NCJ Number
183276
Date Published
1988
Length
302 pages
Annotation
Based on the personal experiences of addicts within the Fellowship of Narcotics Anonymous (NA), this volume is intended as a textbook for every drug addict who is seeking recovery.
Abstract
The first section of the book describes NA, its 12 traditions, and how it works. The first chapter defines an addict as a person whose use of any mind-altering, mood-changing substance causes a problem in any area of life. Becoming an addict is not viewed by NA as a choice, but rather a disease that expresses itself in antisocial ways and makes detection, diagnosis, and treatment difficult. The next chapter describes the NA program. It is a nonprofit fellowship or society of men and women for whom drugs had become a major problem. Members are viewed as recovering addicts who meet regularly to help each other stay "clean." It is a program of complete abstinence from all drugs. The only requirement for membership is the desire to stop using drugs. The 12 traditions of NA are outlined. They are based in the powerlessness of the addict to overcome his/her addiction, the necessity of linking one's spirit with a power beyond self ("God"), the importance of assessing one's moral and behavioral defects, and drawing upon the power of "God" in addressing these personal defects and developing a life of service to others free of the problems that attend addictive drug use. Separate chapters cover recovery and relapse. The second part of the book contains the recovery stories of individual NA members. A subject index