“You will be changed by this book. Your own recovery will be enhanced. And you will want to tell others about this book just like I wanted to tell you.”
—Karen Casey, author of Each Day a New Beginning

“Lisa Stanton’s 52 Life-Changing Lessons I Learned in Recovery so beautifully captures the journey from the pain, isolation, and desperation of her addiction to a meaningful, spiritually grounded life in recovery. Lisa describes in such vivid and relatable detail her journey from agnosticism to faith. Her vulnerability and honesty are both difficult to read at times and profoundly refreshing. For anyone who is struggling finding their way to the spiritual path of life and recovery, and finding a relationship with the GOD of their understanding that is both practical and relatable, this book is a must read.”
—John Curtiss, president/CEO of The Retreat, www.theretreat.org

Contents

Introduction: My Story

Part I: Spiritual Diagnostics

• Self-Control Won’t Keep You Sober
• The Opposite of Addiction Is Not Connection
• The Truth about Admitting You Are Powerless over Alcohol (Or Anything Else…)
• What Is an Eating Disorder?
• What a Craving Is Really Like and What I Do About It
• Why Another Day of Sobriety Is Not My Goal
• The Difference between a Spiritual Mentor and a Therapist

Part II: Stepping Away from Secular Spirituality

• Trusting God Isn’t Trendy, but the New Age Left Me Empty
• Artificial Versus Organic Gratitude
• Self-Love Is Not My Goal
• How I Stopped My Negative Thoughts Once and for All
• What if Your Triggers Are Just Sins You Haven’t Confessed?
• The Real Secret to Happiness (and the Delusion of Unhappiness)
• So, You Think You Want to Be Confident
• Is Expressing Emotions to Other People Actually Healing?
• The Truth about Low Self-Esteem

Part III: Coming to Believe

• Don’t Believe in God? Try Prayer
• Do you Live in Faith or Just Believe in God? (The Grocery Store Metaphor)
• How Deep Do You Need to Go?
• How Do You Know That God is Real?
• Why I Stopped Trying to Change My Behavior
• The Outcomes Are Up to God, Not Me (No More “Magic Pillow Cure”)

Part IV: Denial and Guilt

• Guilt Is Not a Feeling
• Are You in Denial?
• Your Pain Is Not Their Fault
• You Aren’t Actually Angry at Yourself
• Are You Guilty of Splitting Your Guilt?
• Connect with the Whispers of Your Conscience and You Won’t Have to Hear the Screams
• If No One Else Will Get Hurt, Is It Still Wrong?
• The Importance of Pulling the Root

Part IV: Forgiveness

• A Story of Radical Forgiveness
• I Let Go of the Past and Stopped Saying — “They Did the Best They Could”
• You Might Have Forgiveness All Wrong
• The Resentment Paradox
• How to Get Rid of Resentment
• I Stopped Trying to Rationalize and Justify Other’s Behavior and This Happened…

Part V: Prayer and Everyday Miracles

• A Way to Pray
• The Story of the Blue Truck
• Learning to Differentiate God’s Plan from My Plan
• If Life Feels Hard, Lack of Humility Might Be the Cause
• The Incredible Results of Turning Off My Internal Calculator
• If You Give, You Will Receive
• Two-Way Prayer: A Lesson, Sharing My Own, and an Exercise to Do Right Now
• Why I Don’t Pray that the World Changes
• Don’t Get Lost in the Big Picture
• How a Totaled Motorcycle Reminded Me to Trust God’s Plan

Part VI: Relationships

• Why I Don’t Ask People for Forgiveness
• The Way Out of the Cycle of Shame
• How I Let Go of My Addiction to Approval from Others
• I Don’t Trust My Friends
• Discovering the Reality of Friendship
• It’s Okay to Not Have the Last Word
• How to Stop Caring What They Think
• On Feeling Forced to Take a Side: The Relational Pep Rally
• A Deep Dive into Dishonesty
• The Dark Side of Boundaries
• The One Relationship I Need
• I Thought I Was a People-Pleaser

Part VII: Life Events

• A New Year’s Resolution You Can Start Today and Why I Gave Away Brand-new Diamond Earrings
• Four Hours after I Lost My Job, I Wrote This
• Grief, Selfishness, and Faith: How I Understand and Experience Grief after the Recent Deaths of Five Loved Ones
• What Will Your Gravestone Say? “I Wish It Would Have Been Different” or “That Sure Was Fun!”
• The Wedding Day Essay
• A Reflection on My Grandparents Passing
• Sadness, Grief, and God
• If the Holidays Are Hard on You, I Have Been There, Too, and This Could Be Why

Acknowledgments
About the Author