2012 Reviewers Choice Literary Award
Memoir/Autobiography/Biography

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On March 26, 2012, 3 Steps To Recovery was awarded the
2012 "Reviewers Choice" Award.
The following is the Review which was published 11/2011:

As a recovering alcoholic, I have tried every program there is. I didn’t like the whining at 12- Step programs and discontinued going. However, when I read Farish’s book on his history of abuse I took a new look at where I stood. This is a book that is honest and straightforward. Alcoholics Anonymous is a great program but it is not for everyone.

Farish's honest, open discussion about his use related to what I was feeling. He knew there was a problem but he could control his abuse. When he went into rehab many said he wouldn’t make it- he would be the first to fail. Parish took this information and resolved to do the best he could and beat his addiction. He worked the program in his way- he found a Higher Power to guide him. Not everyone is religious and Higher Power means different things to different people.

There are many times when an addict has the best intentions, but a cookie-cutter treatment is not for everyone. Farish made a decision and he stuck with it. It worked for him and I’m sure it does for many others.

Once you start reading this book you will not be able to put it down. In no way did he bash AA or inpatient programs. He was very honest in his opinions. “3 Steps to Recovery” really is a must read for all of those suffering from addiction.



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Amazon.com Book Reviews:
(TWENTY reviews as of 7.15.2012! ALL have been rated FIVE STARS)

WICKED GOOD BOOK!
By: Ali, 6/2011
5 STARS
This book is awesome! The author is witty and has a great writing style. He can bring you from sniffles and tears to laughter in a matter of just a few sentences. His sense of humor is awesome. He takes you inside his own life in a way that anyone can relate to. It's not one of those books that is any way "preachy", it's staright up for REAL! He gets to the nitty gritty of addiction and recovery, with no BS!
I'm really busy and it takes me forever to finish books, but not this one, I couldn't put it down! I will definitely be looking for more to read by him! Not only was it a wicked good book, but his story is a real inspiration!

Easy to read, hard to put down....
By Inamorato,  July 7, 2011
5 STARS
Dan Farish writes just as though he were talking to you. Sometimes he leans forward, takes hold of your arm, and looks you in the eye. That kind of writing makes 3 Steps to Recovery engage the reader from the painful workings of Farish's dysfunctional childhood family through the depths of a life wrecked by alcohol to the struggle of climbing out of the darkness.

It is commonly believed that there is a genetic predisposition to addiction. Perhaps so, but this book makes a compelling case for childhood abuse sending someone into the entrapping arms of substance abuse. That path is clearly illustrated by the emotional wounding of a difficult childhood setting the table for the emotional numbing of alcoholism.

Either a person has experienced chemical dependency or one hasn't. For those of us who haven't, 3 Steps to Recovery is an autobiography that explains in vivid detail how a life can spiral down into the hopelessness of alcoholism. It would be hard to read this book without empathizing with Farish's journey. Much of that journey involves the experience of treatment. Typical treatment for a variety of addictions involves some form of the original 12-step program of Alcoholics Anonymous. AA has helped countless people get their lives back from alcohol but some versions of the program seem to present even more obstacles for someone with a drinking problem to overcome.

The experience Dan Farish had with treatment led him to distill the program down to three steps that were most important to his recovery. For those who have little patience with confessional programs and manipulative program leaders, 3 Steps to Recovery cuts to the chase. One of the criticisms often leveled at AA is the quasi-religious aspect of the organization. Farish freely acknowledges the spiritual component of recovery and illustrates it in a most convincing way.

The measure of success for any treatment program is the quality of life for those who have gone through it. Although his path following treatment wasn't always smooth, Farish's life subsequent to treatment is a testament to the effectiveness of his approach. 3 Steps to Recovery is easy to read and hard to put down. I believe it can show the way to a restored life for many. Enthusiastically recommended to those with an addiction, to those affected by someone with an addiction, and to those who simply want to have have a better understanding of what it's like to become an alcoholic and to recover from it.

Amazing,
By, Get Out of Denial, February 28, 2012
5 Stars
I was lucky enough to Meet Dan Farish through Facebook. I was going through a lot of addictions. Addictions run pretty wild in my Family. Facebook is Amazing, there is so much information and groups that help people. I found him through "The Addicts Mom". He was so kind to send me a book. I could'nt wait to read it. When I started to read the book it felt so right, and finished it in 2 days! I could not put it down. Dan's story is so real and writing skills are amazing..This is his first book. It touched my heart in a way I can't explain. I could say it was devine intervention for me...Yes there are set backs in recovery, and the process can be daunting. The hope this book gives people is real. I Thank Dan for writing this and sharing his entire Story of Recovery! I have gifted this book to many of the friends I have that suffer from Addiction, They are greatful for it. I will forever be greatful to Dan for sharing this book with me at a most difficult Time.

Well written, heartfelt, painfully honest...,
By, C. Cogburn, September 26, 2011
5 Stars
Dan is an online friend of mine, which is how I came to read this book, besides my own issues with substance abuse. It is an honest account of his struggles with addiction, and it's not always easy to read. But it is a gripping story, with a happy ending thus far...

Definitely recommended for anyone wanting to learn more about addiction. I expect it'll become required reading for counselors and therapists: it's a brutally honest look at the subject.

Powerful Story,
By Sandra Hepinstall, September 5, 2011
5 Stars
This book is sad but also powerful. It is the story of Dan Farish, a man who came from a family which proves truth is stranger than fiction. Within all of us, we hold secrets. Dan has taken out all of the skeletons of his past so that we will see what was, and what can be.

Dan was raised in a terrible dysfunctional family. Physical abuse was almost daily. There was no one who would help him or his two sisters. Even relatives would not step in. His father was a big and intimidating man.

The memories of growing up in his family would last him his whole life. There was no getting away from them except in a bottle of alcohol. He started drinking as a teen and it continued for twenty years. He had to hit bottom before he could begin the healing powers of overcoming his addiction.

After going into an addiction rehab hospital that was based on the twelve step program of Alcoholics Anonymous, that has help thousands of people. Dan will be the first to tell you that the program is good, but there are some who do not fit the pattern. Dan was one of them.

The author took three of the steps and with the help of God overcame his addiction. He prayed hour after hour and day after day for help. Then one night his prayers were answered. I won't tell you about what happened. I will just say that a miracle did happen. Whether it is you or someone you know that has any type of addiction you need to buy this book.

I have read a lot of books about addiction and I believe that this book will help anyone who reads it.

Excellent Book!

A MUST READ!
By, C-M, February 27, 2012
5 Stars
This book has an appeal to people who have not responded to other programs, when wrestling with addiction. It still uses the proven method of AA, just applied in a different way. Well written, honest and it holds your attention.
Dan has found a way to battle his demons, others can only learn from it.
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Other Reviews:

When you write books about addiction recovery, some days are better than others. There are days when the words flow like water and days you struggle to form the first sentence. There are even some days when you wonder if what you’re doing matters to anyone at all.

And then there are days when you receive letters like this one, which makes it all worthwhile. 

Dear Dan,
I’m overwhelmed to learn about your healing experience. I have no doubt that it happened. Over the years, I have bought a lot of books on this subject. A Course in Miracles and others, but they never got to me quite deeply enough. Because of your book, I will start to forgive my parents and end up thanking them because it is the only way to. I don’t know exactly what you wrote that made me see, but all the love flowing from every word and your beautiful, unselfish heart really got to me. I don’t know how, but I do know that your words started filling up the hole in my soul. I will read your book again and it will become my new bible. I will start to inhale the three steps and I will “ fake-it-til-I-make-it”.

I love to read about where you are today. The last time I cried over a book, a mother had lost her children, and now I’m crying over this one. Not because I feel sorry for anyone, but because of the love that speaks to me and puts things in perspective. I knew the answer all along and, then again, I didn’t. I know now that it is all up to me – that there is no one else to blame and yesterday I started meditating with a grateful heart. No angels have put their hands on me, but I feel connected to a higher power that is there for me. I really want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your book. It arrived three days ago – on the day that I most needed it. I will get back to you when I am not so overwhelmed and, perhaps, can give some better feedback. Right now I am just so filled with love and truth. Thank you, Dan. All my love to you and your family.

I received the above letter from a struggling addict living in Europe. But the praise belongs to a Higher Power, not me. All I did was write a book to share the blessings I received with others – my Higher Power did all the hard work.


June 2011

I first became aware of Dan Farish after returning from a trip to London. I’d designed an on-line writing course and discovered a new student had enrolled during my absence. The course offered to teach people how to write a non-fiction book and Dan was keen to write one.

Initially, he wanted to write a self-help book showing readers how to overcome addiction, based on his own experience as an addict. In essence, he has distilled the essence of the Alcoholics Anonymous Twelve Step program down to its most useful parts. I felt that the book he proposed would be difficult to pull off. Would he, for instance, have enough material to write more than a pamphlet and had his methods been tested on anyone else? It concerned me that there was a danger that it could be little more than a rant against A.A., which to my mind is a well-meaning organization with good and bad points and clearly helps some, if not all recovering alcoholics. 

By this time, I had also become aware of Dan’s twenty-year struggle with substance abuse and learned of his metamorphosis from a full-blown alcoholic to a normal “take it or leave it” social drinker. Conventional wisdom, not just in A.A., but also in healthcare substance abuse circles, suggests that this shouldn’t happen. Most addiction recovery experts believe that the only hope for alcoholics is to give up booze and forever abstain at all costs, as any future contact with alcohol would push the former drinker to an unhealthy dependency on the bottle.  

Some might argue that Dan Farish wasn’t a true alcoholic and that what he experienced was a phase; an extended rite of passage that he eventually outgrew. That somehow he had matured and put his past excesses behind him. My own experience of working with numerous alcoholics during a 25 period as a psychiatric nurse suggests that Dan had, indeed, been an alcoholic, but something had happened to change him.

I suggested that instead of writing a self-help book, Dan write a memoir that tracked his early life, his drinking years and what has happened since - and that the second part of the book consist of the life-changing steps he had learned, so others could benefit from his experiences.

The draft of Dan’s first chapter was pretty good. I could see ways of improving the flow and suggested some minor changes, but from then onwards my role changed from writing tutor to cheerleader. As you will discover when you start reading this book, Dan is a brilliant and witty narrator who has a wonderful way with words, original metaphors and an eye for detail.  More importantly, he tells a great story that is at once harrowing, humorous and hopeful.  

This book is hard to put down and is the best sort of page-turner, giving you an insight into a dysfunctional American family, Boston’s drinking culture, and Dan’s journey to sobriety. But the second part of the book is equally fascinating, which forces the reader contemplate Dan’s assertion that he had a spiritual experience – an experience that cured a twenty-year addiction and turned his life around.  People with a scientific background are likely to be skeptical, as there isn’t a logical, scientific explanation for Dan’s life-changing experience. Then again, science still hasn’t found the answers to many of life’s mysteries.

Desperate people often turn to God or a higher power during acute crisis, and many claim their pleas have been rewarded with a positive response, providing them with strength and resolve they didn’t have before.  This might be hard to understand for those who have never felt the need to ask for this kind of help, but should any of us reject this approach out of hand?

Addictions of all types are notoriously difficult to treat. Alcohol or other substances become a seductive mistress to those held captive in its embrace.  Common sense, counsel, reason and the best intentions can be blown away in an instant and cause an addict to relapse. There are different types of treatment options available and each has its pros and cons. What might work for one addict might not work for others. As Dan mentions in his book, the approach being offered here may not suit everyone. But it might, just might, be the treatment of choice for addicts who have tried other therapies that didn’t work for them.

Dan has recently trained to become an addiction recovery coach and is currently in the process of taking on the sort of alcoholics that some addiction counselors consider to be beyond help. I wish him well and know he will change many lives for the better.

Alcohol abuse is the curse of our age. It plays a huge part in the breakdown of family life and it is behind many, if not most, violent incidents and is a contributing factor in many fatal traffic accidents. Any approach that complements existing addiction treatment services should be taken seriously. The 3 Steps to Recovery that worked so successfully for Dan Farish might just work for you or someone you love.
3 Steps To Recovery©2012