Overview

THE LIGHTHOUSE PROJECT is a collection of songs/poems/essays written by members of the Creative Recovery Group and John Dillon, a singer-songwriter in long-term recovery from substance use disorder. THE BOOK CONTAINS QR CODES SO THAT READERS CAN STREAM THE MUSIC AS THEY READ THE LYRICS AND HOW THE SONGS WERE CREATED. CREATIVE RECOVERY GROUP is an online gathering of people in recovery, many of whom have recently graduated from St. Christopher's Inn, an addiction treatment facility in Garrison, NY. The weekly Zoom meetings are facilitated by Eric Kreuter, Ph.D., CASAC-t, and focus on creative writing to enhance the recovery process. The group collaborated on lyrics, and John created the music and produced the recordings. These songs represent a composite view of the challenges faced by those in early recovery, the clarity of a clinician, and the hope of a person in long-term recovery. Writing with a group in a collaborative style creates a palpable harmony of ideas and emotions, and forms the underpinning of the therapeutic potential of inner thought to expression on paper then shared with others. This music project stems from joined poetry, with each line like a fiber of a beautiful tapestry, which, when completed becomes more than the picture of singular thought and emotion, but a mosaic of such human intellect and emotions. Working with these talented collaborators provides a definite purpose to the time spent with the group where healing takes place through the simple act of attentive listening. The group functions much like a family unit and one where everything can be shared without judgment. Music adds a significant dimension to poetic expression and provides the recovering person with a potent combination of spoken word and music to echo formerly repressed feelings. Thus, the thought and emotion shared brings potential healing through the sharing.

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Reviews

"""What a collaboration! People beginning to captain their recovery voyage, a clinician to guide the vessel of creative writing, and a musician in long-term recovery to set their stories to sail through song."" - Theresa M. Knorr, CARC RCP/f, Senior Director of Recovery Education and Training at Friends of Recovery - New York; Owner: BALANCE Recovery Consultation, and creator of Tai Chi 4 Recovery ""...a prime example of how the collaborative songwriting process can help, heal, and inspire hope in the world of addiction and recovery. Listen to these songs. Read the lyrics and the stories of how the songs were created. Feel for yourself the healing power in a song."" - Mary Gauthier, Singer/songwriter, Author: Saved by a Song - The Art and Healing Power of Songwriting ""This project reflects a new generation of creative works that are simultaneously acts of self-healing and acts of service--sources of profound hope and inspiration..."" - William White, Author: Slaying the Dragon: The History of Addiction Treatment & Recovery in America ""...offers a unique opportunity to hear directly from people as they speak of the dark days of active addiction... Music that will help people to begin to rewrite the soundtrack of their lives in their journey of recovery from addiction, building a new life a day at a time."" - Robert J. Lindsey, Retired ED - International Doctors in AA; Former CEO - Friends of Recovery NY; Past CEO of the National Council on Alcoholism & Drug Dependence; Past Chair - St. Joseph's Addiction Treatment & Recovery Centers ""Creativity. Spirituality. Recovery. These words, and what they represent, are profoundly important to creative and performing artists in recovery from an addiction... a wonderful resource for anyone in recovery or contemplating recovery. Beautiful music, loving words--this is highly recommended!"" - Eric Maisel, Author: Coaching the Artist Within and Creative Recovery: A Complete Addiction Treatment Program That Uses Your Natural Creativity"

Author Information

JOHN DILLON is an accomplished singer-songwriter, guitaris-maker, author, and producer. He began his journey of recovery in 1992 at Marworth Treatment Center in Northeastern Pennsylvania. He is recognized for his work as producer and co-host (along with his wife Vivian Nesbitt) of Art of the Song - a one-hour program about songwriting and creativity heard across America on over 100 public radio stations. His book The 20-20 Creativity Solution gives readers a step-by-step process to enhance their creativity. As a luthier, John has built over 80 custom acoustic guitars for the likes of Hank Williams, Jr., Trisha Yearwood, the Mavericks, Tish Hinojosa and Steve Earle. In 2022, he released his fourth studio album HOPE ROAD - from Addiction to Recovery. The 12 songs trace his journey from 1960s traveling hippie to full-blown substance use disorder, and finally to sobriety and spiritual growth through inner work, gratitude, and service. After releasing the album, John was invited to join the Creative Recovery Group, an online group that uses creative writing to enhance the recovery process. They meet weekly on Zoom where they've been collaborating on a series of songs that make up this album. John has developed this collaborative songwriting process into a workshop for people in treatment and recovery centers. Through a series of writing exercises, they choose a topic and begin writing lyrics. John takes their writings home and distills them into a song, which is later recorded and sent back to the participants. He makes monthly visits to R. E. Blaisdell Treatment Center in Rockland County, NY, where each month he performs a recovery concert and facilitates a writing workshop with the patients there. John lives on an upstate New York farm with his wife Vivian, his mother-in-law, two dogs and two horses. ERIC KREUTER, Ph.D., CASAC-t is the facilitator of the Creative Recovery Group-- a program that is in its third year. This group is an offshoot of his creative writing workshop at St. Christopher's Inn where he is a weekend counselor. Dr. Kreuter completed his full-time 44-year career as a forensic accountant where he was a managing director with CBIZ. He now holds a full-time counseling position at Cornerstone Treatment Center in Rhinebeck, NY, while continuing to work one day per week at St. Christopher's Inn in Garrison, NY. In 2021, Dr. Kreuter published an academic book titled: Effective Use of Creative Writing in the Treatment of Chemical Addiction - Nova Science Publishers.

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