Many addicts and alcoholics who have finally found recovery find themselves sitting in a rehab facility, newly-sober, and with plenty of time on their hands once again. No longer must they obsess on drugs and alcohol and the accompanying time-filling rituals of procurement and using. Being an active addict was exhausting work and it fried the brain!! Once detoxed, that brain may not be working quite as well as it once did. Yet, it yearns to do something useful once again. What about going back to school??

Many early-recovering addicts who abandoned their educations while mired in their addictions now wish to resume pursuit of a degree. Yet, they are daunted by the seemingly formidable obstacles in doing just that. Am I really capable of doing this? How on earth can I gather together all of my prior (spotty!!) college transcripts from prior institutions to define a starting point? How can I learn to acquire the discipline and study skills necessary do the work? Is my "fried brain" even capable of doing this, or has it been irreparably damaged? How do I find a college that will take me? How do I get there (now that I cannot drive!!)? And on and on.

Brendan Bickley has been there. So has Jana Tufty. Both now possess college degrees- lots of them!!- and together oversee a wonderful program at Sober Living by the Sea in Newport Beach, CA that assists early-recovering addicts to resume their formal educations. It is called the TEACH Program. Not only have they shown unequivocally that it is possible to successfully return to school, but that by engaging in serious pursuit of a degree, sobriety maintenance rates of over 70% have been achieved! This startling fact alone is worthy of taking a close look at this exciting program. Brendan is Sober Living's Director of Education; Jana is Program Director of the TEACH Program. They will both join us this Saturday evening to answer these questions and LOTS MORE!

n addition, we will discuss Sober Living's many other great programs for recovery from addictions, as well as recovery from other behavioral issues including trauma, women's issues, adolescents, dual diagnoses, and lots more. Any issue involving addictions- and especially recovery from addictions- is fair game this night and always!

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