New Author Celebrates Recovery at Centerpoint Church

On Wednesday, February 19, 2014, local author Deborah Galasso unveiled her new book titled Living Serenity with a presentation of its basic principles and a book signing that followed the discussion at Centerpoint Church in Colton. Galasso has a 35-year-long career in the behavioral health field and as an RN. Having received her Master’s Degree from Loma Linda University with a certificate in advanced alcohol and drug studies, she is also the long time program leader of the Celebrate Recovery (CR) group at Centerpoint. After struggling through a life of anxiety, fear and insecurity, which subsequently lead to a battle with substance abuse, Galasso was determined to bring Celebrate Recovery to the local community. CR is not solely designed for drug or alcohol addiction recoveries. Throughout the last 13 years of the program’s existence, Galasso shared that people have gone through the program for codependency, enabling, anger, gambling, sexual and nicotine addictions as well as eating disorders. After just a few years of the program's inception, Galasso was being asked to lead workshops and educational programs in hospitals and other local churches. For Galasso, the backbone of the scripture-based program was always the Serenity Prayer, the famous poem written in 1943 by American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr that has been adopted by many 12 step recovery programs. Galasso would repeat the poem’s simple words every day, and searched scripture to find the meanings behind them to help her find serenity in her own life. About five years ago, when a friend asked her to speak at a conference about her insights to the Serenity Prayer, Galasso realized that she had compiled enough information about understanding the principles of the prayer that she could write a book to share that insight with others. At the mid-week class at Centerpoint Church, Galasso gave a detailed breakdown of the famous prayer while explaining how each and every one of those words allowed a real pursuit of a peace filled life. “The best description I’ve ever heard for serenity is ‘soul rest’,” she said, “and taking this prayer line by line, practicing what each and every principle instructs, will allow you to be at rest in your soul, down deep inside, and live in peace under any circumstance.” After the hour-long presentation, a book signing took place and Galasso chatted with the people who came to hear her speak and answered questions about her book. “I wrote this book because I wanted people to realize the power that the Serenity Prayer has to bring peace into their lives if they practice the principles taught in it,” said Galasso, “And these principles aren’t just for people in recovery, or for those struggling with addictions. The Serenity Prayer can help anyone live a more peaceful life.” Celebrate Recovery meets every Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at Centerpoint Church, 170 West F Street in Colton. If you are interested in having Deborah Galasso speak for your group, please contact her at 909-825-3670 for further information. You can find her book Living Serenity at Amazon.com.