Darren Littlejohn is a best selling author, retreat leader, Certified Yoga Teacher and Reiki healing practitioner. A recovering addict and a practitioner of Zen and Tibetan Buddhism, as well as a former mental health specialist, he earned a BA in Psych in 1991 and worked in chemical dependency and acute psychiatric care facilities during college. Darren took 2 years of graduate school in Research Methods for Psychology. He's been involved with many community projects, including the fight against smoking, creating dog parks, community television, and a spiritually driven jazz program. He has been a Buddhist practitioner since the mid-80's. A spiritual crisis led to a relapse in 1994 with 10 years of sobriety. After regaining sobriety in 1997, Darren worked on recovery with a new zeal, incorporating many years of psychotherapy, 12-Step work, Zen and Tibetan Buddhist practices. While relapse with long-term sobriety is common, returning for a sustained duration is extremely rare. Darren's program, which became the basis for the bestselling, "The 12-Step Buddhist", is an integrated approach that is hard won over a span of more than twenty years. Darren, an avid dog lover, lives in San Diego where he teaches yoga, cares for dogs and writes.