The Warm Hug: Substance Use and How to Fix the Failure of Treatment and Recovery in America with Keith Keller (Infinite Recovery, 2026)The Warm Hug: Substance Use and How to Fix the Failure of Treatment and Recovery in America with Keith Keller (Infinite Recovery, 2026)
New Books in Drugs, Addiction and Recovery
Drawing on decades of experience in recovery advocacy, Keith Keller's new book, The Warm Hug: Substance Use and How to Fix the Failure of Treatment and Recovery in America (Infinite Recovery, 2026), takes a candid look at the challenges facing substance use treatment and recovery systems in America. More importantly, Keith offers practical insights and solutions aimed at improving outcomes for individuals, families, communities, and professionals alike. Recovery, Keith emphasizes, is a skill that anyone can learn. The book will resonate with those directly affected by substance use disorder, but its message extends beyond recovery circles. The Warm Hug is written for anyone interested in understanding the realities of addiction, the shortcomings of current treatment approaches, and the opportunities for meaningful change. Keith explores these topics with host Emily Dufton. Emily is the author of Grass Roots: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Marijuana in America (Basic Books, 2017). Her new book, Addiction, Inc.: Medication-Assisted Treatment and America's Forgotten War on Drugs, was released in 2026.
39:58•16 Oct 2026
The Warm Hug: Why Recovery Is a Skill Anyone Can Learn
Episode Overview
- Recovery is presented as a set of practical skills—community, mentoring, learning, service, and belief—that anyone can practise and improve.
- Keith argues that US treatment is largely ineffective and profit-driven, and calls for a Universal Substance Treatment Initiative with strict, evidence-based standards.
- Addiction is defined as behaviour that may help in the short term but grows into tolerance, dependence, loss of control, and chaos, including non-substance behaviours like gambling or gaming.
- Person-first, strengths-based language (for example, "person in long-term recovery") is highlighted as crucial for reducing stigma and changing how people are treated.
- A strong therapeutic alliance, deep trust, and genuine rapport are described as essential elements missing from many conventional treatment settings.
“Recovery is possible. And all it takes is making a beginning and practicing.”
How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety? This conversation between historian-host Emily Dufton and "recovery nerd" Keith Keller offers one grounded answer: treat recovery as a learnable skill, not a mysterious gift. Keith, a registered nurse with over 30 years in substance use treatment and 35 years in abstinence-based recovery, shares how alcohol first felt like "the warm hug I'd been waiting my short life to receive" and how that illusion unravelled into chaos and, eventually, change.
He describes his rock bottom as the moment he realised he didn’t drink because he had problems, but had problems because he drank. From there, you’ll hear how a 31-year-old drummer in Boston’s bar scene turned into a nurse, author, and independent practitioner who works one-on-one with clients around the US. He talks about early years in Alcoholics Anonymous, how he "outgrew the vessel of AA", and why he later folded in neuroscience, energy healing, and daily meditation.
The episode digs into why treatment fails so many: only about 7% of the 48 million Americans who meet criteria for substance use disorder receive care, and much of that care is "cookie-cutter" and driven by profit. Keith argues for a Universal Substance Treatment Initiative—mandatory standards that require individualised, evidence-based care delivered by trained professionals and organisations "incentivized by success, not the prospect of repeat business." Language gets special attention too.
Keith prefers "person in long-term recovery" over labels like "substance abuser", pointing to research showing how words shape stigma and treatment decisions. Throughout, he comes back to one core message: recovery can be broken down into practical skills—building community, using mentors, learning, service, and crafting a belief system. As he puts it, "Recovery is possible. And all it takes is making a beginning and practicing." If recovery is a skill, what might your next bit of practice look like?
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