Castle Craig Hospital has published Recovery Days, a new book of daily thoughts for living in recovery.
The author of Recovery Days explains why he wrote it and the message he wanted to pass on.
To order a copy of Recovery Days CLICK HERE
It is appropriate that writing Recovery Days started in 2021 during the Covid 19 pandemic, since addiction is also a pandemic. However, I hope it will appeal to people who are not addicted as well.
The first Twelve Step meditation book – Twenty-four Hours a Day – was published by the Hazelden Foundation in 1954 (after AA General Service Office in New York felt unable to handle the commitment). Richmond Walker, the author had had the idea a long time. His copy of the AA Big Book, dated 1942, the year he sobered up, contains a written note to himself in the front:
‘Make book for morning quiet times – short passages for each day – use different phases of AA. – Call it “Twenty-Four Hours a Day”. He never profited from the millions of copies of his book that were sold, nor did he allow his name to appear as author. His intentions are just as valid now as they were then:
“We live one day at a time, twenty-four hours a day. On awakening, we think about the twenty-four hours ahead. We consider our plans for the day, but before we begin, we ask God to direct our thinking. We ask for strength to live that day with patience, tolerance, kindliness and love. We ask for direction to do the right thing no matter what the personal consequences.” (R. Walker, Selected Writings)
For me, Richmond Walker’s book is beyond criticism. It is, as Ben Jonson said of Shakespeare: “Not of an age, but for all time”. But, that does not mean there should not be alternatives.
Twenty-four Hours a Day is aimed specifically at alcoholics, it has a profoundly Christian ethic (although the words ‘Christ’ and ‘Jesus’ are never mentioned), and is written in the style of the 1950’s. I wanted a wider appeal.
I have tried to make Recovery Days relevant to people suffering from addiction of any kind – narcotics, gambling and overeating for example, are all mentioned. I was also well aware of the ecumenical trends of the twenty-first century and tried to make the spiritual side appealing to people of all creeds, and agnostics too.
Anyone reading my book will notice that it contains a lot of contemporary references both literary and historic. Thus, the film Trainspotting, Groucho Marx, The Lord of the Rings and the Wizard of Oz are in there beside Marcus Aurelius, St Paul and Blaise Pascal. I feel that a book of reflections nowadays must be relevant to today’s culture as well as today’s problems.
The central theme of my book follows, I hope, that of Twenty-Four Hours a Day, with straightforward and uncompromising recovery principles at the fore. But I also wanted the content to be about the opportunities that await you in recovery. I find the idea that through redemption and renewal we become ‘better than well’ very attractive. Recovery is there to be enjoyed otherwise, what’s the point?
Lastly, I believe meditation books are the better when an author is not named, as the meditation experience needs to be personal to the reader alone, and as simple as possible. The Dalai Lama, who has written a book of daily meditations, might disagree. But much as I profoundly respect His Holiness, I am not he. But I feel honoured to have been asked to write this book.
Chris B
To order a copy of Recovery Days CLICK HERE