by Valerie Mason John and Dr. Paramabandu Groves
Book Available at: Amazon.com

 In their new book, Valerie (aka Vimalasara) and Dr. Paramabandu  have  combined their backgrounds in Buddhist studies, addiction counseling and psychology to provide us with a refreshing new look at eight steps we can take on a road to recovery from addiction.  This book takes us through these steps one by one, beginning with the acknowledgement of our suffering and ending, (much like another step program) with being of service to others.  Along with explanations of each step, the authors share Buddhist teachings as related to that particular step, along with meditations and reflections to help us bring these teachings into our hearts and fully embrace them as tools on our recovery path.  The first four steps relate to the “Four Noble Truths” as taught by the Buddha, which are regularly referred to in Buddhist Recovery meetings as they relate to addiction.  First we recognize suffering (as addiction). Secondly, we see that there is a cause of our suffering.  Third is that there is a path we can follow to lessen suffering, and the fourth step is to follow “The Noble Eightfold Path” as taught by the Buddha. This book takes these and other Buddhist teachings to create an “Eightfold Path” that can be used by anyone in recovery from addition or trauma to help them take control of their unwholesome habit patterns.