Psobriety (Jeff Dafler) - A Review

 

PSOBRIETY: A Journey of Recovery Through the Psalms. By Jeff Dafler. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2021. 157 pages.

                The Psalms are said to be the "Prayerbook of the Bible." As a collection, they provide words that cover almost every situation in life. Ever since the collection was put together, people have turned to this collection of 150 prayers and songs to find words of encouragement, support, praise, complaint, and more. So, should it surprise anyone that they have proven helpful to those who have moved through recovery from alcoholism and other addictions?

                Psobriety is a collection of reflections on each of the 150 psalms in the Hebrew Bible, all of which have recovery in mind. These reflections were written by Jeff Dafler, a recovering alcoholic who found support and encouragement in the Psalms as he took his own journey of recovery. Having found spiritual sustenance in his journey, he now shares his thoughts with others who might be taking the same journey. The expectation is that the Psalms can assist others as they move through recovery.

                Dafler is not a bible scholar or a pastor. Thus, this is not a commentary on the Psalms. The author is the founder of The Dafler Company, a consulting firm focused on public policy and communication. He is also a communications professor at Walsh University. These professional activities are not the foundation for this book. The foundations are found in Dafler’s personal experience as a recovering alcoholic who is a member of Alcoholics Anonymous.

                In the introduction to Psobriety Dafler writes that on the first day of his sobriety he decided to read one Psalm per day for five months (150 Psalms fit that schedule well) as he journeyed in sobriety. He read the Psalms while working through the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. In doing so he discovered that the Psalms covered the "full range of emotions that I was feeling and experiencing: fear, hope, struggle, praise, thanksgiving, anger, loss, compassion, humility, and victory." (p. 1). Such is the journey toward sobriety.

                Karl Barth wrote that preachers should prepare their sermons with the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other. Dafler does something similar, reflecting on the Psalms with the Bible in one hand and the AA manual known as "The Big Book" [Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition] in the other. Dafler follows that process throughout Psobriety, making connections along the way between what he is reading in the Psalms with what he reads in “The Big Book.”

                As one would expect, the book is comprised of 150 reflections, each of which is a page in length. Thus, this allows for the one using the book to focus on the message of the Psalm rather than get caught up in the commentary. Each reflection is divided into three parts. While he encourages the user of the book to read the entire Psalm, he provides an excerpt of two to three verses. That is followed by the reflection, normally three to four paragraphs in length. Then he closes the reflection with a brief prayer of two to three sentences. Thus, in his reflection on Psalm 35, he closes with the prayer: "Give us the faith and patience, God, to trust in your power to see us through our troubles. Please keep us sober today." (p. 41).

                Throughout the book, Dafler refers to God in various ways, though quite often he uses AA terminology for God. Thus, he will speak regularly of God as "Higher Power." That usage makes the book useful for a wider group of readers than if he used traditional God-language. The use of the name “Higher Power” is also fitting, considering the focus here. One of the messages that Dafler wants to get across is that the journey to sobriety requires dependence on God's power for help. We see his understanding of the nature of God present in his reflection on Psalm 39. In that reflection, he notes that some have viewed God as distant and angry, a "cosmic disciplinarian who expects perfection." As for Dafler’s vision: "The God I have come to know in recovery is a loving Father who is never far from me. He seeks an intimate personal relationship with me. He wants my full honesty and invites me to share with him all that is on my heart—even the frustration or doubts I feel when he is too slow to act or is not giving me the help I think I need. If I can't be honest about such things then they will stand between us, and my Higher Power doesn't want anything to keep us apart." (p. 45). Thus, Dafler envisions a God who is powerful enough to help sustain the person but intimate enough to trust.

                Now, if you are looking for a scholarly reading of the Psalms, this is probably not the book for you. However, if you are a person in recovery, seeking a companion for the journey, then Psobriety should be of help. For those who walk with people working through recovery, this can also be a word of enlightenment and encouragement as well. I expect that pastors will find this to be a useful resource for pastoral care and even for preaching (not as a first-line commentary, but for insight into the human experience). The Psalms truly are the Prayerbook of the Bible, and this is another worthy companion for the journey through life in the company of the Psalms.

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