A new compilation of first-person accounts is providing churches, recovery ministries, and families with a clear picture of what healing on the ground looks like. True Stories of People in Recovery: Finding Healing from Life’s Hurts, Addictions, and Compulsive Behaviors by Shirley R. Luckadoo collects genuine stories initially shared within Celebrate Recovery (CR) meetings stories shared by men and women who journeyed through addiction, trauma, and despair into long-term sobriety and revived faith. As leader of Celebrate Recovery ministry at Trading Ford Baptist Church in Salisbury, North Carolina, for seventeen years, Luckadoo has seen “hundreds” come unwillingly and leave hopefully as they find the power of Christ to repair broken lives and restore families. That front-row seat infuses every page of this book.
Every story in the book was originally presented publicly at a CR meeting. Contributors were required to show at least two years of stable sobriety and an eager commitment to serving the Lord to be considered for inclusion criteria which assure readers they’re experiencing steady, hard-fought change, not transient encouragement. Permission for publication was given by authors; where necessary, personal information was modified to keep identities private.
The book transitions from jail yards and rehab clinics to church basements and dinner tables, following the ways that small decisions build into large breakthroughs. It is not just meant to be read cover-to-cover but also to be used in a practical way: chapters include “Questions for Small-Group Discussion or Personal Reflection,” so the book can be adapted at once for recovery groups, Sunday school, and mentoring settings.
Endorsements highlight the book’s overall promise hope. “These brief, fun vignettes are peeks into the lives of actual individuals who have experienced actual sorrows and struggles… As you sit down to read, your heart will be warmed by these testimonies, and you will be encouraged to remember that in Christ there is a hope for you as well,” writes Mike Motley, senior pastor of Trading Ford Baptist Church.
Released by Redemption Press Express (Enumclaw, WA), True Stories of People in Recovery can be found in paperback, hardcover, and eBook (ISBNs: 978-1-68314-953-8 paperback; 978-1-64645-289-7 hardcover; 978-1-68314-954-5 eBook).
The book rests well alongside CR’s Christ-centered Twelve-Step process while enticing any willing reader who desires to hold on to hope that change can occur to listen in. As the introduction phrases it, “May you indeed see what the Lord has done and be amazed… and allow Him to transform your life.”
About the Author
Shirley R. Luckadoo is CR ministry leader at Trading Ford Baptist Church (Salisbury, NC). She has been working in recovery ministry and curating testimonies for nearly twenty years, leading to this compilation of voices with one thing in common: transformation that lasts.
Publisher / Ordering
Redemption Press Express, a division of Redemption Press, 1602 Cole Street, Enumclaw, WA 98022; 360.226.3488. Available at major booksellers such as Amazon.
Media & Review Copies
For interviews or review copies, write to Redemption Press (above).