This is a book I first encountered in 1996, while studying to become a professional counselor.  I was at that time a recovered alcoholic of some ten years.  I had been struggling in graduate school with relapse as a process of recovery.   Prevention of relapse was of paramount importance.  So I dug into the scientific literature .  Mr. Gorski’s and Mr. Miller’s names kept popping up.  I read these two researchers’ and many other’s work.

Theirs was seminal, addressed the problem directly from both a professional’s and a client’s perspective.  Other did expand on their work but these two were clearly the ground-breakers, in my opinion.  I know of no other works which do any better job in the areas of understanding relapse and also developing methodology to help the recovering alcoholic avoid it.

I have used this book and others that they have written to assist my addiction clients in avoiding relapse.  To borrow a phrase from AA, “it works if you work it.”  So this is the book I recommend, teach from and use on nearly a daily basis.  I, of course, also use a number of other techniques as well.

This book is the base of the pyramid in preventing relapse.  My other techniques are on steps created upon this foundation.

Thorough, a bit difficult in places for the non-professional, it is built from solid research in relapse and it has stood the test of time.  It is not a fad.

I recommend it to all professionals and for all who have at their disposal a grizzled