October ۱۸ , 2022
Dear Hossein,
Life is slowly returning to normal after the hurricane, though it will take years to rebuild some of the surrounding island communities. While Rita and I were fortunate to have so little damage to our home, there was considerable damage to the trees and shrubs surrounding our building. The presentation at the NAADAC conference on integrating medication support and psychosocial support in addiction treatment was well-received according to Dr. Seppala. As I mentioned, the portions of the presentations presented by Dr. DuPont and myself were pre-recorded. I have already received several follow-up emails from participants asking for copies of related papers. Congress ۶۰ exemplifies the approach we were advocating. People are surprised in my description of Congress ۶۰ to find so many areas of recovery support integrated within one program, with each component adding strength to other components. There seems to be a recent increase in the number of U.S. college and graduate students interested in the treatment of addiction in other countries. It has been my great joy to guide them to your collected papers on my website. The response of these students to your writings has been quite positive. I have given some thought to your proposal to do a book drawing from our communications over the past ten plus years. It triggered a variation I hope will be of interest. One problem of being as prolific as you have been and having written about so many topics related to addiction and recovery is that there exists no single summary of key quotes that conveys the breadth of all this knowledge that is easily accessible to your readers. What I think would be of interest would be a book of quotes organized by topic heading. These quotes could be drawn from some of our communications but would also be drawn from your other writings as well. Alcoholics Anonymous published a very popular book entitled As Bill Sees It that provided brief topical quotes from the writings of AA co-founder Bill Wilson. The book is organized under topical headings organized alphabetically making it easy to locate guidance on particular recovery-related issues. I tried a version of this from my own writings that is posted on my website under the heading “Topical Quotes.” I think a book of topical excerpts from your writings would stand as a summation of so many things you have shared in your writings—all available within one book. After each quote, you could note the larger work from which the quote was drawn. I think such a book would also be useful meditation tool for all members of Congress ۶۰ and could also introduce addiction specialists in other countries to the philosophy and methods of Congress ۶۰. What are your thoughts about this suggestion?
۱۵۰ redemptions last week, including ۴۰ from the William White Legion, warms my heart knowing what this will mean for those individuals and their families in the years to come. I recall seeing photos from early redemption ceremonies. Could you describe for me how this ceremony is now conducted?
My best wishes for you on your apple harvest. The quantity of apples you produce on your farm is quite remarkable.
Let me add my thanks to Ehsan for all the help he has provided us over the years translating our communications.
Friends and Brothers Forever,