Letters to The New York Times re Jane Brody's Review of the Anne Fletcher Book

Anne Fletcher's forthcoming book, Recovery for Good (watch for review on www.unhooked.com), drew a positive review in the New York Times Apr. 18, by NYT Health Editor Jane Brody.  (Click for NY Times article.)  In response, Diane J. drafted and I edited and then signed a letter to the editors, and I sent Brody a packet of LifeRing literature with a cover letter.  

The letter to the Times editors says:

Jane Brody’s excellent ‘Personal Health’ column reviewing Anne Fletcher’s Sober for Good (NYT Apr.
18) correctly calls attention to the developing consensus among addiction researchers that AA is far
from being ‘the only way’ to conquer a drinking problem and that many people succeed at sobriety
without participation in that program.
Of these, as Fletcher points out, a number get and remain sober entirely on their own, while others draw
support and advice from secular self-help programs that do not demand adherence to a ‘spiritual’
program and encourage individual thinking and problem solving.
One such group is LifeRing Secular Recovery (LSR) founded in 1999. LifeRing is based on the three
principles of sobriety, secularity, and self-help. The organization encourages its members to design and
share their own personal sobriety plans, and is compatible with and respectful of a wide variety of
abstinence-based treatment modalities.
Although the LifeRing approach is different, LifeRing coexists peacefully with 12-step organizations. A
growing number of chemical dependency treatment facilities, such as the Kaiser Permanente programs
in the San Francisco Bay Area, now offer LifeRing meetings side by side with 12-step meetings on their
premises, and include LifeRing on their referral list.
More information, including a nationwide meeting list, literature list, letters of reference, and contact
phone numbers, may be found at www.unhooked.com or www.lifering.org. New York City readers
looking for a LifeRing meeting can find one Saturdays at 1:00 p.m. at Cabrini Medical Center, 227 E.
19 th St.

The cover letter to Brody says:

Thank you for your review of Anne Fletcher’s Sober for Good. I am
one of the subjects of the book (“Herb Z.”) and, as it happens, my
recovery has led me into authorship and advocacy.
I would very much appreciate it if you could list our organization,
LifeRing Secular Recovery, among your “other resources.” Our main
web site, www.unhooked.com, is probably the most convenient entry
point for most readers.
We were formed in May 1999 and currently comprise more than 40
meetings in 15 states. We have three web sites and publish a growing
body of literature, including a workbook, a handbook, a book for
treatment professionals, an anthology of short items, and a set of
brochures. Under separate cover I am sending you copies of each of
the above for your information.
Please feel free to contact me if I can respond to any questions or
concerns.

Full-page offprints of each letter in PDF format are available:  Letter to Editors, Letter to Brody

-- MN 4/23/01