What drew me in was the collocation of science and spirituality in the title. I'm also a little interested in addiction through having played a small part in the pastoral support of people with addiction and not feeling that I had much of a handle on it to be of much help.
What I appreciate about this book is the breadth of interest and the humane approach of the author. I suspect I'm going to be re-reading the introduction to the neuroscience relating to addiction which was helpful and put into perspective things that I (like many others) had been somewhat aware of without knowing the context or further details.
I also appreciated the cross-referencing from time to time with scriptural illustrations. This becomes more prominent when discussing matters to do with wealth where the dialogue between science and scripture becomes a bit more concentrated.
And that drawing in of wealth to consideration was also one of the things that drew me to read the book, and I wasn't disappointed. There is a chapter explicitly on the topic and then the discussion of it is followed up in subsequent pages. I think that this is a helpful thing when it comes to thinking about the current world situation where we have more wealth concentrating with fewer individuals and companies. Understanding the neuropsychology of individuals is a really helpful thing to consider.
What I also appreciated was the humane approach of the author and particularly the reprised invitation to self reflection on the main points raised in each chapter. I think the author does us, the readers, a favour with the quality of the self-reflection he offers through these pages. And it is helpful self reflection: it models what he invites us to do at the end of each chapter and it helps to bring together the objective accounts offered by the biology and chemistry he leads us through with a careful (mindful, I think would be fair) attention to inner subjective correlates of that bio-chemistry. I also appreciated this account because by it we are shown how individuals' biology and personal histories can mean that neurochemical effects can vary -there is no 'one size fits all' when it comes to drug effects.
Some of what the exploration makes clear too is the social components of addiction: from the way that drug use can be a kind of attempt to repair social deficits as experienced by individuals to the way that treatment if pursued humanely can be successful if it can help repair connection and social wellbeing for those who get drawn into addiction.
I would say, based on my reading of this book so far, that it gives a really helpful resource to anyone who is seeking to support people in addiction and to understand our own addictive responses where they exist. I think that there are parts of this book that I will be returning to in future to help deepen and consolidate understanding that may help in pastoral support.
The blurb that drew me said the following, and I have found the book does live up to this.
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