Robert P.

To explore Kilimanjaro with Robert and learn more about recovery from multiple addictions, go to www.recoveryfca.com and enjoy the beautiful picture gallery, his blog posts, in-depth articles, the Recovery newsletter, and join the Freedom from Cross-Addiction community.

Robert P.’s journey toward recovery from multiple addictions through 12-Step Fellowships began when he first joined Overeaters Anonymous in 1976. With compulsive overeating as his primary addiction, he has been an active member of Overeaters Anonymous (www.oa.org) for more than 40 years. He also has been sober through Alcoholics Anonymous (www.aa.org) for more than 30 years. He owes his current prosperity to more than 27 years of recovery from compulsive debting and spending through Debtors Anonymous (www.debtorsanonymous.org). His decade of recovery in Al-Anon Family Groups (https://al-anon.org) has enabled the healthiest and happiest relationships of his life.

Now, he is leading Freedom from Cross-Addiction, a team of multiple addicts and those who love and support them. The goals of Freedom from Cross-Addiction are to:

1) Help those who suffer from multiple addictions recover from their afflictions,

2) Support and grow 12-Step Fellowships so they can serve millions more who suffer, and

3) Address the serious socio-economic-political policies that encourage - deliberately or inadvertently - people to become addicts.

Robert P. learned - the hard way in his 20s and 30s - that he had to recover from multiple addictions caused by both "nature and nurture." He owes everything to the love and support he has found in 12-Step Fellowships. The members have helped him to rebuild his life and to heal himself, his finances, his heart, and his soul.

"Without the spiritual solution that Bill W. and Dr. Bob offered through AA, I would not have survived my addictions, much less be living a life truly beyond my wildest dreams."

Throughout his life, he always longed to experience fascinating adventures. "I have always loved 'National Geographic' and true adventure stories. They stoked the fires of my insatiable curiosity about our fragile planet and our fellow human beings."

He began his wanderlust in his late 20s by exploring Ireland and Paris. For his 50th birthday, he walked onto an Amazon riverboat and explored the Amazonian jungle - he even caught a piranha and ate it! It tasted great! For his 55th birthday, he went skydiving - twice, so for his sixtieth, Robert raised the stakes and put his resolve - and his recovery - to the ultimate test.

He decided to climb Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa, guided by his Higher Power and by following the 12 Steps and 12 Traditions of recovery. "It was the most challenging - and most glorious - experience of my life. I claim only that I made it on my own two feet. My human angels - the 'tough guys' who led our team - had great compassion on me to ensure that I reached the peak and saw an indescribably beautiful sunrise at 19,343 feet. I learned how to have true compassion on others on Kilimanjaro and faced my mortality on the Serengeti Plain. Now, I want to use my experience and this momentous mountain metaphor to help other addicts recover from their deadly diseases."

In sum, through both painful and joyous experience, Robert learned dozens of recovery - and life - lessons as he scaled the famous summit. He couldn’t reach the peak alone, and he pays sincere tribute to the team of "tough guys" who got him safely up and down the mountain and across the Serengeti Plain.

In addition to taking the 12 steps up and down Kilimanjaro, Robert has long been an avid mountain hiker. He often hikes in the Rocky Mountains, the Shenandoahs, the Blue Ridge Mountains, and the Great Smokies. He also has hiked on the Galapagos Islands, Machu Picchu in Peru, a different African safari, Antarctica, and other amazing places. He has visited 34 countries on five continents, most recently Vietnam and Indonesia.

"In the jungle of Borneo, being up close to orangutans showed me how closely related we are to these beautiful, sensitive 'cousins.' Their hands were shaped exactly like mine. Their eyes showed a depth of sensitivity that awed me. They made me determined to help protect endangered primates around the world."

"My looonngg bucket list also includes visiting polar bears in the Arctic, paying tribute to my 'cousins' - the mountain gorillas in Africa, and swimming with whale sharks - just for starters. As long as I can move, I will explore unusual places to help me better understand my oneness with all Creation and help me protect the natural world from depredation.

"My goals blend based on one principle - the potential of all living things to grow and prosper in a safer, healthier world. When I give service to other addicts, I help set free the most incredible potential inside each person. I have watched dozens of people, who have been sober for many years, die from other addictions--obesity, drugs, gambling, and self-sabotage, to name just a few. However, I have close friends, who would have died years ago without recovery, who have become everything from therapists who help hundreds of people to leaders of huge organizations that employ tens of thousands. Every day, I also see 'average' men and women hold steady jobs for the first time and raise healthy, happy children, breaking the cycle of death and destruction that addiction causes."

During Robert's professional career, he was a journalist, author, editor, professional writing instructor, and speechwriter for almost five decades. With this book, Robert P. launches the Pleasant Oliver Recovery Series of non-fiction books about cross-addiction, its personal and socio-economic causes, and successful recovery from multiple addictions.

"I give my most sincere thanks to my Higher Power - and the many people who have loved me along the road of happy destiny - for every moment of my recovery. I do my imperfect best to live the 12 Step Way of Life ONE DAY AT A TIME!"

For obvious reasons and in keeping with 12-Step Traditions, the author’s anonymity is being protected in public forums.

Robert P. invites you to connect with him and learn more about Freedom from Cross-Addiction through social media:

+ Website - www.recoveryfca.com

+ Email - recoveryfca@gmail.com

+ Triple Winner blog - https://pleasantolivermedia.com/triplewinner/

+ Twitter - @RobertRecovers

+ Facebook - www.facebook.com/pleasant.oliver.1

+ Instagram- RobertRecovers

Thank you very much for your time and interest. Bless all your endeavors and best wishes for your healthy, happiness, prosperity, abundance, and joy - one day at a time!