There's More Than One Way to Get to Cleveland

Twelve-step programs like AA don't work for many addicts. The Ten Lifestyles of Recovery are the holistic, healthy alternative. Former addict, addiction counselor and ultra-endurance athlete Todd Crandell explains what makes the Lifestyles work.

Todd knows what he's talking about: he wasted 13 years of his life being addicted to drugs and alcohol—ruining relationships, squandering his athletic talents, and nearly committing suicide. But after he pulled himself out of addiction with endurance sports, he realized that traditional twelve-step programs were too limited for many addicts. So he started Racing for Recovery, a counseling and support group that helps its members rediscover healthy, balanced lives free from addiction.

At the core of Todd's work as an addictions counselor and head of Racing For Recovery are the ten Lifestyles of Recovery. Holistic, organic and healing, the Lifestyles free addicts from the strictures of twelve-step and help them rebuild lives centered on physical, emotional and spiritual wellness. Examples:

• Lifestyle #3: Rely On Friends, Family, Teachers and Peers

• Lifestyle #5: Build Self-Esteem and Confidence

• Lifestyle #9: Recognize and Embrace Personal Challenges

As thousands of recovering addicts and their families can attest, the Lifestyles of Recovery work. Instead of treating addiction as a disease, they treat it as a CHOICE. The emotional pain and trauma that leads to substance abuse is the real disease, and the LIfestyles' emphasis on personal and emotional healing helps addicts address past pain and move beyond it, making freedom possible.

“There's More Than One Way to Get to Cleveland” also tells the intense, shocking and ultimately hopeful stories of ten former addicts who have worked with Racing for Recovery to overcome the addictions that blighted and almost ended their lives. These courageous individuals share their stories in all their gruesome detail, illustrating not only the depths to which drug and alcohol abuse can cause us to sink, but the hope that exists for anyone who chooses to embrace sobriety.

As Todd says, “With sobriety, anything is possible!”