Marvelous, helpful bookMay 28, 2008 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Marvelous book. Especially of help to anyone in any Twelve Step program that struggles with the idea of GOD as their Higher Power. This book gave me a lot of insight into other ways of understanding the twelve steps. You don't need to know a lot about Buddhism to get a lot out of this book. And if you know just a little about Buddhism, your knowledge and your practice will strengthen. Highly recommended.
One breath at a time - a dilemna unansweredMarch 21, 2008 1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I found this book to be helpful - specifically the examples from the author's experiences with his attempts to "become spiritual" while avoiding dealing with his relationship to alcohol and drugs. They parallel my own journey. I find it to be a valuable addition to 12 step literature and am grateful that the author has the courage to own and correlate his buddhist practice with his membership in a 12 step fellowship. The only reason that I could not give it a full 5 stars is that despite his promise to deal with the Higher Power issue - specifically what does a buddhist look to as a HP within the 12 step context, I ended up feeling that he had side stepped it. That concept is something that this writer still struggles with and I wished that I had been able to learn more from this writer about that issue and his experience with it.
Excellent book to gain insight.March 2, 2008 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I would suggest this book to all who are seeking the path of recovery regardless of the spiritual journey you are on. Great guidance.
An excellent introduction to Buddhism and the Twelve StepsFebruary 10, 2008 0 out of 1 found this review helpful
If you are new to the twelve-step programs, or new to Buddhism, or a master at both, you will find this book very informative and useful.
I first heard about Kevin's book from one of his dharma talks on the audiodharma.org podcast. At the time I was all ready in recovery, and I could see many similarities between Buddhism and twelve-step principles. Kevin's book clarified and corrected the intersections I saw, and introduced me to a new way at look at the Twelve Steps and the Universalist nature of the twelve-step movement.
From the beginning of recovery, I had hard time digesting what the Steps meant to me and how the could be useful in my life. Very simple clarifications for this book--like the difference between powerlessness and helplessness described in chapter one (e.g. powerless over desires, not powerless over behavior--I find myself coming back to time and time again.
I was also impressed by Kevin's understanding of Buddhist concepts, such as not-self (or no-self), that have been very difficult for me to understand. Kevin's stories and examples helped me to see the importance of metta (loveingkindness meditation) in practice and how useful it can be in dealing with resentments.
Perhaps the most important point Kevin makes in the book is about language, as Kevin puts it: "Language is always an issue in spiritual teachings... as I've talked about, these teachings try to explain something that goes beyond language; words are only an attempt to represent reality, that are not reality itself... Language always comes out of a particular time and place, a particular culture. Inevitably it becomes dated.... Finding our own Language for the Steps is a useful exercise as long as we don't forget the original intent."
It's true that Alcoholics Anonymous came from Protestant roots, and that much of the literature in twelve-step programs consequently retains much of that language and culture. It the same way that it's important to follow the "spirit of the law" rather than "the letter of the law," it's important to understand the intent or spirit of twelve-step language rather than to think it's necessary to align oneself with it's particular religious connotations.
One thing, however, that troubled me a little was that Kevin's decision to use his full name for the author attribution. I was reminded by a friend of mine about the controversy surrounding James Frey's books right around when I was finishing this one. In many cases, when writing about twelve-step related recovery stories, authors will elect to used the first name, last initial format for the attribution (e.g. see Afraid to Live, Afraid to Die and A Skeptic's Guide to the 12 Steps). I can understand the pluses and minuses of using the full name or following (maybe over-zealously) the anonymity principles of used in such programs. I thought it was worth mentioning here, not because I don't trust Kevin, but because it's an important issue worth considering.
One Breath at a TImeOctober 17, 2007 3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This incredibly insightful book has deepened my understanding of both my meditation practice and the twelve steps. I cannot recommend it highly enough to anyone working the twelve step program who may be having difficulty with the "Higher Power" concept. Anyone with a meditation practice can benefit (as I did) from using the twelve step format to help gain better understanding of Buddhist concepts.
