Overcoming the Doing Addictions

Working Ourselves to Death: The High Cost of Workaholism and the Rewards of Recovery by Diane Fassel HarperCollins, $14.95 Reviewed by Greg Asimakoupoulos, pastor, Crossroads Covenant Church, Concord, California

Once upon a time there was a pastor known in his community as a conscientious caregiver. His twelve-plus years in the pastorate could best be described as goal-guided ministry in motion.

Although he was a human being loved by God unconditionally, you'd never know it by observing him. He was a human doing. Constantly.

What he did was good. But the reasons behind his efforts reeked of an addiction to accomplishment. His name was Workaholic, and he wore himself out.

If you identify with this pastor, you'll find Diane Fassel's Working Ourselves to Death intriguing reading. It is one of only a few volumes written in the past decade that attempts to make sense of a national epidemic known as work addiction.

According to Fassel, a management consultant based ...