This book provides a fresh take on addiction & recovery by presenting a more inclusive framework than traditional understandings.  Utilizing an initial case study that continues throughout, it blends cutting-edge information from addiction studies, interpersonal neurobiology, attachment psychology, social ecology, and trauma science into a coherent analysis.  The implications of each perspective for treatment and fostering recovery are explained.

Several chapters review what is currently known about the prevalence, impact, and outcomes of adversity and trauma on overall human development and addiction.  Single chapters on the neurobiology of addiction and perspectives on the recovery process both uncover new knowledge.

The chapter on social ecology and poverty of spirit places addiction within a wider social and cultural context.  Societal disconnection, internal fragmentation, cultural dislocation, and health disparities - all major "upstream" factors in illness - create vulnerabilities.