This is "LOVE IS WHAT YOU NEED," which is Chapter Six of "The Addict's Guide to Recovery" by Emily Sussman, LCSW; illustrated by J.E. Larson.

❤️‍🩹

"Before I discuss the divine and miraculous solution that’s given me the power to free My True Self from the chains of My Addict, I would like to make one request: that you close your eyes for a moment, and visualize your mind as an open door. No locks, no fences, no complicated security codes. Now, leave that door open for the duration of this book, if you will. Even just a crack, if that’s all you can manage. Thank you.

Here goes: what keeps me sober, what keeps me healthy, and what keeps me happy today is love. Not watching YouTube videos about love. Not listening to podcasts about love. Not reading about love. Not meditating on it, or taking master classes on it, or even sitting around talking about it. What’s worked is actually going out and practicing love — with other people, yes, but with myself, unconditionally.

I can assure you that before I began walking the road of recovery, I didn’t know the first thing about love. But I’ve learned — and I’m still learning. How to accept that I need love. How to ask for love. How to give love. How to receive love. How to appreciate love. How to show myself love. How wonderful real love feels. And above all, how to practice love in my day-to-day life.

You can learn too, my dear Addict friends. That means that you, too, can live a peaceful, free, and happy life, safe from the soul-sucking, shame-inducing clutches of Your Addict. I have all the faith in the world about that."

❤️

Copyright 2025 Freedom Recovery Press

For MUCH more, visit theaddictsguidetotheuniverse.com

Sent with True Love from the Universe ❤️💫

This is "RECOVERY IS LEARNING HOW TO LOVE" which is Chapter Five of "The Addict's Guide to Recovery" by Emily Sussman, LCSW; illustrated by J.E. Larson.

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“Your liberation from Your Addict is a process that comes in two parts. The first part consists of starving and diminishing Your Addict by refusing to feed it your drug. That’s called sobriety. The other part of the solution is filling the void inside you. The void Your Addict always promised you could fill with your drug — that liar!

Instead of using your drug, you will fill that void with the best possible growing conditions for Your True Self to take root and flourish: love. That’s the process called recovery. Recovery means learning how to love and take care of Your True Self — and, by extension, learning to love other people, as well as the world around you.

Did you catch the word “process” in there, or should I say it a few more times for emphasis?

Recovery is a process.

Recovery is a process.

Recovery is a process.

That’s right; recovery is a process, not an event. Learning to love yourself and the life you’re living is a muscle you’ll develop with practice. I say “practice,” because recovery is something you’ll have to get up and decide to do every day until it becomes second nature. (Er, make that your true nature.) That’s as opposed to a one-and-done, poof! type of transformation — as many people erroneously suppose a three-month stay at an inpatient rehab will be.

Practicing a program of recovery on a daily basis is what will enable you to forge a path of positive growth, even in the midst of life¡¯s inevitable pain, problems, and setbacks — which potentially includes relapse.

Likewise, recovery isn’t about gritting your teeth and white-knuckling life without your drug. It’s about cultivating the good stuff: a sense of peace, freedom, and happiness within you. That’s why recovery isn’t just about staying sober; it’s about making your life meaningful. Love is what gives life meaning and purpose. And in the day to day, love is also what makes Your True Self powerful and resilient.

My dear Addict friends, I’m willing to bet that your biggest challenge in recovery isn’t going to be staying sober. Your biggest challenge will be learning to love Your True Self.

❤️

Copyright 2025 Freedom Recovery Press

For MUCH more, visit theaddictsguidetotheuniverse.com

Sent with True Love from the Universe ❤️💫

This is "YOUR TRUE SELF... IT'S IN THERE!" which is Chapter Four of "The Addict's Guide to Recovery" by Emily Sussman, LCSW; illustrated by J.E. Larson.

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"My dear Addict friends, Your True Self is the golden egg nestled deep within you, sparkling and precious. Your True Self contains the best of you, and all your potential. It consists of all the love and light you can bring to your own and others’ lives, and all the strengths and capabilities you can offer the world.

I don’t care if you’ve never experienced or acknowledged the beauty of Your True Self. It’s there, a brilliant thing that’s designed to create, contribute, and connect.

Your True Self understands that reaching out to others and having great relationships bring joy and meaning to life. Your True Self wants so much to swim free and strong in the stream of humanity. It wants to grow. It wants to bloom.

Which is another way of saying: Your True Self wants to LOVE.”

❤️

THE ADDICT'S GUIDE TO RECOVERY by Emily Sussman, LCSW, is available on Amazon in paperback and eBook (Kindle).

Copyright 2025 Freedom Recovery Press.

For MUCH more, visit theaddictsguidetotheuniverse.com

Sent with True Love from the Universe ❤️💫

This is "YOUR ADDICT ISN'T WHO YOU ARE," which is Chapter Three of "The Addict's Guide to Recovery" by Emily Sussman, LCSW; illustrated by J.E. Larson. ❤️‍🩹

"Personally, I think of My Addict as a toxic ex-boyfriend I’ve got to stay the hell away from. When life gets dull or difficult, it’s tempting to think back wistfully on the good times we shared: the excitement, the pleasure, and the escape from reality.

But whenever the thought of my toxic ex starts to seem all sexy and romantic again, I have to remind myself of all the pain he caused me. How he was never okay with me just being myself. How he always wanted me to be someone with no feelings, no needs, and no control over the direction of our relationship. How we went around and around in cycles of codependent craziness, coming up against the same dead ends every time.

I have to remember that even though My Addict may always be lurking around, trying to tempt me to come back, that doesn’t mean I should go back. My Addict will always be the same sleazy, loveless asshole he always was, a pretty parasite happy to exploit me for his own selfish gain.

I know that’s pretty damning as far as metaphors go, but that’s the point. You already know that Your Addict isn’t pretty. My point is that Your Addict isn’t you."

❤️

THE ADDICT'S GUIDE TO RECOVERY by Emily Sussman, LCSW, is available on Amazon in paperback and eBook (Kindle).

Copyright 2025 Freedom Recovery Press.

For MUCH more, visit theaddictsguidetotheuniverse.com

Sent with True Love from the Universe ❤️💫

This is "A FEW WORDS ABOUT THE A-WORD," which is Chapter One of "The Addict's Guide to Recovery" by Emily Sussman, LCSW.

No, not THAT A-word, the one you hurl in traffic when someone's just cut you off. The other A-word. ADDICT.

Know that calling yourself an addict is not a put-down. It's not a slur. It's not a judgment, and it's not a life sentence. It's simply a reference to the insatiable black hole of a beast who lives inside you. The one who demands more and more of whatever is breaking you down, even as it seems to provide some temporary relief or anesthesia for the problems of life.

Remember this: You are not the problem. How could you be? Not when the solution to the problem of addiction ALSO lives inside of you. ❤️

THE ADDICT'S GUIDE TO RECOVERY by Emily Sussman, LCSW, is available on Amazon.

Copyright 2025 Freedom Recovery Press.

For MUCH more, visit theaddictsguidetotheuniverse.com

Sent with True Love from the Universe ❤️💫