Transforming Pain into Power

In this inspirational book, a series of personal stories are interwoven into chapters focusing on how the exciting initiative North Wales Recovery Communities (NWRC), which is based in Bangor, is helping people recover from serious substance use problems and related issues. The impressive success of NWRC rests on the foundation of people in recovery helping others overcome their addiction. The book highlights the importance of a variety of factors in facilitating recovery, in particular the role of connection and relationships. It shows how NWRC members have impacted positively on their wider local community, including feeding local residents in need of help during the Covid epidemic when government bodies were unable to do so. The author covers a wide range of topics, including factors that facilitate recovery, the role of trauma and disconnection in the development of addiction, and brain mechanisms underlying the healing process. He emphasises that society can learn a great deal from recovery communities like NWRC, and from people who have transformed their Pain Into Power. ’David provides a wonderful narrative that blends the growth of this peer-led recovery initiative with the stories of people in recovery and friends of recovery, distilling essential lessons for any area or group that aspires to create a vibrant recovery community... Congratulations on a fabulous achievement.’ David Best, Professor of Addiction Recovery ’This book is an extraordinary work of social history, alive with the voices and experiences that have shaped a remarkable recovery community.’ Emeritus Professor Wendy Dossett ’Transforming Pain into Power by David Clark is a transformative guide that combines ground-breaking, community-centred principles and practices with heartfelt insights into recovery... An inspiring, must-read resource for individuals, families, practitioners, and policymakers alike.’ Cormac Russell, managing director of Nurture Development