The focus of last month’s digest was to focus on the Four Points of Balance. This month, we will focus on the importance of Family Recovery. Like addiction, chronic pain is a family disease. The lives of family and friends can be turned upside down in response to a loved one’s descent into chronic pain. Unfortunately, there is no instruction manual that shows how to cope with the everyday challenges that living with chronic pain brings. It is in this spirit that we introduce the concept of pain recovery for families. Research into the effects of chronic pain on the family is in its infancy; however, we believe that as more information becomes available, greater attention will be centered on the effects chronic pain has on the family. Pain recovery assists chronic pain sufferers in finding balance in their lives, despite their experience of pain. Family participation, education, and recovery are vital to the successful outcome of long-term recovery and change for the chronic pain sufferer. Family participation is also vital to understanding chronic pain, how it has affected the family members, and what their long-term solutions are. Pain recovery offers a parallel process of recovery for family members to guide them on how to be okay physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually while in a caring relationship with someone who has chronic pain. [books]