Resources &
Recommended Readings

READINGS
Buddhism & the Twelve Steps Daily Reflections: Thoughts on Dharma and
Recovery
Kevin Griffin
After attending a workshop with Kevin Griffin, this was the next indicated step for me. This book is organized in a “Step of the Month” format making it useful, as well, as a Step study. If you want to focus on a particular Step, you can go to that month and read those pages. The book introduces basics of Buddhism, thoughts on the challenges of recovery, and guidance for a daily mindfulness practice. Each reflection offers a theme to carry into your daily life and inspire your recovery. An excellent reader for a recovery group or individual.
In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts
Dr. Gabor Mate
Gabor Maté - A world-renowned trauma expert combines real-life stories with cutting-edge research to offer a holistic approach to understanding addiction—its origins, its place in society, and the importance of self-compassion in recovery. Addiction and addiction recovery have roots in trauma. Gabor Maté’s book allowed me to navigate my personal recovery and arrive at a place of freedom I never could have attained by 12 steps work alone.
When Things Fall Apart
Pema Chödrön
How can we live our lives when everything seems to fall apart—when we are continually overcome by fear, anxiety, and pain? The answer, Pema Chödrön suggests, might be just the opposite of what you expect. Here, in her most beloved and acclaimed work,
Pema shows that moving toward painful situations and becoming intimate with them can open up our hearts in ways we never before imagined. Drawing from traditional Buddhist wisdom, she offers life-changing tools for transforming suffering and negative patterns into habitual ease and boundless joy.
Carefrontation
Dr. Arlene Drake
Dr. Arlene Drake and this work saved my life. I had the privilege of receiving the program of recovery and healing offered in this book from Dr. Arlene Drake herself. Suffice it to say that Dr. Arlene Drake and her work is the reason I live in the freedom from the affects of trauma today. It is also reason I was compelled to get certified as Trauma Recovery Coach.
No Bad Parts
Dr. Richard Schwartz
Is there just one “you”? We’ve been taught to believe we have a single identity, and to feel fear or shame when we can’t control the inner voices that don’t match the ideal of who we think we should be. Yet Dr. Richard Schwartz’s research now challenges this “mono-mind” theory. “All of us are born with many sub-minds―or parts,” says Dr. Schwartz. “These parts are not imaginary or symbolic. They are individuals who exist as an internal family within us―and the key to health and happiness is to honor, understand, and love every part.”
The Body Keeps the Score
Dr. Bessel van der Kolk
“The body keeps the score.” Dr. van der Kolk highlights that traumatic stress is at the root of neuroscience. Traumatic stress is associated with functional and chemical changes in the emotional part of the brain—the limbic area and brain stem. Knowing the functions of the amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex, as the primary stress responders in the brain, can provide a new therapeutic direction for PTSD management.
Cocina Criolla
Nitza Villapol
Cooking is one of the ways in which I decompress from my day. For me,
Cuban food is soul food, and this is the quintessential Cuban cooking book.
If you want to learn how to make authentic Cuban food, this is the book for you. My copy was passed down from my Grandmother to my mother and then to me. My copy is filled with notes on the side margin from both of them. A treasured possession, for sure.
Secret Stairs
Charles Fleming
Physical exercise is essential to a healthy body but some people hate to
exercise or are not able to do very strenuous exercise. My friend Charles
Fleming found a way for you to exercise, discover LA and have fun at the same time. Secret Stairs Los Angeles is a series of walks around the Los Angeles area and it is one of favorite pastimes.
Cuba Confidential
​Ann Louise Bardach
I was 9 years old when I left Cuba and moved to Miami. Through the years
I kept hearing innumerable story versions of what happened in Cuba and
why there was such a disconnect between Cubans in Cuba and Cubans in Miami. It wasn’t until I read this book that I was able to start to understand the plight of the Cuban exiles. Generational trauma is a real thing and this book helped me connect the dots and began to heal.