Jay, Debra 1954-

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Jay, Debra 1954-

PERSONAL:

Born 1954; married Jeff Jay (a counselor).

ADDRESSES:

Home—Grosse Pointe Farms, MI.

CAREER:

Hazelden Foundation, Center City, MN, former addiction specialist; certified drug and alcohol intervention counselor in private practice.

WRITINGS:

(With husband, Jeff Jay) Love First: A New Approach to Intervention for Alcoholism and Drug Addiction, foreword by George McGovern, Hazelden Information & Educational Services (Center City, MN), 2000.

(With Jeff Jay) Aging & Addiction: Helping Older Adults Overcome Alcohol or Medication Dependence, foreword by Barry McCaffrey, Hazelden (Center City, MN), 2002.

No More Letting Go: The Spirituality of Taking Action against Alcoholism and Drug Addiction, Bantam Books (New York, NY), 2006.

Columnist for Grosse Pointe News.

SIDELIGHTS:

A certified drug and alcohol intervention counselor, Debra Jay has written two books with her husband, fellow counselor Jeff Jay. In Love First: A New Approach to Intervention for Alcoholism and Drug Addiction the Jays offers step-by-step guidance for families dealing with addiction. They explain the intervention process in which loved ones meet with the addicted person to urge him or her to seek professional help, and they argue that timely intervention can prevent years of abusive behavior and dysfunction in the family. Aging & Addiction: Helping Older Adults Overcome Alcohol or Medication Dependence offers specific suggestions about intervention if the drug or alcohol abuser is over age fifty-five, when such issues as medical conditions, retirement, and social isolation can create particular complications.

In No More Letting Go: The Spirituality of Taking Action against Alcoholism and Drug Addiction, Jay writes a solo work that explores the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of addicts and identifies the struggle against addiction as a spiritual one. A contributor to Publishers Weekly found Jay's spiritual focus intriguing, and her summary of current research into the genetics and neurology of addiction "fascinating." In a starred review in Library Journal, Melody Ballard called No More Letting Go a "landmark" book that is both clear and "poignantly written."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Library Journal, May 15, 2006, Melody Ballard, review of No More Letting Go: The Spirituality of Taking Action against Alcoholism and Drug Addiction, p. 116.

Publishers Weekly, March 27, 2006, review of No More Letting Go.