The Power in Powerlessness

First Year Sobriety: When All that Changes is Everything, Guy Kettelhack draws on the voices of women and men who are navigating the unknown territory of their first year of sobriety. This excerpt includes the personal accounts of Marcia and George, two people in recovery who still find themselves occasionally overwhelmed with rage.

In her book A Woman's Guide to Recovery, Brenda Iliff gives expert advice, caring support, and personal stories of women who have found their way out of the mess of addiction and into new lives marked by healing and recovery. This excerpt discusses the paradox of the First Step, exploring how we can find true power through admitting our powerlessness.

In her book Mindfulness and the 12 Steps, Thérèse Jacobs-Stewart offers support for recovery, drawing on her personal experience and a wide range of knowledge in psychology and spirituality. In this excerpt, she points out that "we" is the first word of the Twelve Steps and makes a case for the importance of connection and community as spiritual resources for healthy recovery.

In this excerpt from his book, Step Up: Unpacking Steps One, Two, and Three with Someone Who's Been There, bestselling author and sober alcoholic Michael Graubart explores the word unmanageability as it appears in Step One, and how our impulse to control everyone and everything is at the heart of our struggle with alcoholism and other addictions.

In this excerpt from the revised edition of his classic book A Gentle Path through the Twelve Steps, Dr. Patrick Carnes offers practical advice for revitalizing a recovery that may feel stalled or stuck and reminds us that the gifts of recovery are always meant to be shared.

Now That You're Sober: Week by Week Guidance from Your Recovery Coach, Earnie Larsen and Carol Larsen Hegarty offer practical advice and wise inspiration for the recovery journey. In this excerpt, we hear personal insight from James, an AA member who has had a tough go at life but now helps others hear and embrace the message and the miracle of recovery.

In his book Second Year Sobriety: Getting Comfortable Now That Everything Is Different, Guy Kettelhack explores growth and the challenges we often face in our second year of recovery. In this excerpt, we hear a personal story from Jack, a member of AA who is learning what acts of service can look like in recovery.

In his book Twelve Step Sponsorship: How It Works, author and sponsor Hamilton B. writes for both sponsors and sponsees about this important part of the program. In this excerpt he highlights the relational power that undergirds Twelve Step recovery and is the focus of Step Twelve: we find recovery with the help of others, and then we get to pay it forward.

In her book A Woman's Way Through the Twelve Steps, Dr. Stephanie Covington guides readers through the Twelve Step journey through the lens of women's perspective. In this excerpt, we learn what a spiritual awakening is and how it applies to us as we take the Twelfth Step.

In her book, Find Your Light: Practicing Mindfulness to Recover from Anything, Beverly Conyers shows us how the practice of mindfulness, which includes deep acceptance of the present moment, can be a daily part of recovery and a path to a happier life.