Getting Clean on Addiction Policy in the U.S.
A couple of weeks ago, the New York Times Review of Books reviewed David Sheff’s new book Clean: Overcoming Addiction and Ending America’s Greatest Tragedy. After noting some highlights in the book, editor Mick Sussman aptly concluded that Sheff has “performed a vital service by compiling sensible advice on a subject for which sensible advice is in short supply.”
I agree. Sheff diagnoses the nation’s response to addiction as being as sick as addiction itself. His message cuts across not only the policies of criminalization but the criminalization of an addict’s character.


According to author and psychiatrist
This article from
Why is it that families are kept so far out of the loop when it comes to a loved one’s health?
This blog is a slight departure from my usual posts as a recent news story has raised some thoughts for me that I wanted to write about.
According to author Laura Vanderkam in her newest e-book
I am frequently asked “What is mindfulness?”
Any Pittsburgh Steeler fan over the age of 36 could tell you about Mike Webster. He was our All-Pro center who, alongside Terry Bradshaw, Jack Lambert, Franco Harris, Mean Joe Greene and so many notorious others, carried the team to four Super Bowl wins in the 1970s. Mike was bigger than Mean Joe but known for a heart of gold.
I spend a lot of time thinking about questions such as, “How do we change?” “Why is it so hard to make ourselves do things that we want to do?”
The day I returned from inpatient therapy, my Lab-Chow mix cuddled up to me on the bed as I cried. She looked into my defeated gaze and licked my tears.
In a
The DSM-5 was officially released today. We will be covering it in the weeks to come here on the blog and over at