New Bookshop in Trenton Serves the Recovery Community

This week’s guest blogger is Harry Jackendorff from St. Michael’s Episcopal Church in Trenton, who has set up the 12-Steps & More Bookstore to assist individuals in learning about and engaging in addiction recovery and how to access recovery and treatment programs. In addition to books on recovery, there are also a number of books covering self-help and mental wellness.

Initiatives like this are encouraging as together can we help to reduce the stigma associated with substance use disorder and assist those who are impacted to get valuable resources and the help they need.

To visit the 12 Steps & More Bookstore and to learn more, please visit their Facebook page at @12Steps&MoreTrenton or call the Church at 609-392-8086. St. Michaels is located at 140 N. Warren Street in Trenton and the Bookstore is located in the North Tower.

All the best,
Angelo M. Valente, Executive Director of PDFNJ

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By Harry Jackendorff

The idea for Trenton’s 12 Steps & More Bookstore was borrowed from the Choices Recovery Bookshop in Manhattan. Currently, there are less than a half-dozen locations to browse 12-step recovery programs anywhere in the country, so when Episcopal Community Services offered St. Michael’s church a grant during COVID to develop a downtown Trenton outreach, it seemed a natural fit.

12 Steps & More Bookstore at St. Michaels Episcopal Church

The bookstore is a good example of how faith-based organizations can play an integral role in addressing substance misuse and abuse and promoting prevention, treatment and recovery for the communities they serve. Besides serving the daytime community of state workers and the poor, a bookstore might help someone struggling with substance use disorder return to a 12-Step program that may have been shut down during the pandemic.

In addition to books on recovery, the bookstore offers a number of books covering self-help and mental wellness. Due to St. Michael’s inner-urban location, the store also serves as an ideal location for corporate philanthropy to supply needed giveaway items such as first-aid kits, hygiene kits, and other essentials for those in need.

A bookstore easily straddles all worlds. Books on neuroscience can share a bookcase with grief or anger management, meditation and specialized medical diets. While we make every effort to make room for the atheist and agnostic, the step-work is decidedly a spiritual process

The bookstore has re-started live Narcotics Anonymous meetings on Sunday and Monday nights, and SLAA meetings on Sunday and Tuesday.

Notice: This article reflects the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey (PDFNJ). This information should not be construed as legal advice from the author or PDFNJ. Please consult your own attorney before making any legal decisions.

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