Addiction and Grace

Addiction and Grace offers an inspiring and hope-filled vision for those seeking to explore the mystery of who and what they really are. Author Gerald May examines the “processes of attachment” that lead to addiction, and describes the complex relationship between addiction and spiritual awareness. He also details the various addictions from which we can suffer, not only to substances like alcohol and drugs, but to work, sex, responsibility, and intimacy.


Drawing on his experience as a psychiatrist working with the chemically dependent, May emphasizes that addiction represents an attempt to assert complete control over our lives. Addiction and Grace is a compassionate and wise treatment of a sensitive topic, one that can provide a critical yet hopeful guide to a place of freedom based on contemplative spirituality.

Gerald May, M.D., (1940-2005) was a psychiatrist and spiritual counselor and Senior Fellow in Contemplative Theology and Psychology at the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation in Bethesda, MD. He wrote many books and articles blending spirituality and psychology, including Addiction and Grace and The Awakened Heart.

“[In discovering] with May that our addictions need not destroy us but lead us to a deep appreciation of grace, we come to a new experience of the ‘most powerful force in the universe.’”-Christianity Today