Publisher's Synopsis
The authors wrote this book for one purpose: to teach family members and friends of people with substance abuse issues a specific set of skills that will help them survive the stress loving an addict creates in their lives. The authors share with the reader ways to deal with the fear, anger, helplessness, and the conflict they may experience in their attempts to both help the addicted family member and protect themselves from them as well. Most books in this genre focus on how to "fix" the addict. They assume that getting the addict into a treatment program is the final solution to the problem. The authors of this book know from experience that there is no quick fix for addiction. Recovery from addiction is a lifelong project. For this reason, this book focuses on (1) providing accurate and useful information about addiction; and (2) teaching the specific skills that are essential for family members to learn and practice. What do family members need to know, what do they need to do, and how can they go about learning and doing those things? This book systematically explains how to create and maintain healthy boundaries, how to work effectively as a team, how to find and use appropriate support, how to improve communication with the addicted member and other family members, and other valuable skills that lead to a better quality of life. This book is for families to help themselves over a lifetime, regardless of whether their addicted member ever gets help, gets help and relapses, or gets help and stays clean and sober. The skills that enable the family to improve its quality of life in the face of addiction turn out to be the same skills that provide the addict an optimal environment for recovery. The emphasis throughout is on you, the family member or friend of the addict. When addiction enters a family, the whole family embarks on a journey. This book is a unique guide for individuals or groups who want to learn the skills and behaviors essential for negotiating that path with the best chance for a positive outcome.
