THE FIX:

How the Twelve Steps Offer a Surprising Path of Transformation for the Well-Adjusted, the Down-and-Out, and Everyone in Between

by Ian Morgan Cron

PLOT SUMMARY:

The Fix by Ian Cron walks readers through the original twelve steps of AA. Each step is examined and broken down in order. Through a method of story-telling, the steps are highlighted and tools for how to go about practicing each one are given. The stories throughout the book illuminate the necessity of the steps and the benefit they can bring to anyone who practices them.

EVALUATION:

Ian Cron has taken a very heavy topic and managed to sprinkle in humor and lighthearted tropes throughout the book with his whimsical writing style. A truly enjoyable read for anyone who wants to break patterns using the time tested steps of AA. Whether someone is struggling with a deep seated addiction (ie. drugs, people pleasing, etc.) or simply wants to create different patterns, Ian assists readers in understanding how to go about making changes using the twelve steps. His authentic, story-telling style is easy to follow and shows how he used the steps himself to create real, deep, and lasting change. He is also open about his own failures and knows from his experience in rehab and AA groups what it takes to rewire the brain and alter long-engrained patterns. He speaks with the maturity of someone who has walked through the ups and downs of an addict and come to understand the truths about what brings stability, not just in external behaviors, but in a person’s inner world. Not only does he give eloquent language to the deep pain underneath our patterns, he offers practical and reliable methods of exposing, analyzing, and finally dissolving and replacing the destructive patterns with new, life-giving patterns.

THIS BOOK IS APPLICABLE FOR THE FOLLOWING:

• Readers weighed down by the shame of their addictions and feel alone:

“At the beginning of our meeting, I told him I thought I was the worst sinner in the world…..When a person tells me all the terrible things they’ve done and claims that they’re probably unforgiveable, I tell them not to flatter themselves—I know plenty of people who are way worse than they are. I also remind them that the world’s most notorious sinners eventually became our most revered saints” (Cron 121).

• Readers ready for the truth about their patterns:

“And here’s the biggie: I finally realized that alcohol, drugs, and my other addictions were not my problembut only the symptom of my problem” (Cron 123).

• Readers who are ready to look at God in a new way.

“Dude, your God sucks,” Mike said, shaking Matt’s hand.

“I’m not sure what you--,” Matt said, thrown back on his heels.

“He sounds like one mean son of a bitch to me,” Mike continued. “My God’s compassionate and forgiving. He always gives people like us second chances. You wouldn’t believe the things I did back when I was drinking and doing coke, but my God loves me anyway. Tell you what,” Mike said, his eyes widening as though a light bulb had suddenly switched on over his head. “Why don’t you borrow my God until you find a better one?”

Review by Crystal King