Fortify

" . . . arms young people with the knowledge and tools necessary to see pornography for what it is-harmful, addictive, and completely unnecessary."
-Jill C. Manning, PhD, author of What's the Big Deal about Pornography

"This book will help to stem the tide of one of the greatest epidemics that has ever plagued our society."
-Kipp Dana, MA, Executive Director at High Country Behavioral Health, Addictions Therapist

"Young adults concerned about the power that pornography holds over their generation are sure to appreciate Fortify, a recovery program that is the product of campus discussions around the growing addiction. These easy-to-follow, interactive pages are full of encouraging and practical advice for turning away from porn.

'Our society [has] become sexually hijacked,' declare the unnamed activists who compiled the week-by-week exercises that make up Fortify. Early chapters assert that reliance on porn is absolutely an addiction: it leads to chemical reactions in the brain; it sets up false needs and makes them increasingly harder to meet; and it has a negative impact on the day-to-day lives of those who make use of it. In the name of sexual health and productivity, the book therefore encourages young adults to unplug and reevaluate.

The program in Fortify is designed to be easy to follow. Its challenges are incremental and self-reflective, beginning, in the tradition of recovery programs, with the simple acknowledgment that a problem exists. Boxes throughout these page propose actions-busying oneself to avoid empty time; identifying loved ones with whom struggles can be safely shared-and are followed by space to prompt meditation on their implementation.

A 'battle tracker' is provided, affording those who undertake the program to follow their successes and challenges in a calendar format. The 'battle tracker' language is recurrent. Porn addiction is, at various points, treated with the metaphors of a storm, hungry wild animals, and going to war. The serious tone with which the authors treat pornography is balanced by the conversational, even jaunty, tone with which they deliver proposals: 'Don't expect it will all be kittens, rainbows, and skipping through golden wheat fields (although that is a pretty sweet visual!).'

Youthful language makes this a project best suited to the college-age group that compiled it-fortuitously, the same group that Fortify suggests is most at risk. Fortify is not a radical approach to addictive habits; its tried-and-true methods are, however, appealing and logical, and its eternally hopeful tone stands to continually persuade. Teenagers and early adults distressed by the sway that pornography holds over their lives will certainly benefit from interacting with Fortify."
-Foreword Reviews