When I sobered up, I was not a practicing Christian. In fact, I had personally claimed to be atheist. I feel compelled to mention this, as I believe that, although I am a Christian and have written the book as such, it is for anyone who wants help. It is not preaching, and I have spoken plainly and openly in the book. If you want this solution, you don’t need to believe, or agree with what I am sharing, but just keeping an open mind to the process and principles at work. I believe that our biggest dilemma as alcoholics, and indeed as people in general, is the lack of power. Say for instance, you had been using diesel your whole life to power your car, and suddenly there was no more diesel left it the world; and I said to you that I could show you how to convert your car to be able to be powered by another source, one which had an inexhaustible supply, and that actually this source was even more efficient than diesel power - would you care where that source came from? I would say that if you were desperate enough, you would not be concerned about where the power came from. It is along this vein that I suggest, as was told to me at the onset of my recovery, you keep an open mind to the possibility of another source of power that could help you.

I had become sick and tired of being sick and tired, all the time. What kept turning over and over in my mind was; I want to stop drinking! But how to stop drinking was my dilemma. I had tried really sincerely to stop drinking, but in fact it seemed the more sincere I was in my endeavours to stop, the more I seemed to go on these alcohol-fuelled benders. I Tried all the methods you can imagine (a lot of them I have shared in the book), but always to no avail. Deep down I knew that the problem I was facing was how to stop drinking alcohol. I knew I wanted to stop drinking, but I needed a real live, point for point solution on how to stop drinking. I had heard of organisations to help with alcohol addiction, but I did not think I was an alcoholic, so why would I need help for alcoholism? I thought I was not an alcoholic, but rather that I had problems and issues, and I thought if other people had problems like mine, they would also drink like me. In my mind, organisations to help with alcohol addiction were for people who were down and out; they need help with alcoholism, not me! I thought to myself that I had a job, a car and a place to stay; alcoholics don’t have those things – how little I actually knew about alcoholism at this stage.

Through a course of events in my life, I came across someone called Daniel that had had a problem with Alcoholism, but had overcome it. He called himself a recovering alcoholic, and he gave me a very condensed version of one of his recovering alcoholic stories. What he said made sense, and it made me feel as if we were somehow cut from the same cloth, so to speak. I explained that my problem was that I did not know how to stop drinking alcohol. I explained that I was not sure if I was an alcoholic, but that if he thought I was one, then I need help for alcoholism, whatever that was. He explained that he could not tell me whether I was an alcoholic or not; it was something I was going to have to figure out myself, but he could show me a program that could help with this. He presented me with an actual solution that I could follow. Not only did I want to stop drinking, but I had recognised that I actually need help for alcoholism.

Over a period of over 8 years, I started to write my understanding and experiences, step for step, on how the process was working for me. I seemed to get wonderful clarity and ‘revelation’ on how the process worked in my journey. This process does not come from me – I had a mentor that helped me through it – and I realized that, had I not had someone like this to assist, I would not have ‘got it’. There were books and things I could read, but I needed something that went step for step through the process – almost like a cake recipe (…get a big bowl, add 2 cups of…) I was tired of people saying things like you need to forgive, or you need to love, and then not telling me how to actually do those things. So this is what I wanted to write, along with explanations and personal stories, to really help make the process ‘doable’ for someone on their own. Things I did not understand initially, I seemed to have a full understanding of now, and this I had to write down. 

When I came to the UK in 2016, I had already self-published a manuscript back in South Africa. I went onto the internet and put in things like; I want to stop drinking UK, or; recovering alcoholic stories UK, to try and see what I would call the book. However, this posed 2 problems. If I wrote, I want to stop drinking in the UK, this would limit the help available to drinking and the UK only. The name also seemed too obvious and unrepresentative. This solution was huge, and I got so much more out of it than stopping drinking. If I wrote; recovering alcoholic stories UK, it did not sound like any solution was available, and once again restricted the availability to the United Kingdom only. It had been a real breakthrough for me, and I had truly recovered my life and my sanity; so I chose to call it Breakthrough into Recovery.

I found that I had many other issues in my life that I had become dependent on, I had siblings with alcohol and drug problems that I needed to learn how to deal with, and I found that by using this program, I had found freedom from all these things. Over the years, I have used these principles to find freedom and peace from many things – I still do to this day. A God that was never really real to me before, had become the most important ‘tangible’ relationship I have today. I could go a day without speaking to my wife (in pain of death, I might add), but I cannot go a day without talking to my God; He has become that real to me, and He has the power and desire to help me with everything I let Him.

Breakthrough into Recovery is a book for anyone, as I had personally found that the power God offers for freedom; is a gift available to anyone. It is also for those people in and out the church who are suffering terribly with alcohol-related disorders (especially those who do not want to speak about it for fear of exposure); wives with alcoholic husbands (or children) at home, women who drink on the sly (in case of ridicule), and then there are people who may have approached the church or minister (both in and out of the church), and have not found the solution. It will also help overcoming other addictions and disorders that afflict people; over-working, over-eating, gambling, drugs, pornography, sex, and the like. It is for those who suffer agony or abuse from alcoholics or people suffering other dependency disorders - there are family, friends, or people they have to interact with (this book will offer understanding and insight for you into a little of how a person with a dependency disorder is trapped, and provides a solution for overcoming character defects such as lying, resentment, bitterness, that may have sprung up unawares in your life, and is causing a sense of pain and helplessness to you.) Finally, this book is for anyone who does not really experience a relationship with God; a relationship full of meaning and positive power, which can be experienced in an almost tangible way.

 I now find myself a recovering alcoholic, sharing my own recovering alcoholic stories, but totally free of that power alcohol held over me. I pray that as you go through this book, you too will be granted the freedom and relationship in God that was so freely given me. Remain honest, willing and open, and enjoy the journey; it’s wonderful!!