Prentiss, Chris 1936-

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Prentiss, Chris 1936-

PERSONAL:

Born 1936; married; wife's name Lyn; children: Pax (son). Hobbies and other interests: Equestrianism.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Malibu, CA. E-mail—chris@passagesmalibu.com.

CAREER:

Passages Substance Abuse Treatment Center, Malibu, CA, cofounder and codirector, 2001—. Also worked as real estate developer.

WRITINGS:

For Once in Your Life: Be Who You Want, Have What You Want, Power Press (Los Angeles, CA), 1987.

The Alcoholism and Addiction Cure: A Holistic Approach to Total Recovery, Power Press (Los Angeles, CA), 2005.

Zen and the Art of Happiness, Power Press (Los Angeles, CA), 2006.

Also author of other books on personal growth.

SIDELIGHTS:

Chris Prentiss, cofounder and codirector of Passages Substance Abuse Treatment Center, has written several books about personal growth and is perhaps best known for The Alcoholism and Addiction Cure: A Holistic Approach to Total Recovery. Based on the treatment program that Prentiss developed at Passages after conventional rehab programs consistently failed to help his alcohol- and drug-addicted son, Pax, the book explains the causes of addiction and the steps to healing. Unlike other rehab programs, which have high rates of failure, Passages is based on the idea that alcoholism and other addictions can be cured once the root causes for a person's abuse of these substances is discovered and appropriately handled. The premise of the Passages program, as Prentiss explains on the organization's Web site, is to "assist people … to cure themselves. We don't cure them—we assist them to cure themselves, for all healing comes from within." Noting that alcoholism is the leading addiction in the United States, Reviewer's Bookwatch contributor Willis M. Buhle found The Alcoholism and Addiction Cure an essential and "thoroughly ‘reader friendly’ instructional guide" to the recovery process.

Zen and the Art of Happiness, described as a "charming" book by Library Journal reviewer Graham Christian, defines Zen as the "awareness of every present moment; armed with that, [Prentiss] shows readers, with humor and zest, how to live in the now and change our futures."