Recovery Allies

Recovery Allies is for anyone who wants to learn how to help and encourage people in recovery and their loved ones.

It’s also for people who want to change their communities so they support people in all stages of recovery – to build a recovery-friendly community.

My book offers real-world solutions and evidence-based strategies to support people in recovery. Above all, it celebrates the lives of the 23 million Americans living in recovery from substance use disorder.

Available NOW from North Atlantic Books , online booksellers, or your local bookstore.

 

Recovery Allies by Alison Jones Webb

Recovery Allies will teach you about:

  • Reducing the shame and stigma that can prevent people with substance use disorder from asking for help
  • Essential tools to use in your community to fight the addiction epidemic
  • Relapse prevention, harm reduction, and peer support
  • The critical roles of positive relationships and community support for people seeking and maintaining recovery
  • How anyone in a community – from people involved in  healthcare and law enforcement to those working in faith organizations and education – can make use of proven public health strategies 

"Finally, a book on solutions for our national addiction epidemic – I hope allies and decision makers pay close attention! Simply a wonderful book, a godsend."

John Shinholser
president of the McShin Foundation, a nationally recognized recovery community organization

Alison jones webb

Alison Jones Webb

Meet the Author

Like most families, my family includes people in active addiction and people in recovery.

I learned to talk about them in shame-filled whispers when I was young. All of that changed for me when I met some amazing people in recovery through my work in public health. I learned a new way to think about substance use and about ways we can support the people we love as recovery allies.

Now, I’m a passionate advocate for people in recovery from addictions and write extensively about issues related to recovery from substance use disorder and harm reduction.

I’m delighted that my book, Recovery Allies: How to Support Addiction Recovery and Build Recovery-Friendly Communities has been published by North Atlantic Books. Recovery Allies explains actions that community members can take to support people in recovery – and why this is so important.

There is real hope for people with addictions, and I’ve seen countless transformations in people’s lives. I also know that community help goes a long way toward supporting and sustaining recovery. When interviewing people around the country for my book, I always asked, “What can community members do?” And without fail, each said, “Get educated.”

I hope Recovery Allies – and this site – help to do just that.

Find out more 

 

Q: What is a recovery ally?

A: A recovery ally is any person who uses their skills, talents and/or position to actively support people in recovery. It could be your grandmother, the barber down the street, or the president of the United States.

Q: Why are recovery allies important?

A: Allies have access to resources, including money and power, that can be used to change the world for the people we love who are in or seeking recovery. Allies also can change the whispered negative conversations about people with addiction to open discussions of hope and promise.

See more Frequently Asked Questions

From Recovery Allies

Podcast: Being an Ally: Who Are We and How Do We Support the Recovery Community?
March 14, 2023
 recovery ally, phoenix recovery, recovery journey

Praise for Recovery Allies

“Alison Jones Webb has made an excellent contribution to the growing literature on addiction recovery. Recovery Allies is based on strong research evidence and a wonderfully diverse set of interviews with many key figures in the recovery research and practice field. This book is clear and concise and makes a compelling addition to our understanding of the key role communities and social networks play in the complex pathways to addiction recovery.”

– David Best, PhD., Professor of Criminology in the Department of Law and Criminology at Sheffield Hallam University

Recovery Allies: How to Support Addiction Recovery and Build Recovery Friendly Communities, highlights stories of people in recovery to introduce strategies that community members can use to support family, friends and neighbors in recovery. Available this fall from North Atlantic Books.

Home page photo by Alice Donovan Rouse on Unsplash

© Alison Jones Webb