Scheduled for release September 22, 2026

An unflinching and compassionate exploration of addiction, healing, and renewal through Zen practice and Twelve-Step recovery.

This deeply personal story of struggle, transformation, and spiritual awakening draws on author Peter Kuhn’s decades of lived experience in recovery, the timeless wisdom of the Buddha, and the guiding principles of the Twelve-Step tradition. Engaging, brutally honest, and vividly told, Kuhn’s stories leap off the page and show how addiction can be understood, navigated, and transformed with practical tools for living with integrity, presence, and an open heart. 

At the heart of this book are the Buddha’s Seven Factors of Awakening, presented as a living map for recovery and spiritual growth. Kuhn weaves these classical Buddhist teachings together with the experiential wisdom of Twelve-Step practice, offering an urgently relevant path for our time. Rooted in the healing power of community, 12-Step Zen speaks to those walking the recovery path, those engaged in Buddhist practice, and anyone seeking freedom from compulsive patterns of suffering.

Thérèse Jacobs-Stewart, author of Mindfulness and the 12 Steps:

"Written with a musician’s sensitivity and the inward clarity of one shaped by recovery, Peter Kuhn’s deeply felt book brings the wisdom of 12-Step practice into rich and searching dialogue with Buddhism’s 7 Factors of Awakening. This is no improvisation, but a work shaped by lived experience—by loss and longing, by addiction and grace, and by the redemptive discipline of meditation. Guided by years of study and the enduring influence of his teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh, Kuhn offers not only insight but companionship for the journey. These pages invite the reader to return again and again, each time more slowly, until their meditative cadence and abiding truths begin to resonate as music heard more deeply with each listening. This is a book about recovery, yes—but beneath it all runs the deeper music of awakening."

Brother Phap Hai, author of  Nothing To It: Ten Ways to Be at Home With Yourself, and The Eight Realizations of Great Beings: 

“This book is a treasure born from the lived experience and insight of one of the most compassionate people I am lucky to know. 

Skilfully weaving personal stories, actionable insight, and concrete practices, “12 Step Zen” is an essential resource for all practitioners, and I am deeply grateful that this book is now available. I know that I will be returning to it over and over again. I can’t recommend it highly enough.”

Sister Dang Nghiem, Buddhist Nun, MD, and author of  Mindfulness as Medicine: A Story of Healing Body and Spirit:

“Weaving seamlessly together the Buddha’s teachings, the 12 Steps, and his musical background, Peter Kuhn shares his poignant healing journey through trauma and addiction—offering deep insight and meaningful support to those of us and our families who are navigating many forms of addiction as we find our way back to ourselves and build more fulfilling lives.”

John Bruna, Co-founder of the Mindfulness in Recovery® Institute, Spiritual director of the Way of Compassion Dharma Center, author of The Wisdom of a Meaningful Life: The Essence of Mindfulness

 “12 Step Zen is a deeply honest and compassionate exploration of recovery, awakening, and the freedom that becomes possible when mindfulness and the Twelve Steps truly come alive together. Peter Kuhn writes with the wisdom of lived experience, offering a path that transforms suffering into clarity, resilience, and an open-hearted way of being.”

Jeff Zlotnik, Co-Founder of the Dharma Bum Temple

“Pete embodies this path and offers a heartfelt guide to the changes that lead to true health and happiness. This practice flows deep in his blood and abides in his essence. I have personally witnessed him touch thousands of lives, and this book will undoubtedly continue that inspiring work.”

Roshi Anne Seisen Saunders, Abbot Emeritus Sweetwater Zen Center

“Peter Kuhn addresses human suffering in his powerful book. He uses the ancient and timeless teachings of the Buddha as well as the more modern 12 Step wisdoms. These teachings are wonderful guides for release from suffering. The most inspiring part of this book for me is the fearless, transparent sharing of his own journey. How wonderful that each of us can unlock peace, joy, and freedom in our lives. We can end the pain of wandering as hungry ghosts, thirsting for something outside of ourselves. Peter offers so many insights and guidance on the path to freedom. He makes what could be overwhelming topics easy to access, put in the context of his very interesting life.”

Nels Cline - guitarist, composer (Wilco et al)

 “With this profound book, Peter Kuhn takes us from the depths of addiction and its concomitant miseries to a clear-eyed and measured awakening to what he refers to as "!2-step Zen". It's a journey that so many addicts rarely survive, let alone find leading them to a profound teacher, a caring community, and lasting sobriety. Thank you, Peter, for this luminous gift.” 

Richard Avery, LCSW, Certified Compassion Cultivation Trainer, Vipassana Teacher, Psychotherapist, and Assistant Professor, UCSD Department of Psychiatry (ret)

 “Two seemingly disparate wisdom traditions in this book have been woven together in a unique and enormously helpful way: The Twelve Step Tradition and the Buddhist Teaching of the Seven Factors of Enlightenment, which has mindfulness at its foundation. Both paths start out with the acknowledgment of suffering and its causes and end with tools that, if followed rigorously and grounded in mindfulness, will not only reduce suffering greatly but also encourage compassion and joy. But what really animates this book is Pete's own personal path from addiction to not-attachment and his experiential interface with both traditions. You will read about "the PInto Moment" and when "Oh shit" becomes "aha." Many other pearls await the reader, whether an addict or a lay reader. I unqualifiedly endorse this book as a major text for those seeking to understand what Addiction and Recovery truly look like.”

 

Gary Gach, author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Buddhism, and Pause Breathe, Smile: Awakening Mindfulness When Meditation Is Not Enough

 "12 Step Zen offers apt medicine for our suffering. Taste and see!”