One Breath at a Time

For several months, I've been searching for a book a classmate suggested--One Breath at a Time: Buddhism and the Twelve Steps. After asking about it in a dozen bookstores and never going a step further and ordering it, I finally found a store that had it in stock today and picked up a copy. I spent a couple of hours by the lake reading.

I don't know if I have written about 'library angels' before, but there are times when a book so perfectly chosen for your present situation appears in your life as if by magic. One Breath at a Time is such a book for me. I can see not getting a lot done in the next couple of days and staying up late at night to finish it. The thing is, I'm not reading it to help me with relationships or work through unresolved issues from my childhood. I'm reading it for myself, for my own recovery.

I went to my second Al-Anon meeting last week, and found so many people I could relate to. Compared to the first meeting I went to, I heard a lot of stories of health, stories of happiness. One of the things that impressed me most was that no one complained of their partner's or loved one's drinking. It was all about people's personal journeys.