Rebuilding Relationships in Recovery

Rebuilding Relationships in Recovery

How to Connect with Family and Close Friends AfterActive Alcoholism and Addiction

Janice V. Johnson Dowd; foreword by Emily Dickinson
North Atlantic Books, 2025
ISBN 9798889841852

Softcover, 272 pp.
8.9 X 6.0 X 0.8 inches | 0.9 pounds

How to heal relationships, mend rifts with loved ones, and balance the demands of sobriety with the need for family connection

An empowering guide for recovering addicts and alcoholics from an author with lived experience and professional expertise

In Rebuilding Relationships in Recovery, Janice V. Johnson Dowd shows readers how to repair and enhance their relationships after active addiction. With personal insights and professional wisdom, Dowd—a licensed social worker in recovery—explores her own personal journey through alcoholism, offering a realistic and transformative guide.

Centered on nurturing the critical balance between the self-healing of your own sobriety journey and building bridges and connections with loved ones, Dowd’s narrative combines empathetic insights with practical tools. The book covers:

• Understanding Addiction's Impact: Exploring how addiction affects family dynamics and the individual’s role within them.
• Effective Communication: Strategies for opening dialogue and maintaining honest, supportive conversations.
• Setting Realistic Expectations: Dispelling common misconceptions and establishing attainable goals in recovery and relationship rebuilding.
• Making Amends: A step-by-step guide to acknowledging past harms and initiating the healing process.
• Support Networks: Developing and maintaining a support system that encourages sobriety and personal growth.

Rebuilding Relationships in Recovery is a roadmap to healing and thriving in sobriety, offering hope and actionable strategies for those seeking to rebuild trust and deepen their family bonds.

Janice V. Johnson Dowd holds a BA from the University of Michigan and a MSSW from the University of Texas at Austin, where she worked as a teaching assistant and research assistant. Her master’s thesis was titled “Alcoholism, PTSD, and the Vietnam Veteran.” She has worked in employee assistance programs and inpatient and outpatient treatment settings. Dowd has been involved in community outreach, public speaking, and providing clinical services to patients. She has been active in the twelve-step community in Texas, Alabama, and the Gulf Coast region. She is regularly asked to speak at workshops, conferences, and AA meetings on relapse, family recovery, and making amends. Dowd's work has recently been published in AA Grapevine, and is a regular on podcasts that address addiction and recovery.