Recovery: Freedom from Our Addictions

Product Information

He genuinely just wants me to benefit from what he's discovered in his search for meaning. He is generous with sharing not only his his wisdom but also his humanity. One of the things that does come across is the idea that this is not an easy process. It is hard work. Whatever a person is addicted to (in my case, coffee), they (I) could think of a hundred different justifications why it is ok. Even though I know I am addicted I am ok with it. I am allowed one vice, right? The program goes through the process of saying no, it is not ok. It is also no good replacing one addiction with another. Also, once an addiction is beaten, it is a constant battle not to relapse. On the less positive side, however, the performance is a bit of a stream of consciousness. Though a lot of the content is good and captivating, it doesn’t feel cohesive most of the time. I really liked his theme of connecting with the divine, and I wish there were most substance around it or time dedicated to it.

Yes - grain of salt - yes - but that’s with anything…Could probably skip the whole anecdote in step 6… Revelation as Russell says himself in the text will not tell you anything you don’t already know, but that’s not the point. In fact he may be wrong about this and I hope this reaches a younger audience. If I came across this in my 20’s it would be truly revelatory. Brand doesn't give us anything new here other than his own experience and testimony of the 12-Step program, but he does it with more insight, expanding the concept of *Higher Power* with wisdom and his own comedic touch. He applies the 12-steps to a wide variety of the obstacles that might be keeping us from being the person we are meant to be (drugs, alcohol, food, anger, selfishness, depression, etc.). Rather than just educating myself, I came away with a desire to improve myself and be a little more at peace in my environment, and a little enlightenment. Some clinicians argue against the 12 Step program concerned that a participant would only be replacing one addiction with another...I think Brand gives an eloquent argument against that opinion. Even when I don’t agree with what Russell (we're on a first-name basis) is saying, I still love everything he says, because to me it feels like he expends all his effort in seeking truth. In this world filled with elegant lies of every form, how many things can you say that about? He’s like a scruffy, vegan Don Quixote on a quest to find what makes humans whole and connected. (I know that’s over the top. Don’t care. There are too few things I’m unapologetically enthusiastic about— so you can put your cynicism in your pipe and smoke it.)I love and adore Russell Brand, and think he’s one of the greatest minds of the 21st century. We’re only 21 years in, so I feel like I can get away with that. His writing is very similar to CS Lewis (another of my very favorite authors) though the spiritual trajectory is a bit different.

Yes, Russell emphasizes the importance of a spiritual dimension in the recovery process, guiding individuals through their journey. In the end, we all die, and hopefully we have had the kind of awareness in life that RB highlights. To leave here without the knowledge of our oneness and compassion for the other lives that share this planet in the way that RB has grown to embody would be sad. He goes through the 12 step program created by the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous. He gives his interpretation of each one and also how he has tried to follow each step. He mentions other addicts and how they have helped him as well as how he has tried to help others. He does this in an often amusing yet thought provoking way. As a writer, Russell is amongst the best on his field.

Customer reviews

Similarly, Attenborough painted a picture through stories of his own life, he moved onto paint an even scarier picture of the destruction we have caused and where we are heading but then, and this is what I feel I am missing from Brand, he went through a whole host of solutions that both I the individual and we the collective can do to be a part of the solution.