Alan Lyme - Game Plan: A Mans Guide to Achieving Emotional Fitness

Game Plan was created and enriched by three distinct but deeply aligned sensibilities, each seasoned by experience and blessed with compassion. The book that has resulted from this synthesis is both rich and concise, both practical and inspirational. Those who read and apply it will be well informed and prepared to go forward with hope and purpose.

Archie Brodsky

Department of Psychiatry

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center,

Harvard Medical School

Coauthor of Love and Addiction and

The Truth About Addiction and Recovery

It seems that a book on mens emotional fitness would have a very specific and narrow audience. But it actually has lots of information, insights, and practical help for men, women, counselors, therapists, other helping professionals, and programs. If you are a man and are considering this book, you are well on your way to getting the full benefit of the exploration and exercises inside these pages. If you are a woman, be prepared to understand and accept the men in your life much better. If you are a helping professional, theres a lot here that you were never taught and need to know.

David Mee-Lee, MD

Psychiatrist and Addiction Specialist

DML Training and Consulting

Davis, California

Game Plan is a valuable contribution to the sparse literature for and about men. It provides helpful insights about the forces in todays society that shape mens lives. The exercises and tools within its pages lead the reader through an exploration of the big issues, such as sexuality, emotion, addiction, and money. This is an essential resource for men, those who live with them, and especially those who counsel them.

Michael Hoge, PhD

Professor of Psychiatry

Yale School of Medicine

This book achieves two important functions. It will help both professional helpers and clients do their jobs. It is an excellent resource for professionals who are in need of information and a set of readily applicable tools. My male clients will find it helpful in their pursuit of personal growth. I will certainly use it extensively for my clients and will add it to the bibliotherapy list I give them. Thank you for this invaluable tool.

William L. Mock, PhD, LISW, LICDC, SAP

Executive Director, Center for Interpersonal

Development, Ohio

Game Plan has been a wonderful tool in my private practice toolbox, both for me as a practitioner and for my clients. The authors recognize the attractive and not-so-attractive parts of themselves through the stories and exercises presented in this book.

Rachel Green, PhD

Psychologist, Motivational Interviewing

Trainer, and Founder of Dancing Gecko

Training, Montreal, Qubec

Game Plan

Game Plan

A Mans Guide to Achieving Emotional Fitness

Alan P. Lyme, David J. Powell,
and Stephen R. Andrew

CENTRAL RECOVERY PRESS

Central Recovery Press (CRP) is committed to publishing exceptional materials addressing addiction treatment, recovery, and behavioral healthcare, including original and quality books, audio/visual communications, and web-based new media. Through a diverse selection of titles, we seek to contribute to a broad range of unique resources for professionals, recovering individuals and their families, and the general public.

For more information, visit www.centralrecoverypress.com

Central Recovery Press, Las Vegas, NV 89129

2012 Alan Lyme, David Powell, and Stephen Andrew.
All rights reserved. Published 2012.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.

Publisher:Central Recovery Press

3321 N. Buffalo Drive

Las Vegas, NV 89129

17 16 15 14 13 121 2 3 4 5

ISBN-13: 978-1-937612-04-7 (e-book)

Photo of David Powell Tom Croke/Visual Image, Inc. Used with permission. Photo of Alan Lyme John Knight. Used with permission. Photo of Stephen Andrew Richard G. Sandifer. Used with permission.

Publishers Note: This book contains general information about addiction and other self-destructive behaviors, and developing wellness and emotional health. The information is not medical advice, and should not be treated as such. Central Recovery Press makes no representations or warranties in relation to any medical information in this book; this book is not an alternative to medical advice from your doctor or other professional healthcare provider. If you have any specific questions about any medical matter you should consult your doctor or other professional healthcare provider. If you think you or someone close to you may be suffering from any medical or mental health condition, you should seek immediate medical attention. You should never delay seeking medical advice, disregard medical advice, or discontinue medical treatment because of information in this or any book.

Our books represent the experiences and opinions of their authors only. Every effort has been made to ensure that events, institutions, and statistics presented in our books as facts are accurate and up-to-date. To protect their privacy, some of the names of people and institutions have been changed.

Book design by David Leicester Hardy

Table of Contents

F or nearly twenty-five years, Ive been working on my own mens issues, and have counseled, coached, and facilitated mens groups, workshops, and conferences. Ive read virtually every book written for and about men and have even written a few of my own. Ive been taught by and have had the privilege to teach with leaders in mens workgreats like Robert Bly, Dr. Robert Moore, Malidoma Som, Robert Johnson, and several others.

So when my friend Alan Lyme sent me Game Plan and asked me to read it and write the foreword, I was a little reluctant to read yet another mens book. Man, was I pleasantly surprised and delighted! I found myself underlining all kinds of things Id never heard said or had never thought of before. The authors of Game PlanAlan Lyme, David J. Powell, and Stephen Andreware brilliant, powerful men. They not only have put their hearts, heads, and souls into this book, but also have included genuinely useful tools to help anyone who loves, lives with, or works with men. Thanks to books like this one, men, women, and children will be forever different than my generation and previous generations.

For instance, your teenage son just broke up with his first girlfriend. He tells his buddies about it, and heres what is so different from previous generations of men: he feels absolutely free to ask for support to get over it. He even sheds a few tears, but not one of his friends makes fun of him or calls him names. His masculinity is never called into question. How did this happen?