Recovery: Freedom From Our Addictions - Softcover

This is a brave and useful book, that I read in one day. It offers real insight into addiction and the stuff that drives it and Russell has done a great service in tackling the classic twelve steps in a non-reverential and totally entertaining kind of way that will help a lot of people. It feels wrong to say it is an addictive read, given the subject, but it really is. Russell doesn’t just want to save our souls he wants to entertain us on the way. (Matt Haig, author of How to Stop Time and Reasons to Stay Alive)

Recovery should be read by the world (Ruby Wax)

The premise of his programme is that the 12 steps followed by Alcoholics Anonymous can work for anyone. Recovery is the 12 steps, as translated by Russell Brand. (Sunday Times)

While the insights are not original, the experience of them is unique and it's Brand's own story that gives the book its energy. For anyone with an abiding interest in Russell Brand. (The Observer)

A thought-provoking explication of the 12-step program (The New York Times)

Personally it always struck me as a bit unfair that only raging alcoholics and hopeless drug addicts got to practice the 12 steps, given how they provide such an invaluable emotional toolbox ― now, thanks to the vision (his critics might say the ego) of Russell Brand, they are available to all. (Suzanne Harrington, Irish Examiner)

Yum Yum Yum. Russell is an example of how the path of recovery and the spiritual path can be one and the same, a path towards inner love and freedom from attachment. (Ram Dass)

Recovery conveys the kind of pointed wisdom that usually comes from having woken up to our suffering, and is therefore real. Outspoken, outrageous and courageous all at once, reading it is likely to jolt you into seeing things in a new way. And you will find that this new way will include, in the most natural, unfeigned manner, a sincere wish to be of service to others. (Sharon Salzberg, author of Real Love)

If you do not consider yourself to be an addict in the traditional sense, don't let that stop you from reading this book. Through the prism of his own experiences with addiction, eating disorders and abuse, Russell has captured essential, universal truths about modern society and the human condition. There is something here for everyone. He draws on wisdom throughout the ages and makes it relevant to the age of social media. Recovery manages to be both beautifully written and accessible. This is, in my opinion, Russell's finest written work to date (Natasha Devon MBE, Writer & Mental Health Campaigner)

There is no better lesson to be learnt than by someone who has lived it. And with that in mind, Russell Brand is a man to listen to. Carefully. Beneath the performance he talks sense. A lot of it. (Stylist)