Cool Water

I really enjoyed this book a great deal. Don't buy it expecting a detailed treatise on either AA or Buddhism, but an wonderful positive journey that shows how the two approaches each have great value. It is a very honest, brave, and heart-felt book. My experience is that many books in this genre are either too flowery, dogmatic, or impersonal to be meaningful, but not this one, IMHO.

A very special book, indeed. I found this book to be one of the best I've ever read on recovery. The author is an eloquent and honest writer, who creates a powerful and poetic guide for simple everyday recovery & living.

While a large part of addiction is an escape from feeling and living in the pain and suffering of the present moment, this book offers a profoundly inspirational, yet simple perspective to guide recovery from alcoholism and other forms of addiction. William Alexander uses mindfulness teachings and meditation to ultimately help achieve transcendence from the addiction. In the present moment, Alexander explains, is where we achieve our healing and wholeness.

The miracle of everyday life, lived soberly and mindfully is eloquently offered to readers of this small book. If you have had a stormy relationship with life, with addiction, with spirituality, with AA or other twelve-step programs of recovery, you may find a taste of grace here, as I did. Alexander's experience with addiction, his Zen practice, his work with other people and his mastery of story-telling with humor and metaphor qualify him to do this work. I also strongly recommend looking him up and participating in an Ordinary Recovery Workshop.

While many "self-help" or recovery books seem stilted or caught up in their own wisdom, Bill's thoughts are very elegant and illuminating... Elegant in their simplicity and comforting in their honesty and apparent truth. This book has been a great comfort to me in a time of great turmoil in my life. Thank you for sharing with us....