Loving Lions: A guide for families struggling with addiction Paperback – August 8, 2018

This book gave me real insight into the mind of an addicted child and didn’t blame and judge me as a parent.

Mike's analogies are always on point, relatable and so helpful. I give this book away constantly as it helps families and friends understand addiction.

I loved how easy the book was layed out to read. He eases you in gently, and you start to see the Lions in your life, that you have encountered. I have bought another copy to give as a gift as I want to keep mine to read again. Thank you for explaining what has been going on with my struggle.

When I first received the book I was a little angry and almost sent it back. It is double-spaced and large space between paragraphs - I felt like I paid too much for what was there. However, I wanted to give the content of the book the benefit of the doubt and to give Michael a fair shake, especially if proceeds are helping with addiction. My son spent 15 years in active addiction from age 14 to 29, when he was murdered 4 and a half months ago as a direct result of his addiction and psychosis. I was the "tough love" parent and his dad was the "enabler". I like how Michael steers away from these terms as everyone's definition may be different. Instead he talks about what is helpful for families vs what is not helpful. Our family blew up a few years in, consistent with the chaos Michael describes in this book, when I moved out to save myself. Now, my oldest son is dealing with the loss of his brother with alcohol addiction and I am watching another son drive himself to death. This stuff is serious and the descriptions in this book match reality head-on. The metaphors Michael uses are very effective. I understand after reading this book that my son had no chance unless his family got on the same page, which wasn't going to happen.In a few other reviews, people are looking for answers in this book of what to do and where to get help. There is not a simple answer to this and our health care system is in no way set up to really deal with the problem. I can't count the number of treatment centers my son was in during his life. The best approach is to find a good therapist or organization that can provide resources and start trying them all (NAMI, SAMHSA). The MOST important thing is to get help for yourself. For me to get my son into treatment, it took the legal system and a felony charge. Even after the best long-term residential treatment, my son was allowed to leave anytime he wanted regardless of his mental health.I hope your story has a happier ending. Take this book to heart.

I just finished reading "Loving Lions" by Michael Wilson, Jr. and it is an amazing book. While names are not mentioned in the book, I was part of the word "family" and I saw Michael go through his stages of addiction. He came into my life at age 9 when his mother married my son, so Michael became my grandson. I saw him struggling over the years and the heartbreak his family went through seeing him so addicted to drugs of his choice. It was so painstaking and yet there was nothing we could do. There was no book called "Loving Lions" to read and understand what addiction can do to a person and to the family. Michael is an amazing man and he took his addiction and turned it around so that he could help others. If you have a loved one who is an addict...this is the book to read. It won't cure your loved ones addiction but it will help you to understand what happens with families when there is an addicted person helping in the ruination of strong family life. Michael writes so openly about his own life and what he had to do to become the man he is today. I am so proud of my grandson for turning his life around and I hope that by reading this book you will have some understanding of what addiction does and if your loved one is able to recover then the family will also.

I needed so much of this bookFor myself and a loved one. Thanks to Michael for putting the words down that I needed to read.

Amazing resource for anyone who cares for a person with an addiction! The author is a recovered addict himself, and helps the reader to truly understand what addiction is, as well as the thinking patterns and behavior that addiction causes--both within the addict and within the family system. He shares real-life stories of his own addiction and recovery, as well as fictional tales that serve as analogies, shedding light on the more difficult aspects of understanding family dynamics around addiction. He confronts issues like "tough love" and "enabling" with compassionate understanding and alternate strategies for strengthening boundaries and building new skills. The author discusses intervention strategies, and has developed a Best Chance For Success recommendation structure. He has a really unique perspective and teaching style, which helps decrease guilt & confusion, and increase skills, boundaries and ability to access resources. He writes with a genuine presence and a perspective that I believe could be transformative for many people who are stuck in the quagmire of loving an addict and trying to help them.