Alder Creek Editions
Recovery workbooks
Practical books for the hours, habits, and life decisions that recovery asks a person to carry.
Browse The Mile Marker Library
If there is an emergency or suspected overdose, call 911. For suicide or crisis support, call or text 988. For treatment referral information, call the SAMHSA National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
A written place to begin
Put the next useful thought somewhere it can be found again.
Recovery can ask for attention at the same time that attention is hard to hold. A person may want to remember what happened before a craving, prepare for a conversation, notice a pattern from the week, or name a decision that has been put off. A recovery workbook gives that work a place to land. The page does not make the decision for the reader. It makes the decision easier to see, revisit, and discuss.
The Mile Marker Library includes guided books for different parts of recovery. Some are for cravings and hard hours. Some support a daily writing practice. Others help a reader prepare for questions about work, money, housing, family, court, or treatment. The books are meant to be used in real life, with crossed-out lines, unfinished answers, and a return to the page when the situation changes.
The value of a workbook is often in its limits. A workbook can hold a thought long enough for a person to return to it. A workbook can turn a vague concern into a question. A workbook can make a handoff easier when a person wants to explain what has already been tried. The book cannot make recovery predictable, speak for a reader, or take the place of the people and services responsible for care.
That difference matters when life feels crowded. A person may be carrying recovery alongside a job, a family relationship, a lease, a benefit application, a court date, or a medical appointment. The reader does not need a book that treats those pressures as a personal failure. The reader needs a place to prepare for the next real conversation and a way to keep useful information from disappearing between one hard day and the next.
For cravings and hard hours
Make a plan before the difficult moment asks for one.
Cravings can arrive with little room for reflection. The useful question may be simple: what happens next? Cravings and Hard Hours Workbook offers fill-in exercises, a daily urge log, and a written plan for high-risk times and places. Those pages can help a reader identify the warning signs that appear before a hard hour, the people or places that make the hour harder, and the actions that have helped before.
A written plan is not a promise that every urge will pass easily. It is a way to reduce the number of details a person has to reconstruct in the middle of a difficult moment. A reader can bring the completed pages to a counselor, sponsor, peer, or trusted person and use the record to make the conversation more concrete.
The workbook belongs alongside appropriate care and support. It does not assess withdrawal, provide medical advice, or replace emergency help. When alcohol, benzodiazepines, or another substance may involve a dangerous withdrawal, a medical professional is the right source of guidance.
For a daily practice
Return to the day that is actually in front of you.
A daily workbook does not need to turn recovery into a performance. It can give a reader a modest place to record what mattered today: a difficult moment, a phone call, a meeting, a gratitude, a setback, or a question that deserves attention tomorrow. One Day at a Time, Written Down offers a daily gratitude practice with pages that can be returned to as a routine takes shape.
Writing is useful when it helps a person notice rather than judge. A person may see that difficult hours follow a familiar pattern, that a supportive routine is working, or that a small task keeps being avoided. That kind of record can support an honest conversation without asking the reader to produce a perfect account of recovery.
Some readers want a general daily practice. Others want the Christian edition of One Day at a Time, Written Down. The library keeps both editions distinct so a reader can choose the voice and material that fits the reader’s own life.
Daily pages can also make a return easier after an interruption. A missed day does not make a practice useless. The next page can still hold the present day. That is a more honest use of a workbook than treating a blank page as evidence that a reader has failed.
For the life around recovery
Prepare for the practical pressures that do not wait.
Recovery does not happen outside work, money, housing, family relationships, or court obligations. A person may need to return a call, apply for a job, talk with an employer, look for stable housing, or understand a requirement from a court or probation officer. Each situation can create pressure that makes a difficult day harder to manage.
Tools You Can Use on Your Own provides prompts for craving skills, daily basics, trigger mapping, and a written plan. The broader library also includes books about money in early recovery, work and recovery, finding a safe place to live, and court, probation, and recovery. These books do not replace an attorney, clinician, housing provider, employer, or treatment program. They help a reader arrive at the right conversation with a clearer question and a better record of what has happened.
That boundary is part of the point. A workbook should not pretend to solve a medical, legal, or financial problem on its own. It can help a person slow down, gather the relevant facts, and identify the next person or service that can help.
Choose the book that fits the present need
Use a focused tool, then leave room for the rest of life.
A reader does not need to complete an entire library to use one useful book. Start with the problem that is already taking up attention. A person facing a craving may need a written plan. A person trying to establish a routine may want a daily page. A person preparing for a conversation about work, housing, family, or treatment may need questions and notes that can travel into that conversation.
The Mile Marker Library brings those choices together without treating every reader as if the same book will help. Each title lists the formats currently available. Some books include free printables. Other titles are available as paperback or ebook editions. The library page gives each reader a clear place to see the full collection and choose a next step.
A person can use a workbook alone, with a counselor, with a sponsor, or alongside a peer group. The book is there to support the reader’s own preparation. It does not decide what another person should disclose, what a family should do, or what form of care is right. A good next step remains specific to the person and the situation.
Frequently asked questions
Which recovery workbook should I start with?
Start with the situation that needs attention now. A person facing cravings or a difficult hour may begin with Cravings and Hard Hours Workbook. A person building a daily practice may prefer One Day at a Time, Written Down. A person who wants a broader set of recovery prompts may begin with Tools You Can Use on Your Own.
Are recovery workbooks a replacement for treatment?
No. These books offer peer support and practical education. They do not replace medical care, treatment, legal advice, or emergency help. A person who needs urgent help should contact emergency or crisis services, a qualified clinician, or a treatment provider.
Can I use a workbook with a counselor, sponsor, or support group?
Yes. A workbook can help a person arrive with clearer notes, questions, and examples from the week. The person leading the conversation remains responsible for the guidance within that relationship.
Do the books come in more than one format?
The Mile Marker Library lists the formats available for each title. Some books have paperback, ebook, or free printable editions, while other titles are available in paperback and ebook formats.