The Politics of Addiction: Understanding the Road to Recovery is not a manifesto, nor a treatment manual. It is an honest examination of how addiction takes hold, why it is so difficult to escape, and what real recovery actually demands. Drawing from decades of lived experience, academic training, and sustained sobriety, Steven Warfield explores addiction as a complex system of biological, psychological, social, and cultural forces. Rather than offering quick fixes or rigid ideology, the book invites readers to understand themselves-how they think, feel, relate, believe, and ultimately change. At the heart of the work is a practical, reflective framework: The Twelve Principles of Recovery. These principles are not steps to follow blindly, but tools for self-examination, growth, and long-term stability. They are designed to meet people where they are, acknowledging that recovery is personal, nonlinear, and deeply human. Written for those struggling with chemical dependency, those in recovery, and those seeking to understand the process more clearly, The Politics of Addiction emphasizes responsibility without shame, clarity without cruelty, and hope grounded in reality. This is a book about learning to think again, live honestly, and reclaim a life once surrendered to addiction. The Politics of Addiction - Understanding the road to recovery
Warfield, Steven: -
With more than fifty years of lived experience in chemical dependency and over fifteen years of sustained abstinence, he brings a rare blend of insight, honesty, and compassion to The Politics of Addiction series.
Steven Warfield is a graduate of Penn State University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree with highest distinction from the Honors Program. Recognized as the Outstanding Social Science Student in 2005 and recipient of the Presidential Scholarship, he served as president of several academic honor societies, including Pi Gamma Mu and Alpha Sigma Lambda.
His professional life has taken him across disciplines and continents. In China, he designed and taught university-level courses in English conversation and composition, authoring two instructional guides for Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University. In the United States, he built a respected career in journalism and technical writing, with feature articles and cover stories published throughout the optical industry. He was also a finalist in the 2014 Central PA Magazine Writing Contest.
Beyond his academic and professional work, Steven is a storyteller whose fiction explores technology, identity, and the edges of consciousness. But his writing on recovery is deeply personal. With more than fifty years of lived experience in chemical dependency, professional and academic training, with over fifteen years of sustained abstinence, he brings a rare blend of insight, honesty, and compassion to The Politics of Addiction.
He now writes full-time in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
