The Book, the Audio, and the App: How to Use the Loving Lions Companion

More than a book on a shelf

Loving Lions began as a book, but families in crisis do not always have the calm and quiet to sit and read. So the guidance now comes in several forms: the book, the audio, and a companion app, designed to meet a family wherever they are, whenever the need hits, which is often at the worst possible hour.

That need is more common than most people realize. In 2024, an estimated 48.4 million people age 12 or older, 16.8% of the U.S. population, had a past year substance use disorder, including 27.9 million with alcohol use disorder and 28.2 million with drug use disorder, according to SAMHSA's 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. That same survey found 52.6 million people, 18.2% of the population, needed substance use treatment that year. Those numbers count the person with the disorder, not the parents, spouses, children, and siblings living around it. There is no single federal count of affected family members, but anyone who has sat up at night waiting for a phone call knows the number is larger than it looks on paper.

The book: a shared foundation

The book is where a family builds the full framework, from understanding the lion to setting boundaries with love, in the author's honest voice. It is the place for depth, for the whole picture, for chapters a family returns to as the situation changes. Some read it start to finish. Many use it as a reference.

This is also where slower, harder ideas belong: that a substance use disorder is a health condition involving changes in behavior, reward, judgment, and control, not a failure of willpower. SAMHSA's own guidance for families echoes this, encouraging relatives to express concern, offer help, and create a nonjudgmental environment while a loved one finds treatment. The book gives families language for that, including specific, non-labeling ways to raise concerns, such as naming what happened instead of naming what someone is.

The book is also honest about limits. Families cannot force recovery, and loving someone through addiction does not mean covering up danger, hiding it from other adults in the house, or letting children be exposed to unsafe conditions. Boundaries in the book are framed as actions a family commits to, not threats meant to control another person.

The audio: guidance for hard moments

Not every moment allows for reading. The audio lets a family take the guidance in while driving, walking, or lying awake at 3 a.m. unable to sleep for worry. For a lot of families, hearing the words, especially from someone who has lived this, lands differently than reading them.

Audio works best for short, focused pieces: grounding during a stress spike, how to bring up concern without arguing over labels, what to say before a treatment conversation, or how to recognize signs of immediate danger. None of that replaces medication, counseling, withdrawal management, or emergency care, and the audio is not meant to. It is there to steady a person enough to make the next call, have the next conversation, or simply get through the next hour.

The app: support in your pocket

The companion app puts the framework and practical guidance within reach on a phone, whenever a family needs it. Addiction crises do not schedule themselves for convenient times. A good app helps a family save a safety plan and key phone numbers, track questions before a counseling appointment, get reminders for a support group meeting, and tell the difference between a situation that needs help right now and one that can wait for a scheduled appointment.

Privacy matters here. Any app a family trusts with this kind of information should be clear about what it collects, who can see it, and how to delete it. It should never claim to diagnose a loved one, predict a relapse, or replace a professional's judgment.

Where professional support fits in

None of these three formats, book, audio, or app, are meant to stand in for treatment. SAMHSA specifically points families toward family therapy, counseling, and support groups as part of recovery. One evidence-based approach worth knowing is Community Reinforcement and Family Training, or CRAFT, which teaches concerned family members how to reinforce healthy behavior, stop unintentionally rewarding substance use, and encourage a loved one toward treatment, without waiting for that person to agree to participate first. A qualified behavioral health professional can adapt CRAFT to a family's specific risks, including domestic violence, children's safety, or a loved one's other mental health conditions.

Peer support groups also matter, and families can try more than one before finding the right fit. SAMHSA lists support groups for people affected by a loved one's drinking or drug use, including Al-Anon, Nar-Anon, and SMART Recovery Family and Friends, along with groups specifically for children and adult children of parents with substance use disorders.

Use them together

The formats are not competitors. They reinforce each other. Read the book for depth, listen to the audio when reading is not possible, and reach for the app in the moment a situation flares. It all connects at Loving Lions, including the educational hub of 221 real situations for families who want guidance matched to what they are living through right now, and Ask Michael for families who want to talk through their specific situation directly.

If there is danger right now

If someone may be overdosing, is severely intoxicated, is violent, or a child is unsafe, call emergency services. For a mental health or substance use crisis, call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. The SAMHSA National Helpline, 1-800-662-4357, is free, confidential, and available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with referrals to treatment and support. Loving Lions also keeps a page of crisis lines and family resources for exactly these moments.

However a family takes it in, the point is the same: practical guidance for loving someone through addiction, available whenever the need arises, not just when there is time to sit and read.