Moments of Clarity: Voices from the Front Lines of Addiction and Recovery

What an incredible book. Having stood at the turning point of chosing life over death, which was waiting for me, I know of the struggle. Anyone who has reached the point of no return and who has had a "Moment of Clarity" can appreciate where this book is coming from. Bravo, my friend. Claude "Hoot" Hooten Author of Drunk & Disorderly, again

Keeping to read over and over... Enlightening and touching crossroads of life that give me hope and inspiration... Having had a moment of clarity that turned my life around as an addict in recovery I crave more and Lawford's book packs that wakeup punch.

MOMENTS of CLARITY is one of the most powerful compendiums I have ever had the privilege of reading. And, I say that because I truly feel Chris Lawford's most recent work is a generous gift of its contributors sharing experiential knowledge, humility and honesty meant to help each and every reader. When reading about the "A-Ha" moments via the trials and tribulations of the famous and not-so-famous -- from Oscar-winner Richard Dreyfuss, Jamie Lee Curtis and Katey Sagal to former federal inmate DeJuan Verrett and Safe Harbor sober homes founder Velvet Mangan -- hope, courage and willingness are the threads that tie all the stories together. The reader is left with renewed focus and energy to move forward in life and embrace change. We are all on a path for a better tomorrow. Moments of Clarity is that comprehensive manual that if we put one foot in front of the other and keep moving forward, we will get there with dignity, grace and clarity.

This book is a collection of proclamations from forty-three people who had hit the bottom of the pitch-black-unforgiving-hideous-abyss... known as addiction. Some are recovering drug addicts... some are recovering alcoholics... some have eating disorders... some have a combination of addictions. Many who bare the dark side of their soul on these pages are famous... but I don't think that's worth mentioning... because that isn't the reason to read this book. Addiction strikes everyone (according to statistics there are over TWENTY-TWO-MILLION ADDICTS JUST IN AMERICA) and most of them are just ordinary people like you and me... and to be frank... people like you and me... are more important to me... than multi-multi-millionaire celebrities. I have been personally affected in my life by the humbling-non-prejudicial-monster known as addiction... when I lost for ten years... the greatest and best friend I ever had in my lifetime... to addiction. To have seen what addiction did to him... is to witness first hand... the strongest of the strong... the proudest... of the proud... a self-made street-fighting success story... not be merely knocked to his knees... but to be laid out... flat on his stomach... on a dirty hotel floor... with a gun in his hand... hiding from the world... a world... that he had dominated. What the author rightly calls "MOMENTS OF CLARITY"... I call "LYING FACE DOWN ON THE STREET OF LIFE... WITH YOUR FACE ENGULFED BY MUD AND BILE... AND BY SUMMONING EVERY LAST OUNCE OF STRENGTH AND DESIRE... TO SOMEHOW... FORCE YOUR UPPER TORSO... UP OUT OF THE MIRE... ON ONE ARM... AND THEN BY UTILIZING EVERY BIT OF FIBER... AND MORAL FORTITUDE... THAT G-D HAS LEFT IN YOUR BODY... YOU REACH UP WITH YOUR OTHER ARM... TOWARD THE SKY... TOWARD THE SUNSHINE... CRYING... I DON'T WANT TO LIVE LIKE THIS ANYMORE... I DON'T WANT TO BE AN ADDICT!" When my "BEST-FRIEND" bravely reached his bedraggled arm to the sky... I was there. I went with him to the "MUTUAL SUPPORT GROUP MEETINGS"... and let me tell you... I learned the loving-beauty and grace... of a hug! I'll never forget the day when my best friend... a Viet Nam era veteran... was clean for about five months... and he got up to "share" his story with the other members of our "ANONYMOUS" meeting. When he was finished... and started to walk back to his seat... one of the members from the sea of our anonymous army... walked straight up to him... and put a giant loving bear hug on him... and said... **WELCOME HOME BROTHER... THE WAR IS OVER!** I had tears streaming down my cheeks... and so did they. That spiritual moment... was OVER FIFTEEN-YEARS-AGO... and yet... it was like yesterday. I wrote a poem for my friend at the beginning of his battle for recovery... that he carried around with him... and still does to this day. He gave this poem to other people who suffer. I've given it to friends... and friends of friends. I am going to include it here... because... in my opinion... that's what this book

"You don't understand, no one understands," an addict's mantra, which until Moments of Clarity, was very true. Mr. Lawford and the contributors in this book fearlessly break the validity of this mantra through the strength of sharing their stories, bringing to life the realness of the disease of addiction and the holds it has on the mother, husband, teenager, employee, and celebrity, forcing them to go against what they know is the "right thing to do." Each story truly reached deep within and touched my soul, as they not only share their hardships, but proclaim their moment of clarity, and the astonishing changes made in their lives because of that moment. They are all great examples of willingness, and almost anyone can find identification with the feelings, thoughts, adversities, and subsequent moments of clarity as we all face some form of them during our lives on a daily basis. I would recommend this book to those who have family members suffering with this disease and need to understand the pain and hopelessness felt by those they love. To the addict who is still suffering as they will find the hope they are so desperately seeking and to those who are in recovery as they will be able to experience renewed epiphanies as I did. Thank you to everyone who courageously contributed to these pages as I know many people will find salvation and peace of mind through your strength.