The Zen of Recovery

As a "recovering alcoholic", I have had MUCH trouble within and without the rooms of Alcoholics Anonymous when people find out that I am a Buddhist skeptic who does not believe in the idea of a deity called "god". As a practicioner of Zen, I am pleased to see that Mr. Ash has a solid grip of the "Zen of recovery". Those who criticize the book for being "too Zen" as opposed to other Buddhist traditions should have read the title, "The Zen of Recovery", before they bought it! How much so like the average A.A. member, complaining about things that are relatively silly. This book spells out Buddhist detachment and the idea of a "power" that can "restore us to sanity", applying it skillfully to the 12 Step Tradition in the process. Most of what is IN the book has already been reviewed here, so let me end by saying that first of all, I don't go to a bunch of A.A. meetings anymore because of the culture of whining, glorification of the alcoholic history, and closed-mindedness towards any idea of "a power greater than ourselves" that isn't an anthropomorphic "god". However, I DO go to three meetings a meet where the envirenment is condusive to a true "spirituality", and I am definately going to be ordering many copies of this book to distribute to my many A.A. "peers" who actively criticize my "agnostic beliefs" and consider Zen to be a path towards relapse. Get this book if you can relate to anything I have just written, adn especially if you are interested in Asian spirituality as an alternative to the Judeao/Christian approach most often endorsed by the loving members of Alcoholics Anonymous! Good work, Mr. Ash.

As a person with an addictive nature I cannot speak highly enough about this book - it is lovely! I want to buy copies for everyone I know - whether they are in recovery or not. As for the review saying, "any zen book can give you principles to quit drinking..." I don't think the purpose of this book was to stop ppl from drinking, but rather: to accompany ppl who may already struggle w/ a higher power w/in the twelve steps. I suspect that most ppl reconnect with themselves AFTER moving into the program and encounter obstacles along the way. For me, this book acts as a liason between the twelve steps and my internal obstacles. Mel Ash's interpretation of the twelve steps is insightful and in no way contradictory to the program. His writing voice is simple and easy to follow; we are a culture who live in fear and this book delicately encourages those of us in recovery to find our bliss. When you see a flower, SMILE. The teachings are so simple - Enjoy!

Mel Ash, using Zen as the spiritual component, adapts the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous and zens it up. It's easy to swallow for me because the emphasis is not singularly recovery from alcoholism but also eating disorders, narcotic addiction, etc. The reading is gentle and doesn't underestimate or devalue the audience with sterile language. It gets awfully real world and how we can intermingle our recovery into our lives, which is what I wanted when I entered into recovery. He talks a lot about how our denial *is* our sickness...from the 12 steps perspective and from the Zen perspective; that even those not in a compulsion may still suffer simply from the predisposed human condition. He speaks of our *dualistic* thinking [good/bad, right/wrong, black/white] as the manifestation of our human condition and more to the extent of our compulsions... How we in our compulsions/addictions are the magnification of the human suffering condition...just to the extreme. This book is compassionate, intelligent, and worthy of top shelf status. It does not interfere with one's religious views but can enhance anyone's recovery. For me, this book, is what I have been searching for; the combined 12 steps with a spiritual component I can relate to. I really enjoy this book and know it will be favored by me in years to come, as it's more of a living philosophy within recovery and without.

I reread "Zen" every few months. It's the perfect companion book to the Basic Text and It Works How and Why.Besides breaking down the 12 steps in a way that's more easily understood, Mel Ash relates each one to Zen. Although 12-step recovery is touted as simple, it isn't for a lot of new people. Coming into the program an Athiest, I had tremendous angst over how I would be able to work the steps and remain free from active addiction. I knew honesty was important but I didn't know how I could be. I was told I needed to find a power greater than myself to restore me to sanity which I thought had to be your God. The Zen of Recovery showed me how to find a "God" of my own understanding. I'm truly grateful to have this book as an ongoing resource as my recovery unfolds.

I usually only read a book once. I almost never buy more than one copy of a book. With "The Zen of Recovery" I have broken both rules. I read Mel Ash's take on recovery twice over when I first bought it three years ago. The two times I loaned out the book, I never got them back because the borrowers kept passing it on to other people. I had to repurchase it each time. I bought a copy for my Zen instructor. She liked it so much she passed it on other people at the Zen Center. I bought a fourth copy which I am hanging onto for myself. Every couple of years I re-read it again. "The Zen of Recovery" is that kind of book. When Mel Ash described how most of us treat our present lives like a cheap motel where we are staying until we move on to something better, I was hooked. He parallels the differences and the many similarities between Zen and 12-step programs. In the chapter "What is Zen", he defines Zen as the "ultimate and original recovery program. It exposes our denial of true self and shows us how we've suffered because of our diseases of attachment, judgment, and division." He identifies Alan Watts as the "unknowing founder" of the Zen of Recovery and Bill W., the founder of AA, as an American bodhisattva. This book, however, gives more than just a new perspective on some old ideas. Mel Ash takes the recovery concepts of craving, suffering, denial, and ignorance and expands them to consider concepts such as ego-addiction, the challenge of uncovering our true natures and of healing the planet ("the world is need of recovery"). A good read!!!