Thriving with Addiction - by Jonathan Avery (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Addiction is not the end of the story, it can be the turning point.

For too long, addiction has been seen as a moral failing to punish or a chronic disease to manage. Thriving with Addiction offers a radically different vision: recovery as a gateway to a healthier, more meaningful life.

Blending cutting-edge neuroscience, real-world psychiatry, and powerful personal narratives, addiction psychiatrist Jonathan Avery reveals how healing goes far beyond symptom control or abstinence. Addiction is not simply something to eliminate--it is an opportunity to rebuild the brain, restore relationships, and rediscover purpose.

Through deeply human clinical vignettes, you'll meet people who have transformed their lives, learning to regulate emotions, reconnect with loved ones, and craft identities grounded in health and meaning. Along the way, you'll discover:

• How trauma, neurobiology, and social disconnection converge in addiction--and how recovery can address them all.
• The science of dopamine, craving, and neuroplasticity, explained in plain language.
• Strategies to strengthen brain health, emotional resilience, and physical well-being.
• The essential role of family, community, and culture in lasting recovery.
• How to navigate setbacks with self-compassion and clarity.

More than a guide to quitting substances, Thriving with Addiction is a blueprint for thriving--mind, body, and spirit. Whether you are in recovery, love someone who is, or work on the front lines of treatment, this book will change how you think about addiction, healing, and what's possible for the human spirit.

It's time to move the conversation beyond abstinence, beyond stigma, and toward a future where recovery means becoming who you're meant to be.

Review Quotes

"A brilliant, insightful, eye-opening deep dive into the world of addiction. This is a book everyone should read. I couldn't put it down."--Matt McCarthy, MD, author of Superbugs: The Race to Stop an Epidemic

"As a researcher and psychiatrist trained in addiction, Dr. Avery has a nuanced and empathic understanding of substance use disorders and those unjustly stigmatized by it. He carefully lays out the complex interplay among genetics, trauma, brain biology, and societal perceptions while addressing the pressing need for treatment and care rooted in compassion, science, and a harm reduction framework."--Lipi Roy, MD, MPH, FASAM, addiction medicine physician, national media medical commentator, and founder of SITA MED

"Jonathan Avery's Thriving with Addiction: A New Roadmap for Lasting Recovery and Health is an important book--a compelling, meticulously researched, and wonderfully written guide for the challenging journey through addiction. People suffering from addiction and their loved ones will find comfort, sage advice, and hope in these pages."--David Sheff, journalist and author of Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction

"We've been thinking about addiction all wrong. Addiction affects more people than diabetes, yet we treat it like a character flaw instead of a health condition. The result? Stigma that kills, silence that festers, and a system built on crisis instead of compassion. Psychiatrist Jonathan Avery has a better way. In Thriving with Addiction, he reveals what the science shows: Addiction isn't something you simply overcome and leave behind. It's something you learn to understand, channel, and work with throughout your life.

"Drawing on neuroscience, clinical practice, and his own research on stigma, Dr. Avery makes the case for a complete reframe. Real recovery isn't just about therapy and medication; it also involves sleep, nutrition, exercise, community, identity, and meaning. It requires not only perfection but also building resilience for the long haul.

"This book confronts what others ignore: Relapse happens, grief is real, and treatment sometimes fails. But there's a path forward that's both evidence-based and humane. If you or someone you love is touched by addiction--and most of us are--this book will change how you think about recovery."--Samantha Boardman, M.D., psychiatrist and author of Everyday Vitality

"What a refreshing look at addiction! Thriving with Addiction thoroughly and meticulously explains the latest advances in the science of substance use and behavioral addictions while offering a practical guide to effective treatments and personal recovery. Dr. Avery goes a step further and explores the addictive force in all of us, which may be the active ingredient in eliminating stigma and finding true empathy." --Petros Levounis, MD, MA, professor and chair, Department of Psychiatry, and associate dean, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School

"Yes, you can recover from unhealthy relationships with substance and thrive! This is the message so many need today. Dr. Avery is a national mental health leader tackling substance use, and he is gifted at giving us new tools from addiction medicine. Get this book and change your habits today!"--Drew Ramsey, MD, psychiatrist and best-selling author of Healing the Modern Brain and Eat to Beat Depression and Anxiety

About the Author

Jonathan Avery, M.D., is the Vice Chair for Addiction Psychiatry, a Professor of Clinical Psychiatry, the Stephen P. Tobin and Dr. Arnold M. Cooper Professor in Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry, and the Program Director for the Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship. He is also the medical director for the NBA's anti-drug program.

Dr. Jonathan Avery is a graduate of the New York University School of Medicine. He completed his residency training at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Payne Whitney Clinic. During residency, he was selected as a Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry Fellow and won several awards for his clinical and academic work. He was co-chief resident in his final year of training. Prior to employment on the Cornell faculty, Dr. Avery completed an addiction psychiatry fellowship at the New York University School of Medicine.

Dr. Avery has been published on a broad variety of topics in addiction psychiatry, including papers on subjects ranging from clinician attitudes towards patients to how to use buprenorphine. He is the founder of the Weill Cornell/New York-Presbyterian Program for Substance Use and Stigma of Addiction, and his research on stigma is supported by several national grants and awards. He was on the editorial board for the DSM-5 Clinical Cases book and is the editor/author of 10 books, including Co-occurring Mental Illness and Substance Use Disorders: A Guide to Diagnosis and Treatment and The Stigma of Addiction: An Essential Guide. He has won numerous awards for his clinical and academic work, including the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology Faculty Innovation in Education Award and the Outstanding Faculty Member Award from the New York County Psychiatric Society. He has been featured in many national publications and broadcasts, including in The New York Times, Next Question with Katie Couric, and Psychology Today.