Synopses & Reviews
In our former lives as practicing alcoholics and addicts, we likely punished our bodies as much as our minds. And yet, recovery programs often neglect the physical, focusing primarily on the mental, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of staying sober.
In The Recovering Body, popular health writer and Guinevere Gets Sober blogger Jennifer Matesa provides simple, effective ways for addicts to heal the damage caused by substance abuse, whatever our age, lifestyle, or temperament. Combining solid science and practical guidance, along with her own experience and that of other addicts, Matesa offers a roadmap to creating our own unique approach to physical recovery. Each chapter provides key summaries and helpful checklists, focused on:
- exercise and activity
- sleep and rest
- nutrition and fuel
- sexuality and pleasure
- meditation and awareness
Matesas holistic approach frames physical fitness as a living amends to self--a transformative gift analogous to the spiritual fitness” practices worked on in recovery.
Review
The Recovering Body melds real-life experience, practical advice, and state-of-the-art science to help readers understand what addiction does to our bodies and how we can recover ourselvesbody, mind, and spirit.”
Katherine Ketcham, coauthor with William Cope Moyers of Broken
The Recovering Body is an engaging commentary on the importance of exercise and meditation for people in recoverybut it is so much more than simply a self-help book. Personal, luminous in its depth of understanding of the human condition, this is a book that would benefit anyone who struggles with self-image. This is a book for all persons who choose light above darkness.”
Kaylie Jones, author of Lies My Mother Never Told Me
An essential read for anyone struggling with addiction and compulsion. Matesa has integrated science and stories that provide the reader with critical insight and guidance from every perspective. This book is the roadmap towards fulfillment and happiness.”
Shane Niemeyer, Ironman triathlete and author of The Hurt Artist: My Journey from Suicidal Junkie to Ironman
What exactly is recovered during recovery? With warmth and intelligence, Matesa suggests that healing the body from physical addiction is not separate from spiritual healing. Through fascinating stories from the field and using her experience as an educator and journalist who overcame her own addiction, she explains how movement, nourishment, sleep, pleasure, and mindfulness pave the road home to yourself. A blueprint for healing, body and soul.”
Susan Piver, New York Times bestselling author of The Wisdom of a Broken Heart
The Recovering Body opens our eyes to the next level of recoveryoffering clarity into the great benefits of expanding our wellness as people who have chosen life over the downward spiral of addiction. As the Big Books says, More will be disclosed” and I believe in Jennifer Matesas The Recovery Body, it already has.”
-- Afterpartychat.com
Synopsis
Just as recovery requires daily practice, so does physical fitness and a healthy lifestyle. InThe Recovering Body, seasoned health writer, Jennifer Matesa ignites the recovery community with the first-ever guide to achieving physical recovery as part of your path to lifelong sobriety.
In our former lives as practicing alcoholics and addicts, we likely punished our bodies as much as our minds. And yet, recovery programs often neglect the physical, focusing primarily on the mental, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of staying sober.In The Recovering Body, popular health writer and Guinevere Gets Sober blogger Jennifer Matesa provides simple, effective ways for addicts to heal the damage caused by substance abuse, whatever our age, lifestyle, or temperament. Combining solid science and practical guidance, along with her own experience and that of other addicts, Matesa offers a roadmap to creating our own unique approach to physical recovery. Each chapter provides key summaries and helpful checklists, focused on: exercise and activitysleep and restnutrition and fuelsexuality and pleasuremeditation and awarenessMatesa s holistic approach frames physical fitness as a living amends to self--a transformative gift analogous to the spiritual fitness practices worked on in recovery."
Synopsis
The coronavirus pandemic has heightened awareness of how we're feeling, and what helps keep us healthy. Attending to physical, mental, and spiritual health is essential in times of crisis--especially for bodies in recovery.
Just as recovery requires daily practice, so does physical fitness and a healthy lifestyle. In The Recovering Body, seasoned health writer, Jennifer Matesa ignites the recovery community with the first-ever guide to achieving physical recovery as part of your path to lifelong sobriety.
In our former lives as practicing alcoholics and addicts, we likely punished our bodies as much as our minds. And yet, recovery programs often neglect the physical, focusing primarily on the mental, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of staying sober.In The Recovering Body, popular health writer and Guinevere Gets Sober blogger Jennifer Matesa provides simple, effective ways for addicts to heal the damage caused by substance abuse, whatever our age, lifestyle, or temperament. Combining solid science and practical guidance, along with her own experience and that of other addicts, Matesa offers a roadmap to creating our own unique approach to physical recovery. Each chapter provides key summaries and helpful checklists, focused on: exercise and activitysleep and restnutrition and fuelsexuality and pleasuremeditation and awarenessMatesa's holistic approach frames physical fitness as a living amends to self--a transformative gift analogous to the "spiritual fitness" practices worked on in recovery.
About the Author
Jennifer Matesa, a seasoned health writer, authors the award-winning blog
Guinevere Gets Sober and contributes regularly to TheFix.com. In 2013 she became a fellow of the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Jennifer lives in Pittsburgh, PA.