January 31, 2010

Counting Down to Book Launch!

This week for the countdown of Tales of Addiction and Inspiration for Recovery, I am sharing a brief excerpt from the book’s Introduction. I am happy to report that my online book tour will keep me busy with radio interviews and new articles posted on several Blogs. Websites, dates and times will be forthcoming both on this Blog and my website. Also, a Review for Addiction: What’s Really Going On? was posted today on AllBooks Review!

Now, here is a teaser from the Introduction of Tales of Addiction and Inspiration for Recovery:

Addicted or not, we all have stories to tell. Many recovering drug addicts and alcoholics are asked to write their inventory story while going through rehabilitation programs. These stories are sometimes called “drunk-alogs” or “drug-alogs.“ They try to share only to fumble with words that scratch paper like chalk on a board from years past. Sometimes words come easy, flowing a river of grit and filth covering the pages black. They see only words, words mixed with the flavor of a whiskey-sour or the last pin-drop of vodka settling in an empty bottle next to a slip of dust. Words of truth swirl downward into a spiral dance with unrecognized poetry left for judgment. With no glimmer of hope to stay straight and sober, inventory stories read like buttons on a shirt, repetitious and dry. Given a year or two of sobriety and these same words can declare emotions of hope, guilt, remorse, and pain; they become the true stories of an addict’s life.

To begin writing an addiction story is like poking at the nerve of a hangnail--clipping it may begin a healing but you refrain because pain dictates your life. Each paragraph brings that pain to the surface to be held in awesome awareness as you realize you have lived the words on the pages. It is often suggested to those early sobees that it is “…important to reflect and learn why you chose to use or drink.” Alas, such a shallow carrot to dangle! The newly sober have only empty words which spillover onto a blank page; but given six months or six years, these same words flow easily from mind to pen. They reach deep for chards of memories to fill their stories full of pitiful choices and past sagas of desperation and depression. Words then become a tool to unfolding the corners of life revealing potent visions and rhythmic tales.

Addicted or not, we all have stories to tell. We tell how our skin crawls at the slightest scent of cigarette smoke or our aversions to kissing a drunk. We tell where our choices took us or how our life was lived without us. Whether stories from addicts or straight-chaired grannies, words keep us searching for truth and in the end, guide us toward that Something More.

The stories you will read in this book are not from the well known. They are not from celebrities you find in books written by another celebrity. You will not find names like Britney Spears, Whitney Houston, Martin Sheen, Lindsay Lohan, Alec Baldwin or other such people whose faces we see but lives we know little. The stories shared here are true-grit bleeding tales told by people you will never meet but whose words will haunt you for months, years maybe.
 

January 23, 2010

Counting Down My New Book's Release

Announcement!

My new website is now ready to view! I have updated my site to include more pages, more articles, and more about me and my work. Each of my five books have their own page with book excerpts, reviews, and personal information shared by me about my writing. The new Menu at the top of the site is easy to use and there is now a Tab to “Buy Books” online through Amazon.com. Please visit often for I will post new book events and online radio interviews as the release of Tales of Addiction and Inspiration for Recovery nears.
Please visit (or re-visit!) my website: Inspiration for Recovery

Here is another great Advance Review for this book:

“Addiction is a disease that often doesn't present itself in a form that onlookers notice; it's often hidden by the addict or his family, to a point even the closest friends and family don't know about it or even realize there is a problem. As I read each story in Tales of Addiction by Dr. Barbara Sinor, I felt the pain, dismay, denial, and hopelessness of each writer. Some stories are just down-right difficult to read and offered much contemplation as I reflected back on my own life and experiences. Yet, every one of the stories offers hope. The reader gets the distinct guidance that a shift happens and the addiction becomes real and many times recovery ensues. This goes for both the addict and the family member. Just because we don't have a substance addiction, it doesn't mean we aren't susceptible to enabling, which ends up being an addiction in itself. Poignant, reflective, and offering the knowledge there is hope and recovery, Tales of Addiction gives the reader the sense they are not alone. But most of all, the stories reflect compassion and in the end, the true identity of each person.”
~Irene Watson, M.A., Author, The Sitting Swing: Wisdom to Know the Difference and Rewriting Life Scripts: Transformational Recovery for Families

January 15, 2010

Countdown to New Book Release!

I hope you all are enjoying this exciting countdown to the release of Tales of Addiction! I have been overwhelmed with support for this new publication. My wonderful publisher, Victor at Loving Healing Press, Inc. is working closely with me to make this book exactly what I envision. The book's cover is a photograph titled "Lake Bottom" and is one I took of our little community lake. I felt this picture could represent many of the stages of addiction recovery--from rock bottom to floating free.

The book's advance Reviews are still trickling in from those professionals who were invited to read an unedited preview of the book. Below I have posted another one of the great Reviews for you to read!
Blessings,
Barbara~

“In any healing process, the individual must first tell their story and become conscious of the core issues that precipitated their wounding. Once the story has been told, the work of healing and recovery can begin. Tales of Addiction provides this avenue for courageous story telling; one is struck both with the pain and suffering that was experienced, and also the hope for a healthier future. Dr. Sinor provides insight into the addiction process and the path to recovery pulling from behavioral theory, recovery philosophy, and the new understandings from the world of physics and spiritual development. Sinor provides a platform for those needing help on their journey to high level wellness.”

Leslie Lovejoy, Ph.D., Wellness Coach and Consultant, Author,
Create Your Health Using the Five Keys to Wellness

January 07, 2010

Countdown to New Book Release!



The twelfth week of my countdown has vanished! Tales of Addiction and Inspiration for Recovery is receiving extraordinary advance Reviews. I am so very grateful for the professionals who have taken time from their busy lives to read my book and offer such heart-felt praise. Below is a Review from Ellen DiNucci, M.A. who is the former Project Coordinator & Researcher for Stanford University’s Complementary and Alternative Medicine Program. Tales of Addiction holds genuine insight into our addiction population, enjoy reading this preview of the book.


Tales of Addiction features an array of gut-wrenching yet heart-warming narratives by people with long-standing addiction issues. Weaving the unedited stories into a theme of upliftment and hope are Dr. Sinor’s astute commentaries and observations. The stories are riveting, each starting out with family history that is inevitably pivotal to the storyteller’s current situation. A must read for those with addiction issues and their families, Tales of Addiction is gripping because of its raw emotions and is effective precisely because of its variety and emotional power. It is a rare opportunity for helping professionals and lay people to perceive the common threads among all addictions, in the context of very compelling stories that make the lessons learned along the road to recovery memorable. Though suffering is a component of the stories, hope, insight and unconditional love are among some of the central ingredients to addicts’ maneuvering the labyrinth of recovery while giving back to family, community, and themselves.”

January 02, 2010

Countdown to New Book Release!

Twelve Week Countdown!



My new book Tales of Addiction and Inspiration for Recovery will be launched in April. I am counting down the weeks, then the days, to its release by Loving Healing Press, Inc. I invite you to learn more about this book and its potent look at over two dozen addiction stories, as well as, my own as the mother of an alcoholic son. The book's Foreword is by renown educator and author Cardwell C. Nuckols, Ph.D. Dr. Nuckols writes, "Alcohol and drugs are not the wrong direction--just the wrong method to search for our path. Alcohol and drugs many times give us a glimpse of the Self and our natural desire for transcendence... Tales of Addiction is a gift from Dr. Sinor's Self to ours; it is her ability to see and understand the love and beauty inside of others that makes this book a source of healing." The picture above is a working cover for the book and below is a brief overview.
Synopsis:
Tales of Addiction and Inspiration for Recovery contains true grit bleeding tales told by people you will never meet but whose words will haunt you for months, years maybe. The contributors are not well known, they are not names you will recognize. The stories are written by every day people trying to stay straight and sober, and others written by loved ones searching for clues to the addiction game. Over two dozen addiction stories are presented, ranging from triumph over drug abuse to coping with the pitfalls of relapse and the challenges of recovery. Between the stories of those brave souls who chose to submit their personal addiction tale is one story from my son, Richard. His personal Journal is interwoven throughout the book and my own words are found next to my son’s echoing his pain and personal journey as I witness his life’s drama as an alcoholic.
The stories were collected for two years through web site advertisements, workshops, and a “Call for Stories” bulletin. Some lines jump off the pages to grip the reader’s heart and mind leading him toward personal insight. Wry humor parts the reader’s lips with, “I am addicted to anything I take twice and makes me feel good!” and “I went to a party when I was eleven-years old and didn’t get back until I was forty-five.” Poetry fills the heart with lines like, “Days seem to run together like stitches on a hem” and “I turn trash into treasures, the same way God did with me.” Still other passages fill the heart with tears.
Tales of Addiction and Inspiration for Recovery offers deep insight into ourselves and those we love. Between the potent stories, the reader finds pertinent information surrounding addiction recovery which presents an awareness of how the public can help those with drug or alcohol addictions. Various literature is introduced which allows the reader to discover how anyone of us can be of service to our addiction population. Issues are addressed concerning Drug Courts, Integral or Holistic treatment alternatives, the spiritual component in recovery, appropriate intervention, and new findings in the area of addiction and neuro-scientific research.
The target readership is the general adult population whether clean and straight, addicted, or in recovery. This book is for anyone with an interest in understanding the reality of drug and alcohol addiction; the impact substance abuse has on our nation’s population; the choices individuals have taken on their addiction journey; and, instruction on how to help guide those addicted toward sobriety. This book should be read by teachers, social workers, medical professionals, counselors, teenagers, those incarcerated, college students, government officials, those addicted and their loved ones.

To read book excerpts and advance reviews for this new book, please visit my web site: http://www.drsinor.com/index.htm

To view my previous recovery books please click:

Introduction and Welcome

" …it is possible to achieve the freedom to have any viewpoint you choose and therefore any reality." ~Deepak Chopra

I have launched this new Blog so the many online friends who have asked me questions and want to read more of my writing can easily find me. Here you will find some of my favorite links to web sites, suggested reading, excerpts from my books, and articles I will write just for you.

My fifth published book is due to be released this year and it contains personal viewpoints and nuances from my life’s journey. The book’s title is Tales of Addiction and Inspiration for Recovery, I know you all will enjoy reading this insightful glimpse into the lives of those who contributed their addiction story. My story as a daughter and a mother of an alcoholic is also weaved throughout the book in a tapestry of my son’s personal addiction story.

Remembering experiences and events from my life, I begin to see the unwinding paths that interlock or cross over one another and realize how each and every experience has guided my life. Perhaps it is the wrapping-up of the old, the forgotten, the habits and issues which once were so top priority that draw me to re-explore my life at the end, or beginning, of each year. Don’t you find yourself daydreaming more at this time year? Perhaps our dreams help to ensure that the passing year really happened, or that we desire to start a new one!

Sometimes while reflecting, the “what ifs” come to play with my psyche and I begin to doubt my choices for the past year. When this happens, I tell myself what I tell my patients, “You made the best decisions you could at the time based on the information, education, and knowledge you obtained, as well as, outside input along with your inner intuition on the matter.” After telling myself this, I feel justified in my choices and move on to stumble over the “shoulda, woulda, coulda” bunch shouting in my ear! I confront this over-rated group of know-it-alls with silent answers of strength in knowing my present now out-weighs my past, and I move on to thinking about my future.

A new year to conquer. If I was offered a magic crystal ball that would show me a picture of myself one year into the future, I would say “No thanks” because that would take all the fun out of watching my reality unfold. Just as the past seemed to unwind in strange, yet miraculous ways, I know my future will do the same. Each day, each week will bring new people to my life, new experiences in which to grow, and new choices that will need to be made. I love life. When one loves to be alive, they cannot help but appreciate the magic of reality unfolding.

I look forward to discovering what 2010 has in store for me. The seeds I have planted last year, and many years before, assures my new year will blossom into a hardy tree filled with branches reaching out to many others on their path of exploration. It was one of my favorite authors, Richard Bach who coined the term “Fellow Adventurers” and I find myself repeating it often to others, for we all are adventurers on this planet. Our paths may or may not cross in reality, however, our lives will always impact each other. So, dear fellow adventurer, reflect on the past year with a light-hearted feeling of knowing your choices have gotten you to this point, therefore, you are exactly where you are suppose to be--now is the time to unravel each day, each week with confidence in your manifesting abilities.
Blessings,
Barbara~