[sarcasm on]
What is McDharma? The word McDharma doesn’t have a single English meaning. For centuries, the most commonly accepted translation was, "Western Secular Buddhism taught by Western Teachers of Dominant Identities. (It implies that the millions of people using worship/chanting in the Eastern Dharma is both lunacy and negligible.)" The McDharma is best known for stripping Buddhism of its eons of Buddhist heritage and propagates the rumor that Noah Levine™ is the real founder of Buddhism. Fortunately, the 2nd Edition included writers of non-dominant identities, counterbalancing the erasure of Buddhist roots and returning to the Dharma. And for the first time, we have a recovery program that restores balance to the exclusively dominant narrative through the inclusion of the lived experiences of non-dominant identities.
[/sarcasm off]

SO WHAT'S NEW IN THE 2ND EDITION?
Besides 50+ new additions/revisions, the main updates that I found revolved around:
• Trauma's impact on addiction
• Clarifying very important concepts
• Welcoming, honoring, and validating the traumas of non-dominant identities.

EXAMPLES?
• More Trauma-Informed Updates:
e.g: "Race-based trauma, as well as [from] discrimination or bigotry, can accumulate over a lifetime. When these incidents [are] experienced cumulatively, they can become extremely difficult to cope with. ...body responses that may arise from this kind of trauma often overlap with the symptoms of [long-term or Complex] PTSD."
• Excellent Clarity:
e.g. In the 1st Edition, Karma translates to "action." In the 2nd Edition, Karma is "what our actions create." Which means the consequence is directly tied to the action. It's like me saying—'When I said cause, I really meant "the laws of cause and effect."' There are many subtle but key clarifications like this sprinkled throughout the book.
• Inclusion of Non-Dominant Identities: This is the first book of recovery I've seen where the non-dominant identity gets validated (for example, via the discrimination of race/gender/sexuality/poverty). In other programs they have always said these were outside issues.
e.g.: "Some of us have experienced trauma ... due to being a minority in race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, social class status & disability status..."
• Cultural Humility: The 2nd Edition is widely inclusive, and no longer centers around the dominant identity experience.

If "the Path has ...nothing to do with ...prayer, worship, or ceremony...." then why is it that when I visit my local Buddhist temple, I see many Asian Buddhists chanting, praying, worshipping as part of their Path? The McDharma would say those people don't count as real Buddhists. But in the 2nd Edition, they've addressed such cultural dismissals. It's awesome. Less McDharma.

PERSONAL STORIES
In addition, there are 14 deeply personal stories by members, like you or me.

Some stories talk about how Recovery Dharma got started. All of the stories are inspiring. Although most stories focused primarily on substance use disorder, I was most interested in the stories about process addictions. There are 2 stories focused entirely on process addictions. Both are very powerful.
• Gambling Addiction — Ned’s Story on page 91.
• Sex Addiction — Unity’s Story on page 100.

The book’s not perfect—I wish the inquiries had more grounding suggestions, or trauma-activation and self-care tips offered. But I guess they had to leave something for the 3rd Edition.

I really came to love this edition. I wasn't excited about a 2nd Edition, but as I compared between versions, I found a ton of appreciation for every little edit that was made. (And I can't believe i'm saying this but I even am starting to like the new wonky Dharma ring thing on the cover.)

Brand	N/A
Rating	4.8 (2185 ratings)
Price	$10
Category	Addiction & Recovery

Recovery Dharma: How to Use Buddhist Practices and Principles to Heal the Suffering of Addiction