About the Book

Rebuilding relationships after alcoholism, addiction, or mental illness isn’t the same as fixing the usual conflicts about money, parenting, or communication. The damage looks different - and so does the repair. Yet in the self-help and recovery space, practical guidance for people in recovery who want to regain trust and respect at home is still hard to find.

Why I Wrote This Book

Every year, millions of families feel the ripple effects of addiction and mental health issues. Partners, parents, and kids are left navigating broken agreements, role changes, and a lot of unspoken hurt. Too often, treatment focuses almost entirely on the individual while offering little support for repairing the relationship system they’re returning to. Even when family programs exist, they’re brief and rarely provide a clear plan for what comes next.

This book fills that gap. It’s a straightforward, shame-free guide to balancing recovery and relationships. You’ll find evidence-based tools you can actually use at home—small “micro-repairs,” apology-to-amend scripts, language that lowers the heat, and warm boundaries that protect kids, partners, and your recovery. It explains the science in simple terms and combines it with real-life experiences: slips, grief, and the slow, steady work of earning trust back.

 The tone is what you’d hear in a healthy meeting: honest, no-nonsense, and hopeful. Whether you’re in recovery or love someone who is, this book offers a realistic path forward—one step at a time, toward connection that lasts.

Reviews and Endorsements

“Rebuilding Relationships in Recovery is the most important book I have ever read about addiction issues and how to repair connections during sobriety. Dowd offers an enormous number of strategies and ways to move forward as people battling with this disease fight to reclaim their lives. Dowd beautifully describes the steps and emotions that survivors and family members experience throughout their healing process. I will be recommending this book to clients and colleagues, especially those who have been stuck in unaddressed grief and are looking for a resource that helps them understand and acknowledge their pain and reconnect with their loved ones.

—Shari Botwin, LCSW, therapist, trauma expert witness, law and crime network guest, media contributor, and author of Stolen Childhoods and Thriving After Trauma

“This book is a must-read for anyone struggling to repair and rebuild their relationships in recovery. It is a beautiful and sensitively written guide to help readers navigate the broken bonds often left in the wake of addiction. Janice’s voice is free of judgment but full of grace and honesty. She offers actionable and realistic steps and tactics for healing and reconciling, supported by her candid account of her own experience. She is as encouraging as she’s relatable and offers hope to those intimidated by the challenges to come. The book is a gift to the sobriety community, providing both education and inspiration on an often overlooked topic.”

-Hadley Sorensen, author of, The Dirty Truth on Social Drinking

Rebuilding Relationships in Recovery is an absolute gem—so much more than a book about addiction recovery. I thoroughly enjoyed it and found it to be a fantastic guide for cultivating healthy relationships and navigating crucial conversations, regardless of whether you're in recovery or not. It’s packed full of essential tools that apply to all relationships—romantic, familial, platonic, and everything in between.

What struck me most was how often I forgot I was even reading a book specifically about addiction. The lessons and insights are so universally human. And yet, it also beautifully honoured the unique nuances and challenges of addiction-related dynamics.

If you're looking for a book that will not only teach you how to repair broken relationships but also help you reflect, release, and reframe your connection with people from your past—even those who are no longer here—this is it. An absolute must-read.

-BB Gabrile, Author of No Ordinary Love

A (Portion of the) Message to the Reader from My Children…

We sincerely hope this book can give hope to other families that things can get better. We have seen our mom create a vision and fulfill this dream. A dream that also took a lot of hard work. It has brought reality to the belief that dreams can be achieved with time and effort. Our mom is our role model, and we are so excited for her hard work to be shared with you. We hope it helps both those in recovery from mental health struggles as well as their loved ones. But most importantly, we hope that it gives you hope.

-Dennis, Katie, Matthew, and Michael