August 25, 2023
Dear Hossein,
Thank you for your most recent communication. I look forward to each email from you with the latest news from Congress 60 and your most recent activities. I am glad that you enjoy work on your farm and am always amazed at how much you produce there each year there. The planting of 500 new grape trees this year is quite an accomplishment. I worked on farms as a young boy and always enjoyed both the labor and being outside and so close to nature every day. There is something deeply satisfying about such work. Thank you for explaining “the Agent and Marzban week” ritual within Congress 60. I don’t recall us discussing this before and I found it quite interesting. This ritual elevates and celebrates the value of gratitude in Congress 60. Here in the U.S., we express gratitude to our addiction leaders at the time of their passing, noting the many contributions they made to the progress of addiction treatment and recovery, but what you have added in Congress 60 might be called “eulogizing the living”—expressing affection and gratitude for our leaders and our peers while they are living. The practice of gratitude being expressed in thought, words and deeds is particularly commendable. The work with Dr. Arvin and Bristol University is quite important. The rigor of such studies requires considerable time but the results and their potential implications are worthy of all such effort. At the research institute where I worked for years, we advocated for years for longer term research studies and finally were able to get funding for studies that examined the prevalence, pathways, and processes of long-term addiction recovery across diverse populations. Hopefully, in years to come, studies will be able to document long-term recovery following the DST method and involvement in the Congress 60 recovery community. Here in the U.S., there continues to be great controversies over combing medication support and psychosocial support in the treatment of addiction—programs ten only to provide one or the other type of treatment. Congress 60 remains the most complete integration of these methods I have experienced in my career. In this, you are so far ahead of the rest of the world. I continue to receive positive comments from readers of The Little Book of Addiction Recovery that is posted on my website. Of all the books you have written, I think this one provides the best summary of all of your writings and some of your most inspiring words. I am so pleased you were willing to collaborate with me on this book. The other good news is that readers of this book are now spanning many countries. This book is carrying the work of Congress 60 and the hope of addiction recovery around the globe. I expect this to continue and grow in the years to come. Some time into the future we will have to consider updating the book to include excerpts from what you have written since the book was first completed. Rita and I are having a busy summer. We are considering a move to a smaller home later this year, which involves all kinds of preparations. At our age, we would like to be closer to where some of our family members live and closer into our closest city. We like the small marina community where we have lived many years but it is remote and a 15-30 minute drive to get to stores or Dr. appointments and such. And since I have shipped most of my library to the addiction studies archive in Illinois, I am in need of far less space for my study than in earlier years. A smaller place to live will work better for both Rita and I. Please extend my warmest regards to your family and to all members of Congress 60.
Friends and Brothers Forever