Addiction of one kind or another touches us all. Given its destructive course, it would seem an unequivocal curse to be lamented. The thrust of The Elixir of Air, however, is that it need not be. Addiction can in fact be a hidden blessing for what it forces us to face and change in our lives, for the spirit journey it rudely launches us on. Which is not to glamorize the searing pain experienced by addicts and their loved ones. Addiction''''s gathering force is such that only searing pain can stop us in our tracks long enough to make possible a life transformation. We are in the presence here of the great mystery of death required for rebirth. Addressing addiction brings us to holy ground.