How We Heal

How We Heal is a book of meditations for survivors of addiction and sexual trauma, written by survivors of addiction and sexual trauma. Through writing and reading, sharing our experiences, and building our community, we can learn to reclaim our voices and heal ourselves.

Millions of people have been victims of sexual trauma. And millions of those people turn to drugs and alcohol to numb their pain. We all can be survivors. But how can we not only survive, but thrive? Through post-traumatic growth.

In How We Heal, we can see how post-traumatic growth comes from learning how our trauma affects us every day, particularly if we have a substance use disorder, and that we can heal the trauma to grow past the addiction. We can reach out for help. We can find treatment programs. We can seek help as survivors. And we survivors can find each other and help each other. Through How We Heal, we can come to realize we are not alone.



Through the multitude of these voices, we can understand better how trauma affects addiction and how addiction affects trauma. These meditations offer little glimpses into the world of survivors and, whether in this survivor and recovery community or near it, as a friend or loved one, we learn that greater empathy for each other is paramount.



Hazelden Publishing's Meditation Series is a long-standing source for people to find healing and hope. Each meditation shares a way to see things from the perspective of someone who's been there, whether a challenge, a victory. . . or somewhere in between. Because someone has been there before, we see that what is being asked in recovery is possible. It's comforting. It's empowering. It's recovery.