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Recovery for Sale
| Article
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15223 |
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Section : |
BOOK WORLD
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| Issue
Date : |
8 / 1989 |
2,310 Words |
| Author
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Nancy Dudley
Nancy Dudley was a member of the White House Conference for a
Drug-Free America. |
REHAB
Stan Hart
New York: Harper & Row, 1988
513 pp., $10.95
Rehab is a welcome road map through the vast and still growing number of drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers in the United States. Stan Hart spent two years traveling to hundreds of centers across the country. A recovering alcoholic himself, his evaluations reflect the point of view of someone who has been there. "Treatment saved my life," says Hart, "and I wanted a learn more about it." The inspiration for his book came while he was working as a volunteer at a detox center in Martha's Vineyard. "I saw that people were referred to treatment in a kind of hit or miss and haphazard manner."
The result of Hart's effort is more than a directory. He leads us into each facility for a firsthand look. The reader is made to feel as if he has visited the treatment center himself; as if he has eaten meals there, attended group therapy sessions, interviewed the clinical staff personally. Hart provides the location of the centers and information about the length of treatment, cost, staff qualifications, and so on. Considering the enormous demand for treatment, Rehab is, surprisingly, the only book of its kind.
Nothing magical
Hart prefers solid treatment schedules that offer plenty of order ("patients' lives are crying for order"). Emphasis on group therapy is also important to him ("people help each other get well"). He often finds staffs comprised primarily of former addicts recovering in twelve step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA). According to Hart, the majority of these men and women love their jobs, love the human race, and live in accordance with an altruistic value system that emphasizes "service to others, kindness, and faith." Underpaid and dedicated, these people are "saving lives and repairing families."
Clearly, addicts and alcoholics are capable of continuing to drug and drink until it kills them--spiritually, then emotionally, and finally, physically. The treatment process addresses these three areas. The physical body must be detoxed, the emotions revived through discipline and compassion, and the spirit restored through a sense of belonging and purpose.
Nothing magical, or even
...
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