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Tracking Your Path to Addiction Recovery: Lessons from The Lion Tracker’s Guide to Life

  • Writer: Tracy Stride
    Tracy Stride
  • Jul 16
  • 4 min read

In Boyd Varty’s fabulous little book, Tracking Your Path to Addiction Recovery: Lessons from The Lion Tracker’s Guide to Life, a powerful metaphor emerges for those navigating the challenging terrain of addiction recovery. Varty, a lion tracker in the African wilderness, shares a story that resonates deeply with the journey of men in recovery. One quote stands out: “I don’t know where I am going, but I know exactly how to get there.” This simple yet profound statement captures the essence of recovery—trusting the process, step by step, even when the destination isn’t fully clear.


The Art of Tracking: A Lesson in Attention

Varty describes learning to track lions under the guidance of an experienced mentor. Sent to examine a 200-yard stretch of path, Varty initially notices only impala tracks. His mentor, unimpressed, sends him back to look closer. On his second try, Varty sees more: impala tracks overlaying older rhino tracks, both heading toward water; lion tracks following, pausing to catch a scent; and rabbit tracks ending abruptly beside the faint sweep of an owl’s wings. The lesson? Tracking requires deep attention to subtle signs—broken twigs, a scuff in the dirt, a distant sound.

In recovery, you’re a tracker too. The 12-step process is your guide, helping you notice the faint signs that keep you on the path to sobriety. Like the tracker who doesn’t need to see the lion to keep going, you don’t need to know exactly what “healed” or “sober” looks like. You just need to focus on the next first step—attending a meeting, connecting with a sponsor, or practicing honesty. As Varty writes, life is about trusting the process of tracking, even when the end isn’t in sight.


Recovery’s Uncertainty: Embracing the Unknown

The tracker’s journey mirrors the uncertainty of recovery. In addiction, you often don’t know what lies ahead. Will you keep your job? Your relationships? Custody of your kids? The future can feel like a vast, uncharted wilderness. Yet, the 12 steps (or a sound alternative program) provide a way forward. Step 1 asks us to admit powerlessness, much like a tracker acknowledging they’ve lost the trail. Step 3 invites us to surrender to a higher power, trusting the process even when the path is unclear. As Varty’s mentor radios to a tour guide, “I don’t know where I am going, but I know exactly how to get there.” In recovery, the “how” is the daily commitment to the steps, the meetings, and the support of a community.


The Signs of Progress

Just as a tracker looks for signs—a bent blade of grass, a fresh print—you learn to recognize the signs of progress in recovery. A moment of clarity, resisting a trigger, or receiving a kind word from a friend can all be markers that you’re on the right path. But tracking isn’t always easy. Varty notes that noon, when the sun is overhead, is the hardest time to track because shadows disappear, making footprints faint. Similarly, recovery can feel toughest when we’re distracted or not paying attention to our feelings. The key is to stay vigilant, to train yourself to see what matters.

Varty writes, “You must train yourself to see what you are looking for. Teach yourself how to see what is important to you” (p. 30). In recovery, this means looking for hope, connection, and growth—not slights, shame, or failure. It’s about noticing the small victories: choosing sobriety today, rebuilding trust, or finding new purpose.


Losing the Trail—and Finding It Again

Every tracker loses the trail sometimes. Varty explains, “As paradoxical as it sounds, going down a path and not finding a track is part of finding the track” (p. 68). In recovery, you may feel lost—relapsing, doubting, or drifting from the steps. But losing the trail isn’t the end; it’s a chance to go back to the last clear sign. Step 10’s daily inventory helps to reflect and course-correct. Step 12’s call to help others keeps you grounded in purpose. By returning to these practices, you pick up the trail again.

For many in recovery, this process leads to unexpected growth. Some discover more fulfilling careers, trading old paths for ones aligned with their values. Others forge deeper connections with friends or family, finding relationships with more meaning than those left behind. As Varty reflects on restoring the land (p. 83), recovery is about restoring ourselves—reclaiming vitality and becoming who we’re meant to be.


Waking Up to Life

Varty asks, “Do you feel like you were asleep at the wheel of your life?” (p. 12). Addiction can feel like sleepwalking, disconnected from joy and purpose. Recovery is the process of waking up. It’s about learning to live fully, with intention and awareness. What do you need to awaken and live joyfully? For some, it’s rebuilding trust with loved ones. For others, it’s pursuing a long-forgotten passion or finding peace in small, sober moments.


Sobriety vs. Lion Tracking: A High-Stakes Journey

While lion tracking and sobriety share similarities, there’s a key difference. For trackers, the path is unknown, and the stakes are low—if they don’t find a lion, they might spot hyenas to satisfy the guests. In recovery, the path IS known—Alcoholics Anonymor or alternative programs—but the stakes are high. Sobriety can mean life or death, connection or isolation, freedom or relapse. Yet, this high-stakes journey makes the process of tracking even more vital. Each step, each sign, is a chance to move closer to a life of meaning and vitality.


Following the Next Step

Recovery, like tracking, isn’t about knowing the entire map. It’s about following the next step with faith and focus. The 12 steps can be your tools, your way to “know how to get there,” even if the destination evolves. So, what’s your next step today? Maybe it’s calling your sponsor, attending a meeting, or simply noticing a small sign of progress—a moment of clarity, a kind word, a choice to stay sober. Keep tracking. The path is there, waiting for you to follow it.

Don’t like AA?  You feel alienated at AA meetings and can’t “find your people”?  Can’t get behind the higher power thing?  No problem!  Here are a list of alternative addiction programs to explore:


Alternative addiction websites

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