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Mind on Fire: A Case of Successful Addiction Recovery

Philip Muls is an executive in a global corporation. He has extensive world travel and spent many of those years as a functioning alcoholic. Muls book, Mind on Fire, was written to compel those struggling with addiction to reclaim their lives. His very riveting book is for:

1. People who want to stop drinking or using.
2. People who have stopped but are struggling from relapse to relapse.
3. People who are in recovery but have trouble finding new meaning and peace with them selves.
4. People who over think things and who are out of touch with their body and with their emotions, they identify fully with their mind.

An Interview with a Recovered Alcoholic

In a very personal interview, Muls shares his thoughts on the journey in Mind on Fire. It is hoped that if you or a loved one is struggling with addiction that you will find a redemptive word from his life that can spark recovery in your own.

1. Give us some information about yourself.

I am 52 years old, I am married to Natja and we are celebrating our 26^th anniversary this month. Natja has her own independent practice in Leadership Development and conducts workshops all over the globe for large multinational clients. We have a daughter Monika who is a Medicine college student (5^th year) at the University of Leuven, Belgium. We have a son Alexander who studies Marketing (1^st year) in Brussels, Belgium.

We have gone through a lot together. My daughter has battled with anorexia nervosa since she was 12 and she has conquered the disease but it has been brutal for her and for the entire family. I won the battle against alcohol so you can imagine that we are not your ordinary family unit.

2. Did your family relationship play into the writing of your book?

If so, in what area?

The book was a tribute in a way to the patience and support that my family has given me during the years of my struggle with and recovery from addiction. It was a team effort. There is mutual respect for what we went through together. The family sees the book as a way to help other families go through similar struggles.

3. What was the inspiration for the book?

The inspiration for Mind on Fires comes through my travels.  These stories are used interspersed between therapy sessions in the book.  I did a lot of the writing between twelve hour flights between Europe and Asia.  The reader will recognize the authenticity of the stories.

4. What makes you different from other people?

My will power and my determination make me different. There is nothing I cannot do if I put my mind to it. Hence the title Mind on Fire. Once my mind was lit again (after a very dark period in which the mind is numbed by alcohol), I knew I could see this through and get my life back.

5. What compelled you to write this book?

Writing the book was my way to search and find my soul, my sixth sense, my real self. I believe that readers will find the authenticity striking. There is no doubt whether I have lived the facts and struggles as described in the book. It is painful and emotionally impactful to follow my journey throughout the book.

6. Tell us about Mind on Fire.

It is part travelogue and part philosophical musings and brooding. The switching between therapy sessions (from the POV of the shrink) and travel stories (from the POV of the recovery patient Peter who is my alter ego) makes it dynamic and driven. People tell me they cannot put it down once started.

7. What makes Mind on Fire critical to the general public?

8 % of the adult population has some form of drug or alcohol addiction. Many people stay in denial. I believe my book can propel them towards action and recovery.

8. What is the message that you want to get across from reading the book?

There is life and meaning in recovery. There is hope beyond relapse. Addiction can be conquered but you need a guide. This book can be that guide.

9. What problem does your book solve?

Mind on Fire discusses how to live a sober and authentic life. How to come clean with yourself and your surroundings. How to get rid of obsolete scripts and old tape recordings that determine your reactions to problematic situations.

10. How will your book change a reader’s life?

It is brutally honest and will confront the reader potentially with some ugly truths about his or her own life. It will bring a longing for a more authentic and spiritual way of being.

11. How have your life experiences impacted what you wrote?

Never could I have written this book without living the last 10 years first in hell and then slowly ascending.

12. Name solutions that your book provides.

The importance of living in the now is a major solution in this book. Accepting imperfection. Bringing a second perspective (watching the thinker). Living intuitively instead of purely on rational. Open your mind to other cultures and worldviews.

About the Author

Philip Muls is a senior business executive in a global corporation, who has been traveling on the job through Asia for the last twenty-plus years. He holds an MBA from Leuven University and has been granted various sales and management awards in the software industry. After quitting alcohol in his mid-forties, Philip started to research and experiment with a variety of recovery treatments on the level of mind and body and also on the level of his deeper self. This book blends his amazing travel stories with an authentic account of how alcohol affects the brain and how recovery from addiction can be like navigating a minefield of existential fears and obsolete beliefs. When he is not off traveling in China or India, Philip lives with his wife Natja and his two children Monika and Alexander in Grimbergen, Belgium. Mind on Fire is available on Amazon or where ever books are sold. He can also be reached at his website www.philipmulsauthor.com.