Claudia Black tends to understate some things, saying “I’m pretty well respected in my field.” In fact, this Bainbridge Island resident is queen of her particular hill. Black, 50, runs a substance abuse treatment empire from a cozy house on the island’s west side; using it as a home base for around 20 yearly lectures along with a fulfillment house for books, tapes and videos on the subject.

The cornerstone of her castle is “It Will Never Happen to Me,” subtitled “growing up with addiction as youngsters, adolescents, adults.” Nearly two decades after its initial publication, Black has written an updated version that adds 40 pages and filters the original theme through everything she has learned in twenty years of listening, consulting and refining the message.

It’s been an interesting ride. Black wrote the book drawing upon her own experience, and knew that it struck a chord. But in 1983, when the “self help” category only existed as a subset of psychology, she was unable to interest any publishers. Along with Jack Fahey, her husband and business partner, she published the book herself. Fahey’s marketing acumen pushed the title into considerable sales, and an agreement with Ballantine brought the grand total to over two million to date.

Now they’re back on their own, as self publishing offers better control over the product and a wider profit margin.

The title of the book echoes what every child of an alcoholic parent says at one time or another. Unfortunately, it does happen in too many cases. While there may be a genetic disposition toward addiction, she said that one high risk group is kids with abstainer parents that have a strong dogmatic moralistic attitude.

While there is a steadily increasing awareness of substance abuse and its implications, Black reports a 12 percent increase in substance abuse relapses since the Sept. 11 attacks. “Stress always increases drug use,” she said. “If someone loses their job or is working fewer hours that increases the stress.

“Whenever people don’t feel good about themselves alcohol becomes a medicator.”

And the idea that people can just quit on their own is usually an oversimplification. If someone can do this, she said, they are probably not addicted in the first place. “It’s not an issue of willpower or self control,” she said. “Many people believe they can just cut down, but it usually doesn’t work. This is an addictive process, and most people can’t recover unless they come out of their cocoon, reach out and get help.”

It’s no surprise to find a famous or successful writer tucked away on Bainbridge Island, there are perhaps hundreds of these creatures hidden in these lush woods. Black, however, claims her roots in Kitsap County, returning here nine years ago when the Southern California chaos became too grueling. “We were looking for a place that was rural but had access to an airport,” she recalls. “We had a second home here, and I always liked the trees, the water and that there are fewer cars.”

That last qualifier may be changing, but this area still holds one very important attraction for Black. “When we were deciding where to live, my husband pointed out that I really get a good night’s sleep here,” she said. “So that made up my mind.”.