Not the most wonderful time of the year for all: New Book shows how to support those who struggle with addictions and behaviors during the holidays

 

 

NEWS SOURCE: Buoyancy Public Relations

SALISBURY, N.C. — According to Celebrate Recovery ministry leader Shirley Luckadoo, the holidays can be a very difficult time for those stuck in grief or addiction or even those in recovery who have made life changes but may be surrounded by situations that challenge their new lifestyle or trigger old behaviors.

 

She encourages others to be sensitive to these situations and support their friends and loved ones.

In their pain. As the holiday season is upon us with parties and temptations, as well as memories of better times with those we’ve lost or relationships that are broken, Luckadoo urges everyone to take a look around for people they know are having a tough time and offer non-judgmental support and understanding.

 

Through her own experiences with grief and unhealthy behaviors, she has personal awareness of the issues, and in her ministry positions, she hears the stories from others of difficulty and triumph.

 

After her own life was changed, Luckadoo, a former community college vice president, who now holds both an EdD and an MDiv, retired from her college position to begin working with recovery ministry. She helped found the Celebrate Recovery ministry at her church and went on to lead efforts to create residential programs for women finding their way out of addiction.

 

“A major part of Celebrate Recovery and all recovery ministries is the sharing of personal testimonies,” Luckadoo explains. “Everyone looks forward to testimony night because the stories of real people who have experienced healing through Jesus Christ bring hope to those who are hopeless.”

 

She captured some of those stories in the recent book she edited, True Stories of People in Recovery: Finding Healing from Hurts, Addictions, and Compulsive Behaviors, published by Redemption Press.

 

The book is a compilation of testimonies of 13 of the many people who have attended the Celebrate Recovery ministry she leads at Trading Ford Baptist Church, Salisbury, N.C., and have experienced recovery through Jesus Christ from their hurts, addictions and compulsive behaviors. She says she wants others “to be encouraged and inspired to follow in the footsteps of those who have shared their testimonies.”   One of the stories in the book is her own.

 

Interestingly, scientists seem to validate the power of testimonies as they capture brain activity and then seek to use the data to help medical professionals communicate better with patients.  “Stories wield a particularly strong influence over our attitudes and behavior,” said Melanie Green, a communications professor at the University of Buffalo. “If you look at the times somebody’s beliefs have been changed, it’s often because of a story that ‘hits them in the heart.’

 

Luckadoo is committed to helping more of those stories get told and is gathering content for Volume 2. Through an anonymous donor, the book is also being used in several prisons in North Carolina where the stories are helping transform lives of inmates.

 

She will be using potential profits from the book to fund her latest program, Kings Haven Ministries, Inc., with the goal of opening a transition house for men coming out of treatment centers and a facility for women with children coming out of treatment.

 

She is also a speaker on leadership and recovery ministries topics. You can reach her at https://shirleyluckadoo.com.

True Stories of People in Recovery: Finding Healing from Hurts, Addictions and Compulsive Behaviors was published by Redemption Press, Enumclaw, Washington, and is available in paperback [ISBN 978-1683149538], hardcover and eBook.   It is available from the publisher (redemption-press.com), online booksellers and selected bookstores