What makes an alcohol and drug counselor? It is more than formal training. Their lives influence their perspectives and the ways they approach your problems.Here a counselor tells his own story and how that impacted his ultimate career. Peterson tells how he found his place in the world through all his own thoughts, lessons and tribulations. He carefully describes how he tailored his treatment in the prison system where he found a beuracracy, resistant attendees and gang mentalities, all resisting change and personal revelations necessary for recovery.If you ever considered being a therapist or goiing to one, surely you have already wondered what is this person really like. Rarely will a counselor or therapist tell you much about themselves in professional settings. In an important role in people's lives, the professional still carries his own past.Peterson's story shows clearly how he ultimately created a simple and effective, personal 12 step workbook that allowed for privacy and recovery work with or without sponsors or professionals.