Disclosed are methods and circuits for performing recovery associated with programming of non-volatile memory (NVM) array cells. According to embodiments, there are provided methods and circuits for programming NVM cells, including: (1) erasing NVM array cells; (2) loading an SRAM with user data; (3) if programming is successful, then flipping bits in the SRAM; and (4) if programming is not successful, reading data back from the array to the SRAM.