The Thirst for Wholeness

In this mix of memoir and spiritual guidance, transpersonal psychologist Christina Groff chronicles her descent into the spiritual miasma of alcoholism . She sees all addiction as stemming from what Alcoholics Anonymous calls The God-Sized Hole, an eternal longing and emptiness at the core of the human condition. Whether one tries to fill it with the temporary relief of alcohol, drugs, sex, food, sleep, shopping, or dangerously fast driving, so long as it provides temporary exhilaration or comfort, it can become a habit. Groff sees this emptiness as an urgent call towards pursuit of the spirit, a call that self-centered fear prevents many from answering. Groff's entrancing book hopes to help readers gain the courage to answer that call. It is divided into three main parts: The Thirst for Wholeness, Walking in the Desert, and Healing and the Path to Self. The crushing pain of addiction and abuse is here turned into something positive, a precipitator of serious spiritual change. With a lifetime of varied experience and suffering to draw from, Groff makes a knowing, savvy guide through this thorny path to the divine experience of being human. Copyright (C) Muze Inc. 2005. For personal use only. All rights reserved.