Curriculum Review of Black and Recovering: My Search for Identity
By Sarah Barton (Sagamore Institute Faith in Communities, 2005)
Black and Recovering: My Search for Identity is a workbook for African-Americans who are in treatment or aftercare programs, published by Hazelden, a leader in the field of substance abuse treatment and rehabilitation. Author Peter Bell identifies racial and cultural issues that affect the lives and recovery of African-Americans, but are not typically addressed in substance abuse programs. The workbook may be used by individuals or can stimulate group discussions in black support or recovery groups. Each of the five chapters contains information, thought-provoking exercises, and reflections about how the issue being addressed can influence the recovering person’s life.
Chapter 1 of the workbook, entitled “How Blacks are Viewed,” addresses racial stereotypes—both those other races may have of African-Americans and those African-Americans may impose upon themselves and other races. Readers are encouraged to think about how their stereotypes of others may have a negative impact, just as they personally may have experienced the negative effects of stereotyping.
Chapter 2, “Racial Identity and Cultural Issues,” examines experiences and feelings of color consciousness, cultural pain, and cultural boundaries—issues with which many white people have not dealt. Exercises in this chapter help readers to identify the extent to which they and their recovery have been affected by these three issues.
Chapter 3 is entitled, “Let Me Be Who I Am—But Who Am I?” In this chapter, readers confront their relationship with the mainstream culture, and whether they prefer to separate, integrate, or assimilate. Bell discusses the advantages and disadvantages of each choice and offers exercises to aid readers in discovering which approach is right for them. He also emphasizes the importance of accepting and respecting the choices of other African-Americans who may decide to relate differently to the mainstream culture.
Male-female relationships, including the nature of love, how race affects these relationships, and relationships in recovery, are discussed in Chapter 4, “African-American Male-Female Relationships.” Exercises will help readers to evaluate the attitudes and behaviors that may impede healthy relationships with the opposite sex. The chapter also tackles relationship issues that recovering persons may face when returning from treatment and offers recommendations for healthy responses.
Chapter 5, “Where Do I Go From Here?,” assists newly recovering African-Americans to think through decisions that they will have to make to foster their own recovery. Among these are:
- where they will live—an issue particularly important if returning to an old neighborhood would mean being around drug-using friends;
- what type of support they will need to obtain to help them maintain their recovery;
- the role of the black church in their recovery;
- dealing with drug-using friends;
- parenting issues; and
- coping with the stigma associated with being an “African-American addict or alcoholic.”
Exercises assist readers to think about appropriate ways to respond to these issues before they arise.
A Black and Recovering video that can be used in conjunction with the workbook also is available from http://www.hazelden.org/.
