
some of them were uncomfortable with arresting me, so anyway this guy took
me outside and says, “You know something, your about to take a fall, just for
being here. Your back where you were when I last arrested you. So this is what
I want you to do; I want you to make a phone call and get someone to send
you an airline ticket and get out of New York.
Right now.
Otherwise I'm going to arrest you.”
And he let me go.
CG: God had other plans for you.
RS: I got on a plane the next day. No ID by the way. I begged the people at
the airport to let me on. I told them my story, I'd just got out of jail, I had no
ID. I had a 10 speed bike on my back and a bag, that's it. They got my parents
on the phone and they told them that it was me and what I looked like, and
Eastern Airlines to let me on the plane. That was on a Sunday night, and Tuesday night I walked into the meeting at a church on 70th Ave. What was that
meeting...The Bottom ....
CG: The Bottom Line Club?
RS: The Bottom Line. And I stuck my hand up and I said 'I'm an addict.”
CG: So you got clean in the rooms, or did you ever go through treatment?
RS: (laughs) I went through Phoenix House, Day Top, & Practical Journey
and every time I walked out, they gave me a brochure & told me to make a
meeting. But I didn't get it. I only found out years later that rehab is for discovery, and the rooms are for recovery. And I didn't get that. I thought if I
could just discover what the problem is, I'd be fine.
But you know what? It takes what it takes. God doesn't take you all this
way to just drop you on your ass. For me, I was a hard core dope fiend and I
needed some hard core re-directioning.
CG: I've come to believe that shit happens to get us to where we are suppose
to be.
RS: Plus the fact that I was very driven by ego. You have to understand that I
was big rock star. I lived in ego. I lived the life of stardom. The biggest rock &
roll band. I was a major song writer, I had major money. Like I shared when
I picked up my 20 year medallion, I shot dope in limousines, in hotel suites.
But I was still a junkie. Doesn't matter.
So I had all these issues. I had to really get humble. And when I walked
into the rooms, the rooms don't care who you are. It's all about what you are.
I had to separate that. I couldn't go in there and say, “Hey, I'm Richie Supa.”
I wasn't going to get better like that
CG: I had a “bit” of ego myself, and when you do that, when you let go of ego
and show your true self – openly, it's incredible. I don't know how to describe
how it was for me.
RS: The second step hit me on a Sunday night meeting, I'll never forget it. I
had chills, it hit me so strong, when I came to believe that a power greater
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than me could restore me to sanity. I knew then that I needed to be here. Because for months, when I went to a meeting, I thought it was a death sentence.
I was like, “Why me? Why the flip do I have to come to these things?” Ya know?
I have to do this the rest of my life? That's how I was. I was resentful that I had
to do this. Isn't there another way? Can't I just stop?
No. I couldn't.
So, it was a slow love affair. I started liking recovery. Then it became my
buddy. Then it became a love affair. Then it became, 'I need to chase it as hard
as I chased my drugs.' If I can't get my ass off the couch to go to a meeting, like
I did when I was sick and got my ass off the couch to go cop some dope...so, I
learned, man.
CG: I love the song you wrote for their site.
RS: I think, one of the guys suggested, 'Why don't you write a song called In
the rooms?' And I said, OK.
CG: You wrote that song just for a new on line community? It's going to be a
classic.
RS: I wrote that song for InTheRooms.com. I told them I was going to get one
of my rock start friends to co-write it and have them sing it, to give it a little
higher visibility, but the person I was going to ask went out and used, and then
another person I was going to ask, he went out and used and....
CG: How long have you been clean?
RS: Twenty years.
CG: It seems like it was meant for you to do it.
RS: (Laughs) Yeah. So there I was with a half- written song and I was just waiting for the other shoe to drop, and it got to the point where it had to be finished.
I mean, I knew I could finish it, but I was hoping to stick to my original plan.
Then, I was in Nashville one night with nothing to do, and I started playing the
first verse... (starts laughing) I actually was looking to steal from the first verse
for a country song I was working on! But I thought, I really need to finish this
song for them, and I did.
CG: Twenty years! Congratulations! And now you've started a new project with
Intherooms.
RS: Some of the friends we made on our journey happen to be RT and Kenny
P. And they told me about this thing that they were putting together, InTheRooms.com. I loved the idea and I said casually at a meeting one night 'I'll be
glad to help you, just call me anytime.'
CG: You know I have to say this, right? Your song "In The Rooms" ...
It's Amazing! You still got it.
RS: (Everyone laughing) Well thanks, thanks. That song wasn't a stretch; it's a
little piece of me, it's a little piece of RT, Ken, you. It's a little piece of the journey. If there's an addict that says, 'I don't understand that song.' - then you're
not an addict.
continued on the next page
CG: Mine was the third step. After I lost my daughter I didn't believe in God,
and hated Him if He was real. Then when I did the 3rd step prayer, I felt Him. I
knew there was a reason for everything. The 3rd step was my big one.
RS: Yeah.
journeys-ad-outlines.pdf
11/14/08
10:32:10 AM
C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
Connect with ‘People Like You’ From
Around the Corner and Across the World
WWW.INTHEROOMS.COM
"Amazing" continued from previous page.
CG: So what else would you like to tell our readers about Richie Supa?
RS: We grow up, we go on our journey in life and we become who we become, and I'm not one of those guys who like to sit back and pat my celebrity
and say, 'Look at me.' I like to get involved. I got involved nine years ago with
the Boys & Girls Club of Broward County, and The Biker's Bash; which is a
Harley Davidson event that we put on every year. It's associated with the Fun
in the Sun parade, which is a big Christmas Harley Davidson parade where
every rider brings a toy and we have a 3 day festival that raises a lot of money
for the Joe DiMaggio Hospital and the Boys & Girls Club. I am the Grand
Chairman now, and I bring in all my rock star & song writer friends and since
I got involved with my friends the money has gone from $50,000, $60,000 to
over $800,000.
CG: One of my columnists, Mother Henry – who writes the column, What's
Your Agenda?' rides in that event.
RS: Yeah, there's about 55,000 bikes. Giving back to the community is very
important to me & that's how I give back; to charities for kids. The program
said come back & get your life back, and that's what I did, I took it back. And
when I took it back, I never stopped coming back.
CG: What else?
RS: What I am in life is a song writer. My first love is writing songs, working
with artists, helping new artists. When a new artist has to make a album, I'm
the guy who gets the call to help them write the songs. It's my first love, ya
know? And I always used to think that I had to get high to write songs, and now
I'm writing the best songs of my life!
We come into the rooms, and...the program is perfect; we're the imperfections.
CG: I like that! I haven't heard that one before. One final question, and I
have to ask because my friends and readers would kill me if I didn't. Heck, I'd
kill me if I didn't ask! How did the song Amazing come about?
RS: It was '88, '90, and I was banned from going around anyone in the
Aerosmith band because when I got off parole I went to Madison Square
Garden to see Aerosmith. Steven Tyler had a year clean and I went backstage
with an 8-ball of coke and a pipe. I had a big coat on, and I went back stage
and we hugged and we cried because I had just gotten released and I stepped
back and threw the coat open and he backed away from me and he said I had
to leave.
I said, “What do you mean?” And he said, “You have to go, I'm in recovery.”
CG: What was in the coat?
RS: I had a base pipe, coke and a butane torch. I mean, that's how we
shared the love back then! I asked him if he was really in recovery; going to
meetings and everything and he said yes, and that I had to go. (laughs) I said,
'C'mon! You still do it on week ends, right?' He said no, and that I had to leave.
Then he called security and told the head security guy to walk me out of the
building, get me in a cab & send me home. He said, “Make sure nothing happens to him, he's my brother. Then Steven said to me, 'Do me a favor, Richie
– get a year clean, I really need you back in my life.' After that I was forbidden
to go around the band by management.
That's really where the light went on for me. So, I got a year clean and I
sent my medallion to him. Just at that time Geffen Records had turned down
13 or14 songs that he had written, that they didn't like. And I had gone to a
meeting one night and a woman stood up and said, 'All my life I've kept the
right ones out and let the wrong ones in.' And I'm like, oh God keep talking!
And I'm like writing this stuff on my sleeve!
(everybody laughing)
And I call Steven and I said that this girl stood up at a meeting and said
that she's kept the right ones out, and let the wrong ones in, and Steven immediately said over the phone, 'Had an angel of mercy to see me through all
my sin.'
I said, 'Where are you?'
He said he was in LA and I needed to get out there. 'I want to write a
song called "Amazing".'
Steven called his manager and said, he's a year clean, he's my brother
and I want him out here; we're going to write, You have to forgive. And he sent
me a ticket.
I wrote half the song on the way out to LA, and could have finished it, but
I wanted us to do it together. Then when we recorded it in New York City, we
had the Make A Wish Foundation in the studio with a kid whose wish was to
meet Steven Tyler, and that day was the day we were tracking vocals for Amazing. Steven put the kid on a stool – right under the mike -as he was recording
in the sound booth.
He tried to sing the song... he could not get through it. He just choked
up. We had to redo it when the kid left. It was..it was a pretty amazing thing.
CG: That is so cool.
RS: The last thing I'll say is in '94, when I was playing in the Miami Arena, I
was on stage tuning my guitar, and I had my back to the crowd, and Steven
came over and he goes, “Hey! You want to know why you got clean?
I'm like, “What do you mean, why I got clean?”And he says, “Do you
want to know why you got clean?”I said I knew why I got clean, and he says,
“No. No you don't. Turn around.”
And I turned around and up on the back of the arena there was a huge
banner that said, STEVEN & RICHIE, WE LOVE YOU. PS- WE KNOW WHAT
AMAZING REALLY MEANS. And it had the AA triangle.
CG: WOW. That is very cool.
RS: Yeah, huh? That's Amazing!
CG: Thank you so much for your time. It was a pleasure and an honor.
RS: Your welcome, your welcome. All right, you got what you need?
CG: Ya think? (everybody laughs)
Richie Supa and Charlie G
i t s a l l i n t h e J o u r n e y. c o m 21
BEGIN YOUR JOURNEY
IN RECOVERY FROM
AN EATING DISORDER
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Submit your stories, poetry and prose to: [email protected]
I Stepped Into His Grace
His Eyes
I see myself in his eyes
The sadness, the tears, the lies.
A life once promising, now gone
No glimmer of hope, no wish to go on
The smell of alcohol permeates the air
He, like me, has gone places few dare.
I want to help him
My thoughts of alcohol burn white hot
I see myself in his eyes,
A faint smile disguising the wish to die
His plight, not long ago mine, makes me cry
I feel his anguish, that glassy stare
A dead heart pumping, no life there
Family and friends too numb to care
I see myself in his eyes,
A shattered spirit, too tired to ask why
Drinking, not to feel good, but just to ease the pain
To find peace in the bottle, It's all in vain
Too tired to climb up, low enough to drown
Lost in the darkness nowhere to go
As I take it all in, I let out a sigh
I'm twelve steps from him, I see myself in his eyes
–Denny D
For so many years, I walked all alone, so I thought.
With all the money that I earned, drugs and alcohol was all I bought;
Tormenting my family, friends and myself.
All my spirituality, I had put on a shelf,
Thinking I wasn't hurting anyone but myself.
All these feelings that I felt only made me want to kill myself.
So many years, I didn't know what I was doing.
So many years I didn't care what I was doing.
Each morning was the same.
I wanted to change my life and my name.
People stared at me as I walked the streets.
I had given up, drugs and alcohol had me beat.
When I decided to step into His grace,
for almost five years now, I have been clean and sober.
No longer afraid to show my face,
All because I stepped into His grace.
–Victor Anthony Ocampo
If my mouth be the front door to my house,
I pray the lord to gaurd it well.
So that when evil thoughts inside my head do dwell.
I pray the lord to expell.
If my mouth is filled with anger or words that
would disgrace.
I pray the lord to bolt the door upon my face.
If love fills the words that are to be spoken.
May this doorway to the world always be open.
Thank you Charlie G for all those beautiful words
you put together I feel blessed and i am blessed
to be part of this beautiful day.
–Anonymous
i t ’s a l l i n t h e J o u r n e y. c o m 23
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Years ago addicts and alcoholics were seen
as morally deficient criminals and a nuisance to society. We have come a long way
over the last couple decades in educating
the public and the government to comprehend that addiction is a disease and those
inflicted should be treated as such. We now
have specialized Courts such as Drug Court and Mental Health
Court to try to address the needs of these clients in a separate
realm and focus more on treatment and less on punitive measures
and retribution. We are blessed to have an abundance of excellent
treatment facilities, both private and not-for-profits.
That being said, we are still losing many addicts that are falling through the cracks in the system. Of course there is the lack
of funding issue, which is a travesty. Many addicts simply cannot
afford access to treatment. This needs to be addressed with our
Legislators. However, I would like to focus this article on other
factors that are often overlooked. I attribute the deficit in part to
a lack of proper assessment and sufficient Case-Management of
clients entering into treatment.
You see, every client has unique and individual needs, thus we
cannot treat all addicts the same. Any client entering treatment,
(whether through the system or not), should be evaluated with
a Bio-psycho-social assessment by an Addictions Professional
to better understand the totality of their case. There are certain
treatment facilities which specialize in specific modalities which
address these factors. Clients with Co-occurring disorders for
example need to be dealt with differently than those with only
an Axis I addiction. Chemical disorders need to be dealt with
first and foremost. In many cases, these underlying disorders
are at the root of the substance abuse, which is in essence
self-medication. Not every treatment center is going to be the
appropriate place for every client. Certain treatment centers
specialize in adolescent care, while others specialize in relapse
prevention or holistic methods of treatment. Other treatment
centers are equipped to deal with sexual abuse issues or eating disorders. Some treatment centers use the 12 step approach,
while others use behavioral modification and bible-based treatment. It is important to know which treatment center will meet the
specific needs of the individual being assessed. It is also crucial
to know the licensure status of a treatment center being considered. I take precautions to ensure that every Treatment Center
I refer a client to is at least DCF licensed and either JACHO or
CARF accredited (or at least be in the process of accreditation).
I also insist on knowing the qualifications of the counselors, the
program curriculum, and the client-counselor ratio.
The continuum of care needs to start even before intake. A proper
screening and assessment must be performed to determine the
proper course of treatment for each individual client, including
which facility is going to best meet his or her needs. If this is done
correctly, I believe we can greatly reduce relapse and recidivism
rates. I have seen many patients discharged from detox only to be
referred by a case manager to a mode of treatment which is insufficient or unequipped to address their issues. I have seen cases
where a client is referred to out-patient treatment from detox,
when they are seriously in need of residential treatment. Or even
worse, they are referred to a ¾ way house, which is by no means
a substitute for treatment.
We need to emphasize hands on Case-Management which
continues even after the client is discharged. We need to emphasize follow-ups and aftercare. That is why I advocate for every
client before, during and after treatment is concluded. A 30 or
60-day stay in a residential treatment center is by no means a
cure, but hopefully it gives the client a good foundation from
which to build. From the point of discharge, the client needs to be
linked to the appropriate community resources including medical needs, counseling needs, housing needs, employment needs,
public benefits, transportation, and of course support meetings.
Contact should be maintained with the client by a Case-Manager
on at least a weekly basis. For example, I usually make the rounds
and meet with my clients on Fridays. I want to make sure they
are getting the proper treatment as well as taking care of the
myriad of issues which so often co-exist with the addiction. These
would include legal issues, driver’s license issues, living situations, employment, and health issues. Too often, the client leaves
treatment only to return to the same dilemmas which contributed
to them being in the state of incarceration or need for treatment
in the first place.
In sum, there needs to be more communication between staff
in the various treatment facilities, the families of the clients, the
Courts and the Criminal Justice System. We need accountability
and not just a shuffling of clients from one facility to another
without keeping adequate documentation and communication.
Everyone needs to be on the same page–working together in the
best interest of the Person Served. Someone needs to coordinate
everything and facilitate the process, making it as easy and stressfree as possible. We as Addiction Professionals need to be proactive and innovative. We must be vigilant and tenacious in our
advocacy of clients. Consultation with an Independent Treatment
Coordinator from the onset can be very beneficial for not only the
client, but for the Courts and Treatment Facilities as well.
Myles B. Schlam is a clinical treatment coordinator and certified criminal justice
addiction professional practicing in Miami-Dade. Broward and Palm Beach counties.
i t ’s a l l i n t h e J o u r n e y. c o m 25
Dear Val,
First of all, I want to thank you for the great advice you have
been giving other readers. I look forward to your column in
every issue of Journey as well as the other uplifting and
informative articles. I have been looking for someone to discuss
gambling and I haven’t found what I need to hear. I am hoping
you can shed some light on my concerns. I’m not saying that I
have a gambling problem, but I have been noticing some
behaviors of late that are beginning to cause me some concern.
What’s happening is that I am finding myself spending many
hours a day thinking about the next time I can get to the new
casino that just opened in my town. Whenever I am in there, I
become consumed with winning that I actually plan how I am
going to spend the winnings before I leave the card table.
Certainly, I can’t be a gambling addict, but what I have learned
in the rooms has taught me to “take a fearless and thorough
inventory.” I was hoping you could lead the way.
– Carole H. Malibu, CA
Dear Carole,
Taking an inventory is probably the most difficult and rewarding
thing that addicts do and I am an ardent supporter of anyone
who wishes to fully discover who they are and why they behave
in certain ways. Now, since you have been reading my article,
you will know that I merely present the facts and allow you two
draw your own conclusions.
The National Council on Problem Gambling offers the following
list of criteria:
Problem gambling is gambling behavior which causes
disruptions in any major area of life: psychological, physical,
social or vocational. The term "Problem Gambling" includes,
but is not limited to, the condition known as "Pathological", or
"Compulsive" Gambling, a progressive addiction characterized
by increasing preoccupation with gambling, a need to bet more
money more frequently, restlessness or irritability when
attempting to stop, "chasing" losses, and loss of control
manifested by continuation of the gambling behavior in spite of
mounting, serious, negative consequences. (ncpgambling.org)
If that didn’t provide what you need, Carole, perhaps the
Pathological Gambling Criteria of Problem Gamblers will help:
10 Questions About Gambling Behavior
6. You have broken the law or considered breaking the law to finance your gambling.
7. You have borrowed money to finance your gambling.
8. You have felt depressed or suicidal because of your gambling losses.
9. You have been remorseful after gambling.
10. You have gambled to get money to meet your financial obligations.
A “Yes” answer to any of these questions, suggests that you
may want to consider seeking assistance from a professional
regarding this gambling behavior. One of the best sources for
support with a gambling problem is the National Problem
Gambling HelpLine Network (800.522.4700). The call is
confidential and toll free throughout the U.S.
I hope this information has been helpful. I wish you well on
your continued journey of self discovery.
1. You have often gambled longer than you had planned.
2. You have often gambled until your last dollar was gone.
3. Thoughts of gambling have caused you to lose sleep.
4. You have used your income or savings to gamble while letting bills go unpaid.
5. You have made repeated, unsuccessful attempts to stop gambling.
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really? That's all we should pray for? Well...
YEAH. The point is that we, and our thinking
have gotten us into all sorts of situations that we
had to 4th, 5th and 9th step to get past. Quite
frankly I don't really want to get into any of that
crap anymore.
It's not that I don't think anymore. It's just that I work very
hard to keep connected to something greater than myself. Why
should I do that if I am just going to disregard that Power's message
and do what I want to do anyway? It doesn't make sense.
Remember in step 10 where we talked about walking a higher
path? This is where the ability to do that on a daily basis really
comes in.
Oh it's really easy to say I'm going to do the right thing.
Amazingly, I can even point out where you are wrong almost instantly. I'm very smart ya know.
It's just that if I don't keep myself connected to the Power behind
that higher path, I slip away all slow and quiet like. The next thing I
know, I have a pocket full of those little vanilla coffee creamer
things they have at 7-11. (I know I know. Another 7-11 reference. I
SPEND A LOT OF TIME THERE OK???)
I don't need any more creamer. I have more than enough in my
coffee. Trust me. I just take them. I build a stock pile of them and
napkins in my car. Ya know... just in case I spill my coffee on me and
need to fill the cup with a bunch of creamers.
See.. It's not about the creamers. It's about me allowing myself to
minimize stealing. "Oh what the hell. It's only a creamer. TAKE IT!"
That's how it starts. This thing doesn't just say. " Hey. Go
drink." That's way too obvious. It says. "Just take the damn
creamer." Then it tells ya why it's more beneficial to take a nap than
go to a meeting. Once that sh*t starts, it can be tough to put a lid on
it. Trust me. I know that too.
That's why step 11 is there... here.... EVERYWHERE! :-)
It says on pages 85&86 of the AA big book " Step Eleven suggests
prayer and meditation. We shouldn't be shy on this matter of prayer.
Better men than we are using it constantly. It works, if we have the
proper attitude and work at it."
It goes on to give some pretty good directions on
what to do before you go to bed at night, but for the
sake of me not having to write it all down in this
period of laziness that has just fallen upon me, I will
kind of sum it up as best I can.
It asks us to review our day. To sit down and
look at the events of that have transpired through out that day and
look for some key things. Selfishness, fear, dishonesty, resentment.
(I think I may be writing it all down anyway. Funny how that works
huh?) Do I owe someone an apology? Have I kept something to myself that should be shared at once? (like stealing 400 coffee creamers from 7-11) Was I kind and loving toward all? What could I have
done better? Was I thinking of myself most of the time? Or was I
thinking of what I could do for others, of what I could pack into the
stream of life?
If you sit down and honestly answer those questions at night.
Which takes about 10 minutes by the way, there is very little chance
that the little things that build up into that first drink will slip by. It's
how we keep our spiritual fitness.
Anyone who knows anything about fitness (not that I do with my
late night Taco Bell excursions) knows that the more you do it the
easier it gets. Then you can add more weight to the bar and get
stronger. You can add more miles to the jog and get... um... runnier.
Whatever.
It's all about goals man. If you don't want to think about drinking or drugging anymore and you would like to be a productive
member of society. You need to grow spiritually. To maintain this
program of FREEDOM we've been given. Step 11 is the most important personal piece of action you can do to achievethat goal.
If you would like to share your experiences
with this or any of the Steps, please cantact
me at: [email protected]
m
usic, recovery, camping, bikers, and kids. There’s only one
event were this takes place, The 12 Step Music Fest. Oh ya! My wife
and our five-year old daughter Alexis and I had a wonderful, relaxing
time. Spiritual experiences were the buzz about the show. We arrived
Thursday evening and tried to put up the tent with a little struggle.
Two ladies, who obviously were pros at tent assembly, jumped right in
and help us set it up. Thank God for small miracles. These bikers next
to us who were from Vermont gave us some lighter fluid to get our
campfire going. There I go planning God's results again and what a
surprise, help comes from all angles. I thought my friends from
Miami would be the majority of people at the event. Wrong! Most of
the people I talked to were from at least 500 miles away. I got to
interact with people from everywhere. One thing I notices was nobody
was concerned with what fellowship you attended. It was totally unity
in recovery. I didn’t see one fight, not even one argument.
Friday at 5:00 PM Richie Supra, singer songwriter, and once
member of Aerosmith comes out to mingle with the crowd. He wrote
the song “Amazing”. He was brought down by “InTheRooms.com”
He played songs and told stories about his life, recovery, and his
music career Wow! It was great. A couple of hours later out comes
Art Alexakis of Everclear. Hetold of his story, which was raw and
honest, then he played for us. We could connect all the lyrics of his
songs to his story, and to top it off he took questions and answers
form the crowd. It was so personal, everyone loved it.
Saturday night Peter Tork from the Monkeys comes out, sits on the
edge of the stage and tells his story and gives his views on recovery.
Then out comes his band, Suede Shoe Blues and he plays for us for
almost two hours. My favorite was when he did “I’m not your stepping
stone” I can barely scratch the surface of the event in the article,
because there was too much going on.
There were two stages and music from morning till late night.
The weather was cool and perfect, no rain. Campfires, and S’mores
everywhere you look.
Oh by the why, wasn’t that a nice banner Journey Magazine had on
the main stage? (One of the proud sponsors of the event) What a great
time for all! We were one!
You know I don’t like to repeat gossip, so listen closely the first
time! There will be another 12-step Music Fest next year: November
5-8! Word around the camp fire is, there will be some really big acts,
I can’t mention their names yet, till it’s in writing, but I am more
exited then ever! As soon as I hear something you will be the first to
know. So clear your calendar and make plans. I’ll end with this; I’ve
promoted bands and been too many shows. I am predicting the 2nd
Annual 12-Step Music Fest will sell out in no time. See you there!
e
d t h ll . . .
i
I ad
do the gr
,
e
e
's s t o p o f
t
e
l
... ls on
c oa
[email protected]
or check out my website at
www.myspace.com/motherhenry
C'mom, talk to me.
You can tell Momma...
We offer a structured program with
a zero tolerance to non compliance.
Our program is based on the
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A
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in the Heart of Santa Monica, California.
Owned by a Registered Chemical Dependency
Counselor with over 17 years of hands on experience.
We are a sober living facility designed for working
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We are proud to be a member of
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We encourage the 12 steps as well as
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We Are in The Business of Living!
BACK 22 LIFE
• Safe, comfortable detox including
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FLORIDA
A Safe Place Delray Beach
Felicia Dickson: Owner/Operator 561-396-5120
Stephan Hart: Resource Manager 561.860.5344
Butterfly Cottages Delray Beach
Owner/Manager: Janis Spector 561-400-1996
Cleveland House Hollywood 320 Cleveland St
Owner/Director: Alan J. Rubin 1-888-80-SOBER
Danny D’s 12 step House Hallandale
Owner: Danny Donahue 305-725-8433
Discovery House Delray Beach
Director: John Suto 561-350-5181
www.discoveryhouseinc.com
Hallway of Life Recovery Center Delray Beach
Dr. Hall 137 S. Swinton Ave 561-908-6277
Harmony House Miami 2501-2503 NE 193 St.
Manager: Catherine for women 305-879-7750
Healing Properties Delray Beach
Contact: Lasandra 561-265-4561
Holly’s Places Ft. Lauderdale
Director: Holly Mattson 1-954-815-9203
Ocean Drive Recovery Resort South Beach
Contact: Mitch 786-704-4725
Integrity Way Delray Beach
Executive Director: Matthew Brindisi
888-469-8777 / 561-278-6122
www.integritywayflorida.com
Primary Purpose Sober House
Ft. Lauderdale Director: Paul Sohr
1-877-81sober www.primarypurpose.us
Irish House Pompano Beach
A Safe Place for Sober Drunks
Dave 954-410-4734 or Mary 954-839-0940
Joy’s House Miami A Women’s Sober House
786-227-4842 www.joyshouse.info
Lotus Recovery Residence Delray Beach
48 SE 1st Ave, Admin: Renee Stiff 954-588-7039
Mission Unity Port Charlotte Director:James
Byrom 941-624-3748 www. missionunity.org
Mustard Seed For Women Delray Beach
Executive Director: Wendi 561-702-1334
Manager: Jill 561-305-3470
Netty’s Nest Hollywood A Sober House for Women
Close to Public Transportation and meetings.
Lynette 954-494-3195 or Mary 954-839-0940
Oceanbreeze Cottages Delray Beach
Contact: Jo Linda 561-523-2806
Recovery House 54, Inc. Hollywood
54 SW 16th Street Contact: Jerry Weissman
954-394-6309
Recovery Houses Coral Gables, FL.
Male and Female Recovery Houses for Rent
Close to Public Transportation and meetings.
Call Tom 305-788-4061
Recovery Zone Delray
Owner: Dawn Jonas 561-699-1577
Serenity Gardens Ft. Lauderdale
Clean and Sober Living for Women
Owner: Kimberly 954-854-4720
Sober Safe Communities Pompano
Director: Jyude Allbright 954-464-3266
www.sobersafecommunities.com
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Owners : Mike & Kristen DeVane 561-779-6088
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THE ONLY OCEANFRONT SOBER LIVING HOUSE FOR MEN IN FLORIDA
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919 NW Fork Road,
Owner: Tina Cook 772-463-3133
Bridge Sober Living Homes, Inc
Los Angeles, A Premier Sober Home for Men
Executive Director: Dave Casey 818-223-9400
The Ranch Sober House Orlando
Contact: Dr. Pete Butkins, LMPT:
407-718-6960
Casa Bella Sober Living for Women
Los Angeles, A Sober Living Retreat
Owner: Fiona Ray 310-913-0029
Owner: Michelle Heymann 310-279-9615
The Recovery House Hialeah
Owner: Frank H. 786-337-2231
Mgr: Desmond Meade 305-244-2577
email:[email protected]
The Sanctuary Delray Beach
Admissions: Tom Gentry 561-843-7399
www.sanctuarydelraybeach.com
CALIFORNIA
Back 2 Life Sober Living Santa Monica
Executive Sober Living for Men
Owner: Josh Liber 310-806-7190
www.back2lifesoberliving.com
[email protected]
Herbert House West Los Angeles
Care, Compassion & Community
Admissions: Heather MacDowell
310-737-7566 www.HerbertHouse.com
Miracle By The Bay Sober Living
La Costa, Director: Ali 866-538-8153
www.MiracleByTheBay.com
Miracle Terrace Los Angeles
Serene and Luxurious Living in the Heart of L.A.
Welcome Home. Director: Isac 310-402-7388
Ocean View Sober Living Recovery Center
San Pedro, Intake Coordinator - Kathleen
310-548-4879
Pacific Coast House Dana Point
Upscale / Coed Sober Living
Director: Frank Renfro 866-695-7888
Riviera Recovery Malibu
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Manager: Johann 424-214-8331
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Director: Andrew Martin 866-973-7364
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I was asked to write this letter about my experience at The Ocean Rehab. I
was one of the first people to try this Recovery Center. I am a real person
and my views are very real and very honest! My name is Jack and I am an
ex-addict/alcoholic. Okay, let’s say I am a ‘recovering’ drug abuser to be
politically correct.
I took my first sip of alcohol when I was 13 and was a dealer and certifiable drug addict by the time I was 16. Since then, I have been in too many
treatment programs to count, been arrested twice, married three times, I
have 2 children, got my GED, been ‘in therapy’ and on medication for a supposed bipolar disorder. I have my plumber’s
license and make a decent living. I am 46
years old and live alone. I feel I am somewhat of an expert on
treatment programs the hard way…from the
inside! Recently, I found out about a new treatment center that was not the run of the mill
sort of place. I checked out their web site and
was impressed. I decided to call anyway and
was given more information and my questions
were politely answered without any pressure.
At the time I called I was using heroin and
pain pills. I had tried so many programs that I really didn’t believe anyone
could help me, but with my ex-wife’s and daughters’ encouragement I decided to ‘go for it’.
The first thing they did when I told them I was interested was interview
me after I e-mailed them my application. They asked me the usual questions
plus some odd ones such as what my food preferences were and what my favorite beverages are, and what kind of recreational things I like. They made
arrangements for me to go through a detox program locally. I was shocked
when the doctor who runs the Recovery Center came to see me while I was
in Detox to make sure everything was going okay. After 5 days of detox I was
driven to the airport in Miami for my treatment.
Did I mention that the treatment center is located in Ecuador???? Yes,
Ecuador! After a 4 hour non stop flight I was met at the airport by a lady with
a sign with my name and driven 1 ½ hours to the site. I found out along the
way that the lady who was driving, worked at the recovery center. We were
destined to become really good friends some time later. The road trip was
interesting. Most of the buildings I saw were primitive by my standards but
the people seemed happy and there were no beggars and no one wore rags.
My thought on the way was “what did I get myself into and why?”. I had read
about the place on the Internet and was now getting worried.
When we got there I was pleasantly surprised. It was like the the pictures
on the web site, only nicer in person. The buildings were well kept. There
was a tennis court, a beautiful pool, a barbeque and ping pong area, and
even a chapel, all facing the beach of the Pacific Ocean! The rooms were
very comfortable looking with 2 beds in each. They were arranged so that
2 people would share a bathroom. My room was facing the pool and ocean,
and the breeze was incredible. The staff was very knowledgeable and friendly and the program was
incredible. It was 12 step based but holistic in their approach. Massages,
meditation, yoga, reiki, and some other alternative therapy were all available
to us. Speaking of “us”, there were only 6 of us and I felt very special. There
were some similarities to other programs I
have been in but it seems that they took the
best of other programs and combined it into
a really great program. In the 8 weeks I was
there, I not only learned some new things, but
I also had time to make some important personal decisions about my life and the direction
it is going. I really needed to get away from the
things that were familiar to me to be able to
make changes in my life. It wasn’t all business
however.
We went on some amazing field trips including jet skiing, zip lining where I literally went swinging through a rainforest on a canopy line, whale watching, surfing, and a weekend trip to the
volcanoes. There was wireless internet service available, Satellite TV, a movie
room with a great DVD library. The food was home cooked by an adorable
Ecuadorian woman and always good with great food choices. We went to
several restaurants off the premises, the Mall, massage studio, and had
some great experiences I never expected. They even arranged for follow
up by my current doctor and therapist for when I got home and made
some specific recommendations about weaning me off of some of my psychiatric medications.
I still keep in touch with the staff there and feel a strength I didn’t know I
had. I am not a writer but I felt I needed to share my experiences with others
like I do when I go to meetings, so that other people can benefit as well. The
place is called The Ocean Rehab at Savitch Recovery Center. If they wanted to
they could probably cater to the ‘rich and famous’. Their rates almost scared
me away! Not because they were so high, but because they were so low! I paid
less than half of what I had paid in the past, and that included airfare and
every damn thing.
It truly changed my life. I can now hold my head up. I am not worried
about landing in jail. I feel good about myself, a feeling I never knew before. My ex-wife and I have begun communicating again. Thank God for The
Ocean Rehab! —Jack
ARIZONA
Sedona
Desert Canyon...........................................................................................................................888-811-8371
Wickenburg
Rosewood Ranch................................................................................................................800-845-2211
CALIFORNIA
Anaheim
Oasis Treatment Center..........................................................................................714-991-4673
Angels Camp
Changing Echoes.................................................................................................................209-785-3667
Antioch
J Cole Recovery Homes Inc............................................................................925-978-2873
Bell
The Salvation Army.........................................................................................................323-263-1206
Brisbane
Latino Commission on Alc/DA Services................................415-468-1914
Burbank
New Way Foundation. .................................................................................................818-845-2702
Calistoga
Duffys Myrtledale Alcohol Recovery Facility...............707-942-6888
Canoga Park
Women’s Odyssey Organization............................................................818-998-8972
Carmichael
Alpha Oaks Detox and Recovery..........................................................916-944-3920
Cornerstone. ..................................................................................................................................916-966-5102
Capistrano Beach
Mainstream Group Inc..............................................................................................949-366-9210
Carson
Palm House Residential
Community Recovery...............................................................................................310-830-7803
Ceres
Its First Step Perinatal..............................................................................................209-541-2118
Stanislaus Recovery Center Sierra Vista.............................209-541-2121
Citrus Heights
Oak House Treatment Programs...........................................................916-721-9699
Compton
Get Off Drugs Treatment Women’s Home...........................310-635-9740
La Jolla
Scripps McDonald Center..................................................................................800-382-4357
Bimini Recovery Center
Mary Lind Recovery Centers......................................................................213-388-5423
Calif Hispanic Commission Alcohol & Drug Abuse
Paloma Recovery Home.......................................................................................323-257-9227
CLARE Foundation
Culver Vista Family Center.............................................................................310-314-6200
Higher Goals. ................................................................................................................................323-755-9702
His Sheltering Arms Inc.........................................................................................323-755-6646
Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles
Alcohol Drug Action Program..................................................................310-247-1180
Laurel Canyon Recovery Center............................................................949-933-4575
Mary Lind Foundation
Royal Palms Recovery Home.....................................................................213-483-9201
Mid Valley Recovery Services Inc
Mariposa Recovery Center............................................................................323-266-7725
Mothers of Minors Legal Aid Procedure
Right Road Recovery Facility....................................................................323-299-4695
People Coordinated Services of S. CA
Castle Substance Abuse Program..................................................323-734-1143
Promises Residential Treatment Center................................310-390-2340
R-I-G-H-T- Program.......................................................................................................866-744-4870
Safety Consultant Services.............................................................................213-748-9444
Salvation Army Safe Harbor..........................................................................213-626-4786
Shields for Families
Eden/Revelations Dual Diagnostics. ...........................................323-242-5000
Shields for Families. ......................................................................................................310-668-8260
The Eddie Rochester Anderson Foundation...................310-670-9695
Van Ness Recovery House................................................................................323-463-4266
Volunteers of America of Los Angeles
Recovery Services..........................................................................................................213-689-2179
Watts Healthcare Corporation Inc
House of Uhuru. ....................................................................................................................323-568-5400
Wonderland Treatment Center LLC..................................................323-848-9579
World Wide Bible Deliverance
Drug and Alcohol Ministries.......................................................................323-752-5802
World Wide Bible Deliverance
Drug and Alcohol Ministries.......................................................................323-753-3265
Livermore
Solidarity Fellowship Crossroads.......................................................925-371-0992
Lynwood
Harmony Place.........................................................................................................................888-866-9778
Los Angeles
Alcohol & Drugs Inc.......................................................................................................323-269-6901
Alcoholism Center for Women Inc
Miracle House Residential..............................................................................213-381-8500
Amity Foundation
Amistad de Los Angeles.....................................................................................213-743-9076
Behavioral Health Services
Pacifica House........................................................................................................................323-754-2816
Beit T’Shuvah. ............................................................................................................................310-204-5200
Malibu
Canyon at Peace Park................................................................................................310-457-3209
Cliffside Malibu.......................................................................................................................310-589-2800
Harmony Place.........................................................................................................................310-457-9674
Malibu Horizon Residential Treatment.....................................877-338-6964
Milestone Ranch Malibu.......................................................................................818-879-9110
Passages..............................................................................................................................................888-777-8525
Promises Residential Treatment Center................................310-390-2340
Renaissance Malibu......................................................................................................310-589-8500
The Canyon ...................................................................................................................................877-345-3320
Concord
John Muir Behavioral Health Center. ...........................................800-680-6555
Recovery Management Services.........................................................925-682-5704
Shields for Families Exodus..........................................................................310-898-2450
Costa Mesa
New Directions for Women. ............................................................................949-548-5546
Womens Recovery of California............................................................888-941-9048
Dana Point
Sobriety Services South Coast Recovery............................949-273-4200
Solutions for Recovery. ...........................................................................................800-784-4791
Deer Park
St Helena Hosp
Alch/Chem Recovery Program. .............................................................800-454-4673
Escondido
Fellowship Center Alcohol/Drug Services.........................760-745-8478
Fair Oaks
Clean and Sober Detox............................................................................................916-965-3386
Forest Knolls
Serenity Knolls Chem Recovery Program..........................415-488-0400
Hawthorne
Behavioral Health Services Pacifica House. ..................323-754-2816
Glen Ellen
Mountain Vista Farm....................................................................................................707-996-6716
GReenbrae
Marin Services for Women
Residence Program......................................................................................................415-924-5995
Laguna Beach
Miramar Laguna Beach..........................................................................................949-497-9189
Laguna Niguel
Hope By The Sea. .................................................................................................................949-218-2690
888-DETOX-123
877-DETOX-08
Visions Adolescent Treatment Center........................................818-889-3665
Modesto
Living Center Modesto. ............................................................................................209-575-1580
New Hope Recovery. .....................................................................................................209-527-9797
Newhall
El Dorado Community Service Center
Santa Clarita Medical/Mental Health........................................661-288-2644
Newport Beach
Narconon of Southern California.........................................................949-675-8988
Ocean Recovery.....................................................................................................................949-723-2388
The Shores Treatment & Recovery...................................................949-722-6214
North Hollywood
CRI Help Inc....................................................................................................................................818-255-7030
Oakland
Adolescent Treatment Centers Inc...................................................510-653-5040
Allied Fellowship Services
Residential Multi-Service Center......................................................510-535-1236
Bi Bett Corporation
Orchids Women Recovery Center. ...................................................510-535-0611
Healthy Babies Project
Maudell Shirek Recovery Village......................................................510-450-0881
Horizon Services Chrysalis. ............................................................................510-450-1190
Treatment Services.........................................................................................................510-652-7000
Orange
Armorr House Recovery Inc...........................................................................714-544-0505
Orangevale
New Dawn Recovery Centers
Inpatient Detox and Residential Rehab................................916-989-1675
Oxnard
Rainbow Recovery Centers. ...........................................................................805-483-4444
Pacific Grove
Beacon House............................................................................................................................831-372-2334
Pasadena
Pasadena Recovery Center.............................................................................866-663-3030
Palm Springs
Michael’s House....................................................................................................................877-345-3216
Patterson
Living Center................................................................................................................................209-892-3487
Port Hueneme
New Seasons Recovery Inc............................................................................805-986-2820
Rancho Cordova
D and A Detox Center. ................................................................................................916-364-7660
Ramona
Broad Horizons........................................................................................................................760-789-7060
Rancho Mirage
Betty Ford Center................................................................................................................800-434-7365
Richmond
Neighborhood House of N. Richmond
West County Human Development Center......................510-229-5000
Sacramento
Effort Detoxification Program....................................................................916-405-4600
Gateway Foundation
Gateway Recovery House................................................................................916-451-9312
Gifted Healing Center..................................................................................................916-421-1500
Mexican American Alcoholism Program
O Mi Casa Recovery Home.............................................................................916-394-2328
River City Recovery Center..............................................................................916-442-3979
Sacramento Veterans Resource Center.................................916-393-8387
Saint Helena
Crutchers Serenity House..................................................................................707-963-3192
San Bruno
Casa Aztlan.....................................................................................................................................650-355-7573
San Clemente
Pacific Hills Treatment Center
Main Treatment Center Mens Residential.......................949-369-2915
San Diego
CRASH multiple facilities-Short Term........................................619-282-7274
Pathfinders of San Diego Recovery Home........................619-239-7370
San Francisco
Asian American
Residential Recovery Services..............................................................415-750-5111
Freedom from Alcohol and Drugs Inc........................................415-665-9323
Golden Gate for Seniors.........................................................................................415-626-7553
Good Shepherd Grace Center. ....................................................................415-337-1938
Haight Ashbury Free Clinics Inc............................................................415-394-5247
Jelani Inc The Family Program................................................................415-671-1165
Joe Healy Medical Detoxification Project..........................415-553-4490
Salvation Army
Harbor Light Center Recovery Home.........................................415-503-3000
San Francisco Womens Rehab Foundation
Stepping Stone......................................................................................................................415-751-5921
SBDC New Life Center...............................................................................................415-255-7434
Swords to Plowshares Residential Program...............415-834-0341
Walden House Adolescent Program..............................................415-554-1100
Walden House Care Facility............................................................................415-701-5111
Western Addition Recovery House...................................................415-394-5867
San Mateo
Palm Avenue Detox/Horizons Services Inc.....................650-513-6500
Womens Recovery Association
San Mateo County.............................................................................................................650-348-6603
San Pedro
Support for Harbor Area
Women’s Lives Shawl House....................................................................310-521-9310
House of Hope Foundation...............................................................................310-831-9411
Santa Barbara
Casa Serena
Oliver House for Mothers and Children.................................805-966-1260
Santa Clara
Recovery Connections
Residential Treatment Center. .................................................................408-249-9927
Santa Rosa
Alcohol and Other Drug Services
Orenda Center Residential Programs.......................................707-565-7450
Campobello Chemical Dependency
Recovery Center. ................................................................................................................707-579-4066
Casa Teresa....................................................................................................................................707-573-0117
Drug Abuse Alternatives Center
DAAC-Turning Point.....................................................................................................707-284-2950
Womens Recovery Services..........................................................................707-527-0412
Scotts Valley
Camp Recovery Centers........................................................................................831-438-1868
Seaside
Community Human Services
Genesis House........................................................................................................................831-899-2436
Sebastopol
Azure Acres/CRC Health.......................................................................................707-823-3385
Sylmar
Oasis Women’s Recovering Community...............................818-362-0986
Thousand Oaks
Ventura Recovery Center Inc.......................................................................805-499-8383
Torrance
Gratitude Retreat.................................................................................................................310-618-9173
Tustin
Recovery Homes of America Inc.......................... 714-730-5399
Van Nuys
National Council
on Alcohol and Drug Department.....................................................818-997-0414
Valley Village
Studio 12
Private Alcohol /Drug Treatment Program.....................818-761-7374
Watsonville
Narconon Vista Bay........................................................................................................831-768-7190
A
for a Serious
A Serious
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Program
COLORADO for a Serious
San Jacinto
La Vista Alcohol/Drug Recovery Center. ...............................951-925-8450
San Jose
Advent Group Ministries South Valley. .....................................408-281-0708
Amicus House............................................................................................................................408-294-2277
ARH Recovery Homes Inc...................................................................................408-937-7082
Benny McKeown Center........................................................................................408-259-6565
Life Choices Treatment Services Inc............................................408-971-7811
New Life Recovery Centers.............................................................................408-297-1182
Support Systems Homes
Alcohol and Drug Treatment Center............................................408-370-9688
Santa Ana
Phoenix House Orange County.................................................................714-953-9373
Villa Center Inc The Villa. .....................................................................................714-541-2732
Carbondale
Jaywalker Lodge.................................................................................................................866-529-9255
FLORIDA
Boca Raton
Alternatives in Treatment...................................................................................800-622-0866
The Watershed.........................................................................................................................800-711-6402
Treatment Alternatives............................................................................................877-877-7272
Boyton Beach
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36075 S. Rincon Road, Wickenburg, AZ 85390 | 928.684.9594 | 800.845.2211 | www
36075 S. Rincon Road, Wickenburg, AZ 85390 | 928.684.9594 | 800.845.2211 | www
Clearwater
Alternative Treatment INT..................................................................................800-897-8060
Fairwinds Treatment Center..........................................................................727-449-0300
Focus One Inc. ...........................................................................................................................727-572-5202
Cocoa
Alco Hall Center.....................................................................................................................321-632-5958
Cooper City
Milestones In Recovery..........................................................................................800-347-2364
Daytona
Stewart Marchman Center Inc.................................................................386-947-1400
Defuniak Springs
COPE Center-TASC............................................................................................................850-892-8045
Delray
Insight to Recovery.........................................................................................................561-274-9000
Palm Partners.............................................................................................................................877-711-HOPE
The Beachcomber..............................................................................................................561-734-1818
Wayside House Inc...........................................................................................................561-278-0055
Fort Lauderdale
Advanced Recovery Center.............................................................................877-272-4673
Archways Inc..............................................................................................................................954-763-2030
Atlantic Shores Hospital.......................................................................................888-771-2711
Broward Alcohol Rehabilitation
Center-BARC..............................................................................................................................954-765-4200
Florida Pride Institute................................................................................................877-PRIDE-46
Focus Healthcare DBA High Point......................................................954-680-2700
Fort Lauderdale Hospital. ....................................................................................954-463-4321
Solutions..............................................................................................................................................954-474-1070
The Recovery Place........................................................................................................866-205-6531
The Susan B. Anthony Recovery Center................................866-641-8986
Fort Pierce
Choices. ..................................................................................................................................................800-981-9228
Counseling/Recovery Center Inc.........................................................561-467-3057
Florida Center for Recovery...........................................................................800-851-3291
Better Way of Miami.....................................................................................................305-634-3409
Concept House.........................................................................................................................305-751-6501
HAC. ................................................................................................................................................................305-575-2026
New Direction & Female Program.....................................................305-694-2734
New Opportunity. .................................................................................................................305-638-6620
Summer House Detox Center......................................................................877-WEDETOX
St Luke’s Addiction.........................................................................................................305 795-0077
Spectrum Programs......................................................................................................305-759-8888
Transitions........................................................................................................................................800-626-1980
The Village........................................................................................................................................800-443-3784
Naples
David Lawrence Center..........................................................................................239-354-1464
Willough at Naples...........................................................................................................800-722-0100
Austin
Burning Tree Ranch........................................................................................................866-287-2877
Dallas
Burning Tree Ranch........................................................................................................866-287-2877
Homeward Bound Inc.................................................................................................866-247-7993
Grapevine
Grapevine Valley Hope..............................................................................................817-424-1305
Manor
Mark Houston Recovery Center.............................................................866-905-4550
North Palm
CARE.............................................................................................................................................................866-494-0866
Recovery Resources Inc.......................................................................................877-RECOVER
Stepping Ahead
Stepping Stone for Recovery. ...................................................................561-844-0044
Help Support This Directory
and get your facility noticed!
Ocala
Ten Broeck Ocala Hospital. ..............................................................................352-671-3130
Ocklawaha
The Refuge-A Healing Place.........................................................................866-4REFUGE
Reach the people who are reaching
for you with a "Directory Window Ad".
Only $150.00
Opa Locka
Here’s Help Inc North Campus. ................................................................305-685-8201
Orlando
Pasadena Villa. .........................................................................................................................407-246-0887
Palm Springs
Orchid. .......................................................................................................................................................888-672-4435
Panama City
Chemical Addictions Recovery Effort. .......................................850-872-7676
Pensacola
Twelve Oaks..................................................................................................................................800-622-1255
Hialeah
Comprehensive Treatment Center.....................................................305-825-7770
Pompano
Challenges........................................................................................................................................888-755-3334
Hollywood
Hollywood Pavilion. .........................................................................................................954-962-1355
Recovery First...........................................................................................................................800-734-5192
The Starting Place Inc...............................................................................................954-925-2225
Port St Lucie
Ambrosia Substance Abuse
Treatment Center..............................................................................................................866-616-0069
Lake Worth
Behavioral Health of the Palm Beaches. ...............................800-251-9445
Sunrise Detox.............................................................................................................................888-44-DETOX
The Phoenix House..........................................................................................................800-206-8708
The Watershed.........................................................................................................................800-711-6375
TEXAS
North Miami Beach
G&G Holistics...............................................................................................................................800-559-9503
Gainsville
Florida Recovery Center at Shands Vista...........................352-265-5481
Jacksonville
Gateway Community Services, Inc..................................................904-387-4661
Lakeview Health Systems.................................................................................800-99-DETOX
Stepping Stone for Recovery.......................................................................800-759-3440
Ten Broeck Hospital.......................................................................................................877-339-6636
Poinciana at Palm Beach. ...................................................................................561-818-2922
The Palm Beach Institute....................................................................................800-433-5098
Santa Rosa Beach
Haven House Residence........................................................................................850-622-3774
Sanford
Crossroads.......................................................................................................................................407-321-4357
Long Term Addiction Treatment,
Lifetime of Excellence in Recovery!
866.287.2877
www.BurningTree.com
PRIVATE TREATMENT CENTER
IN DEL MAR, CALIFORNIA
www.CasaPalmera.com
Sarasota
First Step of Sarasota................................................................................................800-266-6866
Pregnant Substance Abusing Women.......................................941-366-5333
Salvation Army. .......................................................................................................................941-364-8854
Lighthouse Point
Treatment Solutions......................................................................................................866-533-4357
Tampa
ACTS Juvenile/Adult Residential/Detox. ...............................813-246-4899
Hyde Park Counseling Center.....................................................................813-258-4605
Turning Point................................................................................................................................800-397-3006
Novus Medical Detox Center........................................................................800-505-6604
Miami
Agape Family Ministries.......................................................................................305-235-2616
West Palm
Hanley Center.............................................................................................................................800-444-7008
800-444-7008
www.HanleyCenter.org/treatment
Residential and Outpatient Facilities in 7 States
The Valley Hope Association is a nationally recognized, not for profit
organization dedicated to providing quality alcohol and drug addiction
treatment services at an affordable price. We operate treatment
facilities in seven states: Kansas, Arizona, Colorado, Missouri,
Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas. This includes nine (9) residential
facilities and seventeen (17) free standing outpatient facilities.
Valley Hope offers a variety of treatment services, to include
medically monitored detox, inpatient/residential, partial hospital/day
treatment, outpatient treatment services and continuing care. In
addition, in 2008, we began offering on-line intensive outpatient as
well as on-line continuing care. These services were created as a
way to increase availability and accessibility of treatment. As always
we offer this treatment at a reasonable price. We work to find the
right combination of treatment services for each individual we serve.
All of our residential and outpatient centers are state licensed.
The JCAHO has been accrediting Valley Hope facilities since 1976.
Professional staff directs an individualized treatment plan grounded in
12-step philosophy with a strong emphasis on family participation,
spirituality (nondenominational) and continuing care. Cost for
treatment is so reasonable that many individuals choose to pay from
their own resources and thus benefit from a full thirty (30) day
residential treatment stay. However, our facilities are credentialed and
a preferred provider for most insurance/managed care organizations.
In these instances, a full continuum of care is available through
coordination of benefits with the respective managed care provider.
www.valleyhope.org
800-544-5101
Choose from hundreds
of beautiful metal and enameled
recovery medallions
Celebrate recovery with
rings of Sterling silver and
semi-precious stones
The Serenity Prayer is
featured on this beautiful bejeweled
stone and metal paper weight
Staying Sober by Gorski
and Miller offers a powerful
guide for relapse prevention
Be inspired by a 50-card
set of inspirational quotes from
Mother Theresa
Stephen Covey’s worldfamous book is transformed into
an inspirational 50-card deck
Jack Kornfield’s thoughtful
Buddhist Meditations help the soul
recover øalongside the body
“These bracelets are a constant
reminder of the journey I am
on. They help keep me on track
and give me hope.” Barb M.
Addiction to Love
by Susan Peabody provides insight
into obsessive relationships
Twenty five words
by Barb Rogers tells how
the serenity prayer can
save lives
Melody Beatie’s best-selling
Co-Dependent No More comes
alive on compact disk
Help your teen
make smart choices about
food and exercise with
Dianne Neumark-Sztainer’s
new book
SERENITY BOOKSTORE AT THE HANLEY RESOURCE CENTER -
The NY Times
best-seller Adult Children
of Alcoholics offers
timeless help and advice
®
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NEXT TO ST. MARY’S HOSPITAL, 933 45TH STREET, WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33407 WWW.HANLEYCENTER.ORG / 561-841-1027
Summer House is a state of the art substance abuse
detox facility. Using the latest in modern medicine and
clinical therapy, we are able to provide a solution that
can interrupt active addiction...safely and comfortably!
We use a combination of powerful medications to make
the transition from active addiction to sobriety an easy
one. whether your problem is Heroin, OxyContin, Xanax,
Suboxone, Methadone, Alchohol or anything else...
We can help!
Non-Institutional Four Star Chef
Confidential Yoga & Tai Chi
24/7 Medical Staff Acupuncture
Beautiful Rooms Affordable
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Miami, Florida 33161
www.SummerHouseDetox.com
888-DETOX-123
877-DETOX-08

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