Your July/August Together Interview “The Heart of Addiction” with Dr. Lance Dodes, by Charles M. Young, was great to read.

Dr. Dodes’ notion of addiction being a displacement for feelings of disempowerment rang true for me. And your writer’s impression of this concept as “The Rosetta Stone of addiction” makes sense to this recovering addict.

In my years of alcoholism and harrowing consequences, I searched endlessly for the source of my problem. AA, while essential for me then and now, didn’t seem to explore causality other than in right-sizing perceptions and actively addressing my negative effects on others. And years of counseling didn’t shed much light either.

But learning the premise of this 2002 book was practically a revelation.

Considering alcohol as a psychological adaptation to feelings of helplessness really resonated. Real or imagined, my life seemed a litany of one disappointment followed by the next – feeding a gnawing sense of deficit.

I knew that alcohol transformed me like spinach for Popeye. But when it turned on me, I never considered the long decline as feeding a chronic need to feel more than I was. Beyond anything I’ve read or been told, this simple premise begins to answer the question of why I drank to oblivion daily.

Indeed, I am powerless over alcohol and all its well-veiled deceit. And better understanding the why of it is a gift.

Kudos for this gem of an article.

Paul M.

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I received a copy of Together and felt like the Steve Martin character in the movie “The Jerk.” Like Navin Johnson when he finally heard his type of music, I felt exhilarated when I read this paper. Finally someone is writing about living life in recovery.

It doesn’t matter, as Lesley Logan pointed out (in “Galloping Hobbyhorses,” cover story, July/August edition), whether it’s woodworking, sports, ceramics, sex, meetings or education, we are all looking to fill that void. The hobbyhorses all have one common theme; they are better than the alternative of wasted days and wasted nights. My hobbyhorses over time have included all of the above. The ability to harness the energy used for a “negative addiction” and convert it into a positive addiction is a powerful force and a gift. The benefits to society are immeasurable, but the benefits to oneself are measured in increased self esteem and sobriety. I read Together from cover to cover and am looking forward to many more.

Jim F.