The Twelve Steps Meet the Gospel: Reflections on Scripture and Stories of Hope for Those in Recovery

Church basements have long been the home of twelve-step recovery groups, where people who have felt hopeless and alone find new hope and healing in the midst of a supportive community of witnesses who have been there and know that there is a bright light at the end of the tunnel. Sharing coffee and conversation, real recovery begins.

This is much the same witness the early church made when disciples went out forming communities where the gospel was shared and bread was broken. This book, a remarkably fresh and unique take on the Scriptures, shows what could happen if that deeply spiritual sharing moved upstairs, into the body of the church.

The authors, both in recovery themselves, bring their experience, strength, and hope to their reflections on Scripture. Organized loosely around the seasons of the liturgical year, their interpretations shed fresh light and power on stories we ve heard many, many times. Their distinctive viewpoint will strike responsive chords not just with those in recovery, but with anyone who has ever felt out of place, out of step, or somehow set adrift in today s world. Filled with wisdom, compassion, and humor, The Twelve Steps Meet the Gospel is a testament to the hope and joy that Scripture reveals, cast in human terms that speak to us all.

Dick Rice is familiar to many in the Twin Cities for his work as a spiritual director the past forty years. After years as a Jesuit, Dick married and for nine years was director of spiritual care at a recovery center in suburban Minneapolis. He has been a twelve-stepper for over 35 years.

Trish Sullivan Vanni is a teacher, retreat leader and ministry consultant who received a Master of Divinity degree at St. John s University in Collegeville, MN and a PhD from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA. She lives one day at a time in Eden Prairie, MN with her sculptor husband Peter and her three children.