Willingway Archives

The Recovery Book is here!

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Today is the official release of The Recovery Book! Coauthors Al J. Mooney, MD, Catherine Dold and Howard Eisenberg all hope that it helps many people find a lifetime of sobriety and peace.

From Workman Publishing: The Recovery Book

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Noreen Herits, (212) 614-7775 / noreen@workman.com “

A classic. Read it. Use it. It can help guide you step by step into the bright light of the world of recovery.” —from the Foreword by Harry Haroutunian, M.D., Physician Director, Betty Ford Center

Hope, support, and a clear road map for the more than 23 million Americans with substance addiction

THE RECOVERY BOOK Answers to All Your Questions about Addiction and Alcoholism and Finding Health and Happiness in Sobriety By Al J. Mooney, M.D., Catherine Dold, and Howard Eisenberg

“Many people are now finally recognizing that addiction to alcohol and other drugs is a terrible disease. Heroin and prescription … Read more...

A New Book About the Mooneys: “When Two Loves Collide”

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When Two Loves Collide, the story of how Dr. Al Mooney’s parents, Dot and John Mooney, fought addiction and alcoholism and went on to found Willingway Hospital, was released in April 2013.

From the cover: Passion and addiction devastate the lives of a heroic surgeon and his wife until a prison miracle restores their love and faith.

Author William G. Borchert is an Emmy nominated screenwriter who wrote the movies “My Name Is Bill W.,” starring James Garner and James Woods, and “When Love Is Not Enough,” starring Winona Ryder and Barry Pepper. He has also written a number of books, including The Lois Wilson Story: When Love Is Not Enough.

What others are saying… “There are few people in the recovery movement who have done more to help alcoholics and drug addicts than Dr. John Mooney and his lovely wife, Dot Mooney. After finding sobriety for … Read more...

Staying Sober and Happy Through the Holidays

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Are the holidays a time of stress for you? How do you deal with it? How do you avoid temptation?

Below are some ideas from Dr. Al (edited from the first edition of The Recovery Book), as well as some from Bill Borchert, screenwriter and author of “My Name is Bill W.” and “When Love is Not Enough: The Lois Wilson Story.” Bill is a longtime friend of Dr. Al and Willingway.

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From The Recovery Book…

For recovering people (and for millions of others whose lives are out of sync), holidays are often times of tension, sadness, and depression. They are also a time when temptations to jump off the wagon seem to multiply. Some of the following tips may help you beat back the blues:

Keep your expectations realistic, so you don’t set yourself up for an emotional letdown. Just because you’re sober doesn’t mean

How The Recovery Book (1st ed.) Was Born

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~ by Howard Eisenberg ~

It could be said (so I’ll say it) that in 1991 when my late (and amazing) wife Arlene and I visited Willingway Hospital in Statesboro, Georgia, for the first time that The Recovery Book was an accident waiting to happen. But at the time, we sure didn’t expect it to happen.

We were there to write a magazine piece about Dr. John Mooney, one of those rare MDs who was willing to admit that he was an addict and an alcoholic. Not that he drank or drugged anymore. Yes, he’d been locked up for a couple of years in Lexington Prison when the government figured out he’d been writing an army’s worth of drug Rx’s for his personal use. But that had been a dozen years earlier, and even when he was drinking, patients said they’d rather be operated on by Dr. John than any … Read more...