The Recovery Files · Workbooks
Recovery Story Workbooks
Twenty-five stories from recovery, each with a self-assessment to match
Each workbook opens with a first-person story about one struggle in recovery, such as anger, cravings, guilt, isolation or the pull of secrecy. Then comes a self-assessment on the same theme, so you can see where the story touches your own life. Most also end with reflection questions to write about or bring to a sponsor, counselor or group.
Read the story first, then take the assessment. Your scores, and what they mean, are in the app.
These workbooks support professional treatment and are not a substitute for it. In a crisis, call or text 988, or call SAMHSA at 1-800-662-4357.
Honesty and integrity
Telling the whole story, to others and to yourself.
The Half-Light
A Journey Through Early Recovery · Foundational
Forty-two days sober, the narrator is learning that lying had become as natural as breathing. The story follows the first awkward attempts at telling the whole truth instead of the edited version.
Inside: the story · a 20-statement self-assessment (active dishonesty · selective disclosure) · reflection questions · a short plan for changing one pattern
8 pages · scores in the app
The Glass Castle
Surrendering Ego in Recovery · Advanced
Nineteen months in, the narrator looks back at the belief that their addiction was different and more complicated than everyone else's. It's about how ego, judgment and fixed opinions keep people apart, and what letting go of them looks like.
Inside: the story · a 20-statement self-assessment (ego-driven patterns · ego surrender practices) · reflection questions
13 pages · scores in the app
Behind the Laughter
My Journey Through Humor as Deflection · Advanced
Kevin is the funny one at every meeting. Twenty-six months sober, he starts to see that his jokes keep everyone, himself included, away from feelings he's afraid of.
Inside: the story · a 20-statement self-assessment (deflective humor · authentic expression) · reflection questions
11 pages · scores in the app
The Secret Keeper
A Recovery Narrative · Advanced
Seventy-three days sober, the narrator admits to missing the thrill of hiding bottles more than the drinking itself. It's a story about the "hidden high" of secrecy and why it can keep its pull after the drinking stops.
Inside: the story · a 70-statement self-assessment on secrecy and the excitement of concealment
10 pages · scores in the app
Self-awareness and identity
Getting to know the person you are becoming.
The Reclaimed Canvas
Rebuilding Self-Worth in Recovery · Advanced
Twenty-two months sober, the narrator still hesitates before meeting their own eyes in the mirror. The story is about the damage addiction does to self-worth and the slow work of rebuilding it.
Inside: the story · a 20-statement self-assessment (self-worth challenges · self-worth skills) · reflection questions
12 pages · scores in the app
Layers of Light
A Journey Through Self-Awareness in Recovery · Advanced
A counselor's "peel back the onion" line gets a smirk at 37 days sober. Two years later the narrator describes self-awareness as exactly that: one layer at a time, each with its own discoveries.
Inside: the story · a 20-statement self-assessment (surface layers · deeper layers of awareness) · reflection questions
10 pages · scores in the app
Many-Faced
A Narrative of Code Switching in Recovery · Advanced
Alex has thirteen minutes in the church parking lot to switch from executive to "recovery Alex." The story asks what it costs to be a different person in every setting, and what it would take to be one person everywhere.
Inside: the story · a 20-statement self-assessment (fragmenting patterns · integrating practices) · reflection questions
11 pages · scores in the app
The Hidden Trespasser
A Journey Through Imposter Syndrome in Recovery · Advanced
On their three-year anniversary, the narrator feels the applause is meant for someone else. It's a story about imposter feelings that persist despite real progress.
Inside: the story · a 20-statement self-assessment (imposter feelings · authenticity practices) · reflection questions
11 pages · scores in the app
Emotions, cravings and patience
Feeling things fully, without reaching for something to dull them.
The Fire Within
Navigating Anger in Recovery · Intermediate
Eleven months sober, a wrong coffee order sets off a rage so strong the narrator thinks it's a heart attack. The story follows learning to feel anger without substances and to use it as information.
Inside: the story · a 20-statement self-assessment (destructive anger patterns · healthy anger skills) · reflection questions
11 pages · scores in the app
The Weight of Memory
Navigating Guilt in Recovery · Advanced
Most mornings the narrator relives arriving late and drunk to a daughter's tenth birthday. It's a story about the difference between guilt that keeps you stuck and remorse that moves you forward.
Inside: the story · a 20-statement self-assessment (destructive guilt · self-forgiveness and healing) · reflection questions
9 pages · scores in the app
The Quiet Storm
Living with Cravings in Recovery · Foundational
Three years sober, the narrator's body still remembers 4:30 PM, the hour of the first drink. The story describes cravings as something felt in the whole body, not just a thought, and how to ride them out.
Inside: the story · a 20-statement self-assessment (craving experiences · craving management skills) · reflection questions
10 pages · scores in the app
The Long Road Home
A Meditation on Impatience in Recovery · Intermediate
The narrator keeps checking the sobriety calendar and asking when they'll finally feel normal. A sponsor's "time takes time" slowly starts to make sense.
Inside: the story · a 20-statement self-assessment (impatience patterns · patience practices) · reflection questions
11 pages · scores in the app
Thinking patterns
Noticing the habits of mind that addiction left behind.
The Glass House
Living with Catastrophic Thinking in Recovery · Intermediate
Fourteen months sober, the narrator wakes up certain "I'm going to relapse today," with no reason at all. The story looks at worst-case thinking and how to answer it.
Inside: the story · a 20-statement self-assessment (catastrophic thinking · resilient thinking skills) · reflection questions
13 pages · scores in the app
The Invisible Wall
My Journey Beyond Comparing Out · Intermediate
At a first meeting, the narrator lists every way the people in the room are different: no kids lost, no car to live in, "only" alcohol. It's a story about comparing out, and how each difference becomes a brick in a wall.
Inside: the story · a 50-statement self-assessment (comparison patterns · connection patterns) · reflection questions
12 pages · scores in the app
Chasing the Ghost
A Personal Recovery Narrative · Advanced
After seventeen years of drinking, the narrator realizes the planning and the trip to the store had become the best part. It's about anticipation, and why the build-up can pull harder than the drink.
Inside: the story · a 70-statement self-assessment (recognizing anticipation patterns · responding to them)
12 pages · scores in the app
Relationships and communication
Learning to connect, listen and speak differently.
The Interweaven Path
Rediscovering Connection in Recovery · Intermediate
Fifteen months in, sitting under a willow tree, the narrator looks at how addiction turned every relationship into a tool. The story is about rebuilding connections on honest terms.
Inside: the story · a 20-statement self-assessment (relationship patterns from addiction · recovery relationship skills) · reflection questions
11 pages · scores in the app
The Empty Room
Navigating Isolation in Recovery · Intermediate
After every meeting, the narrator drives home alone to a silent apartment. Seventeen months sober, they describe feeling alone while surrounded by people, and the first steps toward real connection.
Inside: the story · a 20-statement self-assessment (isolation patterns · connection skills) · reflection questions
13 pages · scores in the app
The Invisible Thread
A Journey Through Codependency in Recovery · Advanced
On the morning of one year sober, the narrator wakes up worried only about a partner's mood. The story looks at codependency as an addiction of its own that can stay after the substance is gone.
Inside: the story · a 20-statement self-assessment (codependent patterns · healthy relationship skills) · reflection questions
11 pages · scores in the app
The Pause Between Breaths
Learning to WAIT in Recovery · Intermediate
Twenty-six months sober, the narrator snaps at a partner over a broken dish before fully waking up. The story is about reactive speech and the WAIT question: What Am I Thinking? Why Am I Talking?
Inside: the story · a 20-statement self-assessment (reactive communication · mindful communication skills) · reflection questions
10 pages · scores in the app
Reading The Rooms
Navigating Social Landscapes in Recovery · Intermediate
Thirteen months sober, the narrator walks into a family dinner party and the room goes quiet. It's about learning to notice and read the social signals that substances used to blur.
Inside: the story · a 20-statement self-assessment (social perception challenges · social awareness skills) · reflection questions
11 pages · scores in the app
Community and momentum
Staying engaged when the early urgency fades.
The Suspended Step
Navigating Procrastination in Recovery · Intermediate
The narrator is more aware of time than ever, yet keeps putting off the next piece of recovery work. It's about procrastination and complacency, and the quiet sinking feeling of "not yet."
Inside: the story · a 20-statement self-assessment (active procrastination · complacency and stagnation) · reflection questions
9 pages · scores in the app
The Digital Funhouse Mirror
Navigating Social Media in Recovery · Intermediate
A recovery Instagram account starts as a lifeline at sixty days sober. By twenty-nine months, the narrator sees how the scrolling and the likes run on the same pathways the drinking did.
Inside: the story · a 20-statement self-assessment (problem social media patterns · healthy digital habits) · reflection questions
11 pages · scores in the app
The Last Holdout
A Journey Through Reservations in Recovery · Advanced
Sixteen months sober, the narrator still keeps a flask hidden in the bedside drawer, unknown to sponsor, therapist or partner. The story is about reservations: the escape hatches we keep "just in case."
Inside: the story · a 20-statement self-assessment (obvious reservations · subtle reservations) · reflection questions
9 pages · scores in the app
The Silent Drift
A Narrative of Quiet Quitting in Recovery · Intermediate
At six months, one skipped meeting becomes four, then a habit. The story traces how recovery can slip away a little at a time without a single decision to stop.
Inside: the story · a 20-statement self-assessment (early warning signs · established drift patterns) · reflection questions
11 pages · scores in the app
Every Chair a Lifeline
My Journey Through 90 in 90 · Foundational
Day one, a self-described "high-functioning" drinker is told to do ninety meetings in ninety days and scoffs. The story follows the ninety days, from the back row to belonging.
Inside: the story · a 20-statement self-assessment (meeting resistance · meeting engagement) · reflection questions
9 pages · scores in the app