The Twelve Steps: A Modern Hero’s Journey reframes the well-known path of addiction recovery using Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey as a guide and drawing from storytelling, Jungian psychology, and classic spiritual traditions, to map each of the Twelve Steps onto an archetypal journey from despair to renewal. What was the inspiration for the original and fascinating idea at the center of the book?

Early in my recovery, around three years of sobriety, I read Joseph Campbell’s seminal work, The Hero With A Thousand Faces. I felt like I was having a spiritual experience with each page I read. It dawned on me that what I was reading was the journey not only of the hero throughout cultures and time, but it was also the direct experience I was having working the Twelve Step program of recovery. I was on my own hero’s journey, as were all the people in the rooms I was “trudging the road of happy destiny” with. It was an exhilarating experience, and I was alive as never before. I set about writing, researching, and organizing my thoughts and insights, and it took many years (twenty-five to be exact), but after many drafts and rewrites, this book, The Twelve Steps, a Modern Hero’s Journey, finally came alive.

What were some ideas that were important for you to share in this book?

The whole pattern of transformation–from the broad strokes of Separation, Initiation, and Return, to the details included in each of these categories. For example, early on in the Separation stage, the hero always gets a mentor–think of Luke Skywalker meeting Obi-wan Kenobi (Ben), and eventually, Yoda. These figures mentor and teach Luke, and often save him from his reckless immaturity. The same is true in recovery. During the first and second Steps, the person new in recovery also gets a mentor–called a sponsor–who has the experience the newcomer doesn’t have–but needs to survive the journey.

In addition, during this initial stage, the hero also develops friendships with companions who add their own talents and experience to the hero, and who have traveled the road before him and so can lend their experience, strength, and hope. Think of Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz and the scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the cowardly lion. Together, these companions travel the journey together and support one another as each of them grows. The same is true, of course, in recovery, as newcomers and old-timers alike surround themselves with the fellowship of the program, and together, they can do together what neither one of them could do alone.

There are many, many examples throughout each stage of the journey, and throughout each Step of the recovery journey. Each one is fascinating, enlightening, and ultimately, life-changing.

What was the most challenging part of writing your book, and what was the most rewarding?

The most challenging part of writing this book was finding the right way to incorporate all the wonderful stories of myth that give the hero’s journey its context within the history of mankind. The challenge was to find a way to include this material without it diluting the main thesis: the comparison of the hero’s journey and the journey of recovery. I finally resolved this by including this valuable material in the appendix. This allows me to tell the main story and highlight the duality of the two journeys, yet it also gives the reader access to these wonderful and enjoyable stories.

The most rewarding part of writing this book has been the initial reception and comments from advanced readers, reviewers, and websites like Literary Titan. Perhaps the biggest acknowledgment the book has received so far is from Kirkus Reviews. Kirkus thought so highly of the book, that they automatically entered it into their very exclusive “Kirkus Prize” literary contest…Kirkus only chooses 10% of the books they review annually for this prestigious award, they automatically nominated The Twelve Steps, A Modern Hero’s Journey for this award. See the full Kirkus review here: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/anonymous3/the-twelve-steps/ And read about the Kirkus Prize here: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/prize/

What is one thing that you hope readers take away from The Twelve Steps: A Modern Hero’s Journey?

The depth of meaning and overall importance the journey of recovery contains. My hope is that everyone who is either in a Twelve Step recovery program, or who knows someone who is, reads this book and comes to a new understanding of not only the work required to attain sobriety or abstinence, but also the importance of why someone goes through this. I hope they learn what the true significance of someone having a spiritual experience is, and what it means not only to the person taking the journey, but for society and the world as a whole.

Author Links: GoodReads | Website | Amazon