Recovery: Freedom from Our Addictions

Product Information

The title signifies the book’s central theme – the journey of recovery, self-discovery, and personal transformation. Recovery” by Russell Brand is more than just a book; it’s a beacon of hope for those lost in the tumultuous sea of personal struggles. Through his top 8 ideas, Russell offers a roadmap to recovery, emphasizing the importance of acceptance, community, spirituality, and continuous growth. His personal journey, filled with ups and downs, makes the book authentic and relatable. Whether you’re on a recovery journey yourself or seeking personal growth, “Recovery” is a must-read, offering invaluable insights and guidance. On the positive side, this is a really well-produced Audible original. The sound quality is super good, and Brand puts on what I’d call a poetic performance throughout it. It’s definitely not your standard “book,” and that comes across from the get-go. The present moment is all we truly have. Russell’s emphasis on living in the “now” is a call to let go of past regrets and anxieties about the future. By focusing on the present, one can make the most of every moment, leading to a more fulfilled and balanced life.

but other than that I was really really impressed with how this managed to communicate that it’s OK and it’s Human to make mistakes, to give in to the monkey mind, to choose the wrong ‘program’ to solve our darkest, deepest woes - it’s human to suffer in this way. The author is honest in relating his journey to the sacred, you truly feel that he is not trying to bull shit you with fancy concepts but he is relating his personal story and his ideas. I think it’s part of being human. To carry a wound. A flaw. And again, paradoxically, it is only by facing it that we can progress” There are parts of the book that are very good to great, but there are parts that are a bit out of place a couple of Russell’s antidotes seem out of place and I am not sure the go with the step he was trying to portray. Beautiful. I suppose in part I enjoyed this because RB draws upon his luxuriously large and impressively deep well of vocabulary, and damn he manages to be funny and profound as he weaves together the most extraordinarily complex sentences.

Customer reviews

The book deserves a second reading, and I wish it were in print form, for the ease of copying quotes, of which there are many, that call for my further reflection and self assessment. Yes - grain of salt - yes - but that’s with anything…Could probably skip the whole anecdote in step 6… Russell Brand is an extremely intelligent, strangely likeable and often hilarious man. He has made mistakes in life (one rather famous one involving Jonathan Ross will probably never be forgotten) but he has also overcome a lot too. This book goes through how he has managed to maintain sobriety for many years.

I've never been a huge fan of Russell Brand, but even before reading this I thought it was pretty fair to say he's someone who just might have something to offer on the subject of addiction. Actually, I was surprised by just how disarming his honesty was in the book, the level of brutal self-reflection he achieves in his writing here, and clearly in his path to coping with various addictions, was both moving and inspiring. It's not easy taking a long hard look at yourself, at the choices that you've made and the inner workings of your mind; and not just looking but seeing what and why and how and then maybe, just maybe, having the strength and courage to change yourself. The overall message is that no meaningful social or political change can happen without the spiritual evolution of humanity. He boldly asks: what is the point of existing if we are merely striving to better organise our material needs? We need to talk about death, we need to have connectedness, we need to re-discover the sacred in the mundane. Society has to organise itself around these fundamental needs, just as much as the material needs. Understanding how certain behaviours and characteristics can affect your life, for example having a big ‘EGO’ will never lead to anything other than inner suffering and misery. This manual for self-realization comes not from a mountain but from the mud...My qualification is not that I am better than you but I am worse.” — Russell BrandIn the book’s technical aspects, it is well written - a surprise to me as I didn’t know Brand was an accomplished writer. If anything, it is at times over written to disguise the fact that it gets repetitive as it goes along. There is one theme - recovery - and while the structure (the 12 step program) ensures that this theme follows a trajectory, the analysis starts to feel shallow, and dare I say it, a bit prescriptive, after a while. You can skip passages and you won’t really lose out on much. With a rare mix of honesty, humor, and compassion, comedian and movie star Russell Brand mines his own wild story and shares the advice and wisdom he has gained through his fourteen years of recovery. Brand speaks to those suffering along the full spectrum of addiction—from drugs, alcohol, caffeine, and sugar addictions to addictions to work, stress, bad relationships, digital media, and fame. Brand understands that addiction can take many shapes and sizes and how the process of staying clean, sane, and unhooked is a daily activity. He believes that the question is not “Why are you addicted?” but "What pain is your addiction masking? Why are you running—into the wrong job, the wrong life, the wrong person’s arms?"