Catherine Dold: The Recovery Book

Advance copy: Backstories on books by NASW members

THE RECOVERY BOOK:
ANSWERS TO ALL YOUR QUESTIONS ABOUT ADDICTION
AND ALCOHOLISM AND FINDING HEALTH AND HAPPINESS IN SOBRIETY
2nd edition
Al J. Mooney, MD, Catherine Dold (NASW member), Howard Eisenberg
Workman Publishing; September 9, $17.95
ISBN: 978-0-7611-7611-4

Dold reports:

Nearly all my work as a freelancer comes via networking. The Recovery Book was no exception. Howard Eisenberg posted on the ASJA Forum that he was looking for a co-author to work on the second edition of this book, which he and his late wife Arlene published with Dr. Mooney in 1992.

Catherine Dold

I had no experience writing about addiction, had never written a book, and honestly didn’t think I’d want to write about the topic. Perfect fit, right? But I knew that Howard and Arlene were respected, successful writers. Arlene was an original author of What to Expect When You’re Expecting. The publisher, Workman, has a great reputation. And while I had no background in addiction, I do love writing materials that help people to understand health issues.

Getting to contract was different from the usual route, since this was a second edition. First I had to convince Howard and Dr. Mooney to take me on as collaborator. Then we had to sell the book to Workman. There was no proposal, but we did write summaries of how we would update the content, handle social media, and more.

One of my biggest concerns was the collaboration process. I researched many options, and finally settled on a system of Dropbox folders shared with Dr. Mooney. I’d put files he needed to review in a folder. When he was done, he’d move them to another folder, and I would then pull them back into my master set of files. It worked beautifully. Over 14 months we collaborated on 350,000 words without a single version-control nightmare. I also kept detailed spreadsheets of everything, and set all deadlines. Dr. Mooney and Howard were dream collaborators who met every deadline. The spreadsheets kept me sane.

This project opened my eyes to the reality of addiction. Visiting Dr. Mooney’s treatment center, Willingway, I expected to meet a lot of older, weary alcoholics. Instead I met many young people. Most looked like they belonged in college. But that’s what addiction is: an equal opportunity disease. The good news is long-term recovery is possible.

Contact info:

Catherine Dold, 303-578-2398, catherinedold@gmail.com, www.catherinedold.com
Publicist: Noreen Herits, Workman Publishing, 212-614-7775, noreen@workman.com
Book websites: www.TheRecoveryBook.com, www.Facebook.com/TheRecoveryBook
Twitter: @TheRecoveryBook

NASW members: Will your book be published soon? Take advantage of this opportunity for shameless self-promotion.

Tell your fellow NASW members tell how you came up with the idea for your book, developed a proposal, found an agent and publisher, conducted research, and put the book together. Include what you wish you had known before you started working on your book, or had done differently.

See https://www.nasw.org/advance-copy-submission-guidelines.

Send info and images to Lynne Lamberg, NASW book editor, llamberg@nasw.org.

Advance Copy

The path from idea to book may take myriad routes. The Advance Copy column, started in 2000 by NASW volunteer book editor Lynne Lamberg, features NASW authors telling the stories behind their books. Authors are asked to report how they got their idea, honed it into a proposal, found an agent and a publisher, funded and conducted their research, and organized their writing process. They also are asked to share what they wish they’d known when they started or would do differently next time, and what advice they can offer aspiring authors. Lamberg edits the authors’ answers to produce the Advance Copy reports.

NASW members: Will your book be published soon? Visit www.nasw.org/advance-copy-submission-guidelines for information on submitting your report.

Publication of NASW author reports in Advance Copy does not constitute NASW's endorsement of any publication or the ideas, values, or material contained within or espoused by authors or their books. We hope this column stimulates productive discussions on important topics now and in the future as both science and societies progress. We welcome your discussion in the comments section below.