Before reading this book I was skeptical of what Mr. Sandor had to say on the topic of addiction. I am a recovering addict and have joined many rooms of Narcotics Anonymous. I read and used the twelve steps of the NA manual to help me recover from my addiction. Some times it was difficult to overcome my addiction, because I was weak-willed and helpless. With the help of my sponsor and support group I eventually became strong enough to stay clean. But as I read his book I was surprised by the information I learned. The themes I would like to discuss are: The value of understanding, helplessness and the definition of recovery. The Value of Understanding At the beginning of this book the author talks about the value of understanding a person's addiction. Sandor explains that a recovering addict's understanding of their addiction is based on the experiences they have had. Sandor states that “understanding requires a balance between knowing (information) and being (experience)” (Sandor, 2009, p.7). Sandor goes on to explain that when it comes to the field of addiction treatment, professionals rely on the information they have been trained with comes from textbooks, conferences, and patient interviews. Sandor realized that professionals had “overconsidered” the problem. For example, when I was younger my father took me to the pool to learn how to swim. My father threw me into the water. He thought if he threw me in I would 1) learn to keep my head above water and 2) learn to swim. My fear was of drowning in the pool, so my dad signed me up for swimming lessons. After a few months I overcame the fear of drowning and learned to swim. Helplessness: Addi's essential experience...... middle of paper ...... and towards drug addicts and/or alcoholics has not changed. I'm the type who wants to help an individual. When I meet alcoholics I normally give the advice “hey, you might want to eat something instead of drinking” or “hey, did you eat today”. There are many homeless people around me who are alcoholics. I tend to buy them a sandwich or a coffee so they have something in their gut other than alcohol. I know we've all had difficult lives, some people have simply lost the will to live. I convinced these people to come to church asking God's forgiveness and helping them on their healing journey. Those who are ready to change have listened to my advice, but for those who haven't I'm still there. I'm not the type to turn my back on people. This book helped me understand the internal dynamics of how an individual can become a drug addict.