Book Review: The Four Seasons of Recovery
The Four Seasons of Recovery for Parents of Alcoholics and Addicts by Michael Speakman, L.I.S.A.C., should be read by ALL parents of kids in addiction.
The Four Seasons brings alive real stories and ugly truths in families with an addiction—often unimaginable experiences of pain and heartache—and offers a new way to interact with your child of any age. Speakman divides the book into Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall, each representing a season with an addict. For instance, in Winter we’re just becoming aware of the addiction, overcoming our own denial, and trying to stop the madness.
Speakman offers suggestions throughout his self-published book, ones he’s learned from years of coaching and working with families. He founded the support group PAL (Parents of Addicted Loved Ones). It’s a fabulous organization that gathers parents weekly in groups, both in person and online, and offers instruction and support to a community of fellow parents struggling with the universal issues of loving an addict.
The reader learns an important perspective when Speakman acknowledges how the parent/child relationship is unique and complicated by our love and desire to nurture and fix problems for our children, something we’ve done their whole lives.
“For all the changes your addicted loved one must make, and there are many, the first place change must take place is with you, the only person you can truly change. You must make a commitment to change your own beliefs, habits, and actions. Until you do, the same cycles will simply repeat,” he writes on page 25.
The book continues to instruct parents how to interact with their addicted kid. Until the parents do something different, they’re not in a position to help their child do something different. The parents’ response to their kid’s actions is critical if change is to happen. Otherwise, they could be keeping their kid stuck.
I highly recommend all parents or family members of an addict read Speakman’s book to get a dose of the boundaried love required to help an addict. It’s undeniable, we do have a significant role that could change the outcome of our kids’ life.
Isn’t that worth twenty bucks?
Available on Amazon: