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The 3 Things

A Practical Path to Collective Recovery

Audiobook
95 of 95 copies available
95 of 95 copies available

Through Maggie's youth, she was reminded by her preacher father of The 3 Things: you are part of a family, be true to yourself, and glorify God in all that you do. But as Maggie shares in this transformational book, those old truths take on new meaning in modern life, recovery, and motherhood.

Sometimes, simplicity can untangle the most complicated messes. Even in the darkest pit with the cold hard slab of rock bottom pressed against our face, there is a lifeline of truth, a rope of wisdom, by which we can pull ourselves out. As Maggie Boxey curled into a tight ball of overwhelming shame, addiction, and isolation, she could hear her preacher father's voice, echoing in her ears. "You are part of a family. Be true to yourself. Glorify God in all that you do."

It took her 25 hard, traumatic years for her to fully grasp the depth of her father's words, through her time serving in the Navy, through mental health crises, and through losing custody of her firstborn child due to her addiction.

With the 3 things as her guide, Maggie gathered powerful forces to aid her in her recovery: contemplation, community, celebration, and compassion for herself and others. She relied on her 12-step recovery community to help her get sober and put in the humble work to right the wrongs of her past. She became part of a family again, both chosen and inherited. Her compassionate honesty allowed her to be true to herself.

And she remembered what it means to glorify God in all she did, whether that was taking out the trash, giving birth to her children, or writing a book in service to others, The 3 Things.

Through The 3 Things, Maggie offers listeners a path through contemplation, community, and celebration, in order to find true compassion for ourselves and others.

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    • Kirkus

      Starred review from September 15, 2024
      Teacher and activist Boxey frames recovery from addiction as a communal effort in this nonfiction guide. The author grew up with an alcoholic father and had her own "party girl" era that began when she was a teen. These facts are related: the trauma of her childhood led to her own less-than-healthy choices as a young adult. As Boxey began her own journey to recovery, she found these words of her father's, which her family had adopted as a credo, could serve as her guide: "You are part of a family. Be true to yourself. Glorify God in all that you do."In this book, she expands upon these principles for those seeking sobriety. Family, she argues, is a product of our hardwired need to connect; addiction, on the other hand, is often the result of individualism run amok. Boxey asserts: "We're attempting to meet needs that can't be met alone, no matter how hard we try. Instead of asking for help, we turn to comforts and coping tools, or self-medication." For the author, "family" extends beyond her family of origin to include all of humanity. Boxey posits that being in good relationships with others begins with living one's values fully, without fear or shame, and without lies. As for glorifying God, the author explicitly states that this "is not a Christian book." Here, "God" means higher power--or, as Alcoholics Anonymous puts it, "a power greater than ourselves." (Among the exercises offered at the end of each chapter is one designed to help those raised without religion to define what a "higher power" might mean for them.) Boxey is a gentle coach; she recognizes that habits we may regard as bad might have begun as adaptive traits--that is, behaviors that, at some point in our lives, helped us to survive. She is also refreshingly honest about the fact that she is speaking from a place of imperfection: One section of the book is called "THE LIBERATING EXPERIENCE OF BEING A FUCKUP." A heartening guidebook for finding healing through connection with one's core values and with the world.

      COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. (Online Review)

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Languages

  • English

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