Addiction, argues Albert LaChance in this insightful book, affects more than the individual who suffers from it. Cultural Addiction shows how contemporary lifestyles have become addictive, consuming the planet's resources—soil, air, water—in a destructive way that comprises earth's life systems and endangers the survival of both humankind and other species. This book presents a 12-step program for recovery from these dangerous lifestyles. Identifying such traits as egocentricity, materialism, overeating and drinking, and apathy as products of addiction, the author draws on the world's spiritual traditions—Hinduism, Buddhism, shamanism, Christianity, and others—to show individuals and communities how to work together to overcome these problems. The 12-step Greenspirit program empowers people to change the way they live in their environment. This “cultural therapy” in turn creates a renewed culture dedicated to protecting—and respecting—the planet.
Albert J. LaChance, Ph.D., LADC, CAS, DAPA, is a certified addiction specialist and a licensed addictions counselor who has treated individuals, families, and groups since 1991.
"LaChance offers us a deep spiritual analysis of the human roots of the present ecological crisis facing the world, through the lens of addiction, pathology, and denialism. But rather than simply describing the situation, he offers us a practical spiritual framework to respond to the crisis through adaptation of the 12-step program."
- The Reverend Adrian Robbins-Col, MA, rector of All Saints' Episcopal Church, Peterborough, Diocese of New Hampshire
