THE SPORTS LOVER’S GUIDE TO RECOVERY

   

   

   

      

by Andrew L Dieden

Published by Hazelden and distributed by Eurospan at £9.95 (www.eurospanbookstore.com/hazelden). 166+ pages. ISBN 978-159285-370-0.

You do not need to be a sports fan to enjoy this book, but it helps. Having been involved in sport all my life, that bit was easy.

The author amassed a marvellous collection of quotes and concepts from the world of sport. These nuggets come from a huge variety of stars, from Olga Korbut to Muhammad Ali, about sports or the life lessons from the sporting arena. They reveal how difficulties were coped with and how ultimate success was achieved.

They talk about practice, observing and learning from others, keeping on trying. “Success is like surfing; you’re doing all you can to stay on board, but you really aren’t in charge of anything,”  said one racing-car driver. Dieden links these to the recovery process – the steps, sponsorship, attendance at meetings, helping others, indeed the whole of life’s rich pageant. With humour and sensitivity, Dieden makes recovery something worth striving for. He quotes Jennifer Capriati: “I took a different path, one you might not expect. But along that path, I learned about my life – about life”. Reading this book was a great experience, not least finding Mark Spitz, the nine-time Olympic gold-medal swimmer saying: “I’m trying to do the best I can. I’m not concerned about tomorrow, but with what goes on today”.

Anthony Scratchley is a Hazelden-trained counsellor, with some years in practice.