Abuse Books

The Pot Smoker's Handbook is a great combination of funny, informative, instructional and historical information on cannabis culture.

** Funny: 420 things to do when you're stoned; 20 songs for 420; marijuana at the movies; and High Times all-star celebs.

** Informative: destinations for ganja travel; ways to become politically active; pot laws; the chemistry of pot; types and strains; pricing; the economy of pot

** Instructional: tips for rolling, smoking, and cooking pot; growing techniques; how to covertly smoke in a dorm room; how to deal with your dealer.

** Historical: pot in American history; The Cannabis Cup; awards; profiles of well-known pot-smokers

It truly is a handbook in that it covers every aspect of pot culture from the silly to the serious, but in a fun way.

Highly recommended!

I just received my copy today and its more than I expected. Every page is packed with fun and informative details and beautiful photography. Anything a stoner or just a curious reader would want to know about Cannibis and its history is in this handbook. I will definetly be buying this as X-mas gifts for friends.

When cannabis prohibition ends sooner than later in North America, the legendary rebel publishing company Trans High Corporation (THC), publisher of High Times Magazine, will go down in the history books as the chronicle for the cannabis consuming community and, ironically, how popular cannabis became under government prohibition laws.

While an issue of High Times on the newsstand should not be missed, neither should readers' opportunity to read David Bienenstock's well-written and researched 'Official High Times Complete Smoker's Guide'. Bienenstock, an editor at the magazine, has delved deeply into High Times' impressive 33-year old archive and married some of the most iconoclastic images captured in popular culture regarding 'cannabis' with a solid sense of history and insightful observations gathered from within the cannabis law reform movement and emerging 'cannabusinesses' that populate America and Canada.

The 'Official High Times Complete Smoker's Guide' provides the reader a sneak peek into the world of what it is actually like to be, in effect, a professional pot smoker.

-Got a ganja smoker on your holiday present list?-
Are you or a like-minded family of friend into marijuana and 'cannabis culture'? If so, then David Bienenstock's 'Official High Times Complete Smoker's Guide' justly deserves a place in your--or their--personal libraries.

After cannabis prohibition ends in America (and Canada) books like Bienenstock's will make for a great read for future generations to view how the prohibition of an otherwise safe, natural and popular intoxicant and medicine came to be, what the prohibition era looked like and how popular culture, economics and cognitive liberty won the day over government tyranny and nitwittery.

Allen St. Pierre
Executive Director
NORML
Washington, DC

Dave Bienenstock an High Times do a great job with this book. Fans of the magazine will appreciate the pot culture references and beautiful photography that they have grown accustomed to. For those who are interested in getting involved in changing the laws, the book provides interviews with activists and resources for joining the marijuana law reform movement. Proof that you can change the world and have fun doing it!

As the head of a national marijuana reform organization, I've read A LOT of books about marijuana. This one ranks up there as one of the most fun and informative. Who better to lay out the various elements of marijuana than David Bienenstock and the folks at High Times? This book has tons -- or should I say kilos? -- of information on marijuana culture, politics, activism, entertainment, and more.

Whether you consider yourself a scholar or novice when it comes to the issues surrounding marijuana, you are sure to enjoy this book.

This was a great book because my great grandfather lost his eye in an accident when he was little, so it was like reading his story but different. Since I like playing baseball, it was a real blast for me. You should buy this book because your child would love the experience of reading a book thats based on the authors husbands life.

One-Handed Catch would have to be an inspiration for any amputee to read, especially a young person. I love the way "Norman's" mother never let him slip into self-pity and dependency, but always encouraged him to learn to do things for himself.

Even as an adult who is not an amputeee, I couldn't put this book down!

As a mom of a child with one hand, this book was insightful and enjoyable to read. After Norm loses his hand in an accident at his family's store (not a gruesome description given), the author goes out of her way to carefully describe how this one incident affects so many others. The characters' reactions to this change in Norm's life are enormously accurate and heart-felt (and sometimes comical). I could relate to every single character as they progressed through the stages of grief to acceptance without even knowing it. It's all done in an uplifting way...not sad or awkward. An awesome quick read for anyone...you'll love it!

One Handed Catch is a marvelous turn-paging baseball book of all time. When you read this book you will be so into it you will not want to put it down until you finish the whole book.
One Handed Catch is about a twelve-year-old boy named Norm. One day at his family's butcher shop a terrible accident happens. While Norm was grinding meat for his father the grinding machine suddenly stops. He sticks his hand in there and the machine suddenly starts up again. His hand gets chopped off. Now he has to deal with only one hand for the rest of his life. Norm is a very athletic who loves to play baseball.

Mary Jane Auch's husband went through the experience when he was a kid. My father went through somewhat similar thing that happened to Norm. She teaches us that we have to deal with stuff that happened to us. Even though we can't do as many things as other people can do.

I LOVED THIS BOOK!
I am one of those readers who doesn't pick up a book too often but when I do, and it's a great book, I can't put it down. Well... this book was one of those.
It's a great book. I highly recommend it for people of any age.
Wonderful writing. A highly uplifting story.

This story is hard to imagine anyone living through. Mr. Ladd's accomplishments are outstanding. This brings a reality to the reader that most people have no idea exists except those living it. This autobiography also shows the power of determination, attitude and self-reliance.

This should be inspiring and educational to young people especially but also to adults who can see the world from a young black man's perspective. Ladd allows us to walk in his shoes for a while; it is a privilege and a lesson.

The narrator for the audiocassette does an excellent job reading the book.

This story reminded me of "Finding Fish" by Antwoine Fisher, another great, inspiring story.

As a 24 yearold 1st yr. teacher in West Dallas I have been looking for answers. I work at the Middle School across from the projects referred to in this book. I am not too far from "Fishtrap", and the gangs (boyz) have changed from Ladd's time but only by the faces of their members. Some of the most infamous being my most delightful students. My kids are not like all of the others in America. They are different...special even and Jerrold Ladd told me why. As I read this book with every page I turned I anticipated that the "story" would get better. I prayed that his mother would change. I longed for the chapter when some long lost Great-Uncle from Georgia would come and take him from the reality of his torrid life. But it never happened. And I became frustarted because my students do not have anyone to rescue them from their realities, not for the long haul at least. Jerrold Ladd's book explained to me the generational frustaration that West Dallas incorporates. The resentment and struggle of blocks and blocks of people is the only thing this community truly owns. Ladd wrote the testament and explanation of a community's fear. His hopes and fears were evident on every page of this book. I only wish that my studenrs could take time from their troubles of hunger, fear, anger, and poverty to big up this reflection of possible positive self. Thank you for this invaluable tool of living and learning.

As a 24 yearold 1st year Teacher in West Dallas I have looked for reasons as to why my students (my kids) as I call them are the way they are. I teach eighth grade History at Thomas Edison Middle Learning Center which is located across the street from the projects referred to by Mr. Ladd. I can testify that all of my 109 students are the soul of Jerrold Ladd.

I have gone home frustrated many nights, crying myself to sleep distraught over what my kids must face at home from day to day after a long day at school. Mr. Ladd brought home the realities of my student lives. He pushed their questionable futures to the forefront of my classroom and by this Christmas I was sad to see them go. I was sad because I questioned how many of them would bathe without the motivation of not being ridiculed by mean classmates. I was sad because I wondered to what length one of my kids would go to pay his mother's rent, the same mother who stood in front of me and her precious son parent-confrence night and stated how he was a waste of 13 years.

As I turned the pages of this book I waited with each page for Mr. Ladd's situation to get better. Similarly, as I come to work everyday I look for my kids situation to get better. In the final ten to twelve pages of this testament to the community of West Dallas I finally saw inspiration and hope, however I shudder to think how long it will take the children of West Dallas to see the same thing.

Jerrold Ladd thank you for this guide into the minds of my babies. It is a invaluable tool.

I am a freshman student at my high school, and was assigned to a book report... I then choose this book, yet not out of wantingness, but just to get something and be done with it. When I started this book, I was so amazed at the details, and way Jerrold lived, with such horrific times in his live from his living style, to growing up, and all the obstacles, and problems that occured in his life. It was so sad, yet you cant put it down.

Excellent writing from a motivated and dedicated young man. Jerrold Ladd experienced disrupted education, a lack of early age positive male influence while proving first hand, that you can over come all obstacles and succeed in America.

It is a gut wrenching look into living in America's projects shortly after desegregation. It reminded me of the fact that life in America is not and has never been the same for everyone. For many, it is a living torture. Once you have read Out Of The Madness, you feel like you personally know the author. The author, Jerrold Ladd, tells an in-depth story about his life, his family (Mother, sister and brother) and some of his friends and associates. He provides an incredible amount of detail for a relatively short book (under 200 pages and large print). He allowed me to walk in his foot steps, feeling his disappointments, success's and failures. Each chapter presented intense quality of life and life treating situations that would test and potentially break the fiber of any man or woman. Jerrold exposes himself, his friends and associates in a bold and remarkable manner that allows you to actually feel his emotions. This book is a dead serious look at life within a segment of America, yesterday and today. The book reminds you that to many people (children and adults), needlessly, experience this and worst everyday. I recommend the book as a must read for everyone. My reason: This book provides an insight into a situation that many generations of Americans helped create. It gives motivation to those in similar situations and those that have not lived integrated into murder, drugs and abuse. Most of all, it proves, in America you can change your life.

Let me explain first that I am not related to the author, even though we share a family name and lived in the same town for a number of years. This coincidence did, however, lead me to her remarkable book.

Memoirs of screwed-up childhoods are popular these days, but few of them can match PIECES OF PIE for hellishness, heart-ache, and ultimately, redemption. We see a life destroyed, and we see a life painstakingly rebuilt.

But the book succeeds so well not because its elements are dramatic -- though that helps -- but because of Pie Dumas' story-telling prowess. PIECES OF PIE is alive with sensory detail, sharp observation, and a respect for the complexity of human relationships. Those things, and good old-fashioned narrative muscle.

Pie Dumas is a very dynamic story teller. I was touched by her ability to find a positive perspective in even the most difficult situations. Her humor is charming and candid. I fell in love with the little girl in the cardboard house and stayed in love with the real life character from that moment on. This story reads more like fiction but is so much more compelling because you know it isn't. This tale involves much more than you expect and is full of surprises. This is a book to share.

I had so many emotions while reading this book. My heart ached for the little girl who could only find happiness in her imagination and yet my heart sang as I watched her emerge as a vibrant young woman with so much to give to humanity. Her amazing discriptions of her travels around the world allowed me to be right there with her. This is a must read if you enjoy inspiring literature.

I open this book and find, standing alone on an introductory page, a quote from Henry James:

"Three things in human life are important.
The first is to be kind.
The second is to be kind.
And the third is to be kind."

And as I read on I realize that these words of Henry James are the perfect prologue to Pie Dumas' story. PIECES OF PIE, Surviving Love, is at heart an account of the author's pathway out of abuse and denial into first understanding, then acceptance, and finally into a place where she can show kindness to herself as a worthy human being.

Dumas begins by telling of a breakthrough moment in her healing. She has entered a weeklong retreat at the Caron Foundation, where her assignment is to share one secret a day with the group. "I was mortified to have been placed in Caron's adult children of alcoholics group. Despite my alcoholic boyfriend and a broken nose - the most visible reasons my therapist had referred me - I was a child of an alcoholic. And I really didn't have any secrets. I thought." She jumps right in, telling the group about a compulsion to steal that began when she was eight and continued into adulthood, of abusive relationships, numerous abortions and suicide attempts, and finally of giving birth at age seventeen to a baby girl who she gave up for adoption. She can't even remember "whether I'd laid eyes on her before saying goodbye." It is at this point that an older woman in the group touches her arm and says, "That must hurt very much." At first, Dumas stoutly denies this, but then, "as I looked in this nice woman's face, I didn't see the conviction I yearned for reflected back at me. Strangely, there were tears forming at the corners of her eyes. That's when something new and altogether unfamiliar happened: Tears began to well up in my own eyes. Feelings flooded into me that I could no longer hide. For the very first time, I started crying about the baby I'd been denying for twenty-one years."

From this stirring beginning, Dumas takes us back to her early childhood in Columbus, Ohio. Her father is George Dumas, a domineering man of Armenian descent. Her Swiss mother is a meek, nearly totally deaf woman who was raised in an orphanage. The young Pie and her mother are mere cogs in the wheel of George Dumas' successful import business - jewelry and novelties. She longs for a normal childhood and builds herself a haven from cardboard boxes in a back room and crawls inside to draw furniture and stick figures in an attempt to create a "normal" family. She wanders through her neighborhood at holiday time, peeking in windows at families enjoying dinner or sitting in front of a fire by a Christmas tree.

Her father habitually scorns her: "When he really wanted to make his point in a dramatic way, he would hurl insults at me and then spit a big wad of saliva in my face....it was unmitigated humiliation and agony - and the message he communicated would shadow me for decades to come, constantly nibbling at any semblance of self-worth I could invent." The most deeply hidden of Pie Dumas' secrets though, the one that drives her into violent relationships and self-hurt, and eludes her recognition for much of her life, is the sexual abuse her father wreaks on her from very early childhood. It begins in their home and continues through many road trips to state fairs where George Dumas hawks his imported wares and ill-uses Pie as a gofer, and into Pie's early adolescence during a whirlwind trip around the world. Dumas writes of the excitement of this journey - a ride on a runaway camel in Egypt, learning to drive on an icy Bavarian mountain road, being honored by the King of Thailand - and of her blossoming awareness of kinds of human misery other than her own, and of her own mortality.

Amid all this...and more...Pie's spirit survives. After the birth and adoption of her daughter and a disastrous brief marriage, she moves to New York to study and pursue a singing career. And then, finally, she begins the difficult journey to wholeness. In taut, direct prose, she unflinchingly relates the story of her passage from a self-mutilating victim who is addicted to damaging relationships to the vibrantly healthy woman she is today. She writes openly about the conflicting feelings she continues to face about the incest. And she works her way to forgiving her father for his maltreatment of her, and her mother for not protecting her - it's not clear how much her mother knew.

A joyful moment in Dumas' account comes when she searches for and finds her daughter Debbie. The young woman is of mixed race, born from the deep friendship that developed between Pie and a young black man when she was seventeen. This happy reunion includes becoming acquainted with a son-in-law and grandchildren she didn't know she had, and seems to have made her healing nearly complete. There have been some missteps in the growing mother/daughter relationship, but Dumas appears to be centered in the love that she has given herself permission to feel and determined to keep all doors open.

When I read PIECES OF PIE I have no doubt that Pie Dumas has learned to be kind to herself. She pens the following words when writing about the scars that are the left-over evidence of her self-mutilation; I think, though, they speak to the heart of this story: "Lately I've been allowing myself to kiss the imprints of the past."

Martha Hills
St John Sun Times

With much introspection and courage, author Pie Dumas has shared the trauma and joy of her abusive, privileged childhood. Growing up as the daughter of a wealthy, overbearing businessman, Pie let her true self fly away and became a pawn in her father's brutal, incestuous power play. The next several decades would be a slow, painful journey to the feeling, connected woman Pie is today. Gone is the insecure, bribing child desperate for the approval of parents, peers, and an audience. Today she lives a quiet life with her new family, two beautiful white shepherds named Skye and Nicky. Serving as a personal coach and sharing her memoir, Pieces of Pie, Surviving Love, Pie is using her own healing experiences to help guide others through the often shark-infested waters of familial life. Her book is an inspiration to all who want to live the best life they can live.

Dr. Leary maintains a high ground in his defense of the value of the psychedelic. This is the early work and a must have.

Wow! What a book! Leary is a real psychedelic guru, not in the orthodox sense, but really a man ahead of his time, a Galileo in the charter exploration of the mind and consciousness. He started off as a conservative Harvard professor, yet not so conservative, as he had his own ideas. But after his religious experience, and that's what psychedelics do - the expanding of your consciousness to a religious experience - he became aware of the societal and cultural chessboards - the games - and here became outspoken apart from the Harvard rationalistic mindset which rests on only one static frame of a multi-dimensional, dynamic existence.

I read this book smiling, over and over again. I walked down the street with a smile, mostly for Leary's optimism, then his frank and bold statements, which in most part I agree with. His style sometimes just makes you laugh and smile and say to yourself "I wish I had the guts enough say this." And although his predictions did not come true, you can't help but subjectively comprehend the 60's atmosphere, enveloped with the baby boomers in their youth taking up the majority of the population and their experiential drug use in psychedelics, which in turn, brought forth all the femininity of creativeness, patience, tolerance, peacefulness and artistic development that was permeating the entire American culture and spreading around the world and thus brought on the male dominated aggression of control and police power. So Leary's optimism and predictions were really a good assessment of the time despite their failure to come true. And nothing makes me sadder than to see his predictions fail from the creative mind expanding youth to our current male power, controlling and agressive society.

You can write Leary off as a kook from the conservative's point of view, the rationalist who never "experienced," and that's the KEY here - never experienced a trip under favorable circumstances and environment. Leary is the same as other heretics and kooks of history, a Galileo of mind exploration and conscious expansion, a Guttenberg of exoteric enlightenment, as in this book as well as one who clearly recognizes the need for new symbols that relate the esoteric experience of LSD, of cellular memories, of DNA language outside the mind, of experiential journeys that can only be told under a new language, as the microscope discovered new world had brought forth, as quantum physics brought forth and every other new fields of exploration that can only be described outside the current symbols we currently use.

Leary on page 141: The lesson I have learned from over 300 sessions, and which I have been passing on to others, can be stated in 6 syllables: Turn on, tune in, drop out. "Turn on" means to contact the ancient energies and wisdoms that are built into your nervous system. They provide unspeakable pleasure and revelation. "Tune in" means to harness and communicate these new perspectives in a harmonious dance with the external world. "Drop out' means to detach yourself from the tribal game. Current models of social adjustment - mechanized, computerized, socialized, intellectualized, televised, Sanforized - make no sense to the new LSD generation, who see clearly that American society is becoming an air-conditioned anthill. In every generation of human history, thoughtful men have turned on and dropped out of the tribal game and thus stimulated the larger society to lurch ahead. Every historical advance has resulted from the stern pressure of visionary men who have declared their independence from the game.

On page 196: My philosophy of life has been tremendously influenced by my study of oriental philosophy and religion. Of course, what the American, regardless of his religious belief, doesn't understand is that the aim of oriental religious is to get high, to have an ecstasy, to tune in, to turn on, to contact incredible diversity, beauty, living, pulsating meaning of the sense organs, and the much more complicated and pleasurable and revelatory messages of cellular energy. To a Hindu, the spiritual quest is internal.

Different sects of oriental religion use different methods and different body organs to find God. The Shivites use the senses; the followers of Vishnu are concerned with cellular wisdom, contacting the endless flow of reincarnation wisdom which biochemists would call protein wisdom of the DNA code; Buddhist manuals on consciousness expansion are concerned with the flash, the white light of the void, the ecstatic union that comes when you're completely turned on, beyond the senses, beyond the body.

On page 202-203: What we're doing for the mind is what the microbiologists did for the external science 300 years ago when they discovered the microscope. And they made this incredible discovery that life, health, growth, every form of organic life, is based on the cell, which is invisible.

You've never seen a cell; what do you think of that? Yet it's the key to everything that happens to a living creature. I'm simply saying that same thing from the mental, psychological standpoint, that there are wisdoms, lawful units inside the nervous system, invisible to the symbolic mind, which determine almost everything.

And I don't consider myself that mystical - unless you'd call someone who looks through a microscope a mystic, because he's telling you about something for which you don't have the symbols. Or the astronomer who detects a quasar and speculates about it.

On page 208: Every time you take LSD you completely suspend - you step outside of - the symbolic chessboard which you have built up over the long years of social conditioning. And you whirl through different levels of neurological and cellular energy, continually flowing and changing.

Your symbolic mind is flashing in and out. You never love your mind during and LSD session. It's always there, but it's one of a thousand cameras that are flashing away. Of course, the LSD freak-out, or paranoia, is where the symbolic mind freezes any aspect of the LSD session and defines a new reality, which can be positive or negative.

Read this book.

This is the single most influential book I have ever read. Completely legitmizes and encourages religious experiences through psychedelic means. Anyone currently using psychedelic drugs or interested in them should read this to gain greater understanding of their power. Learn why LSD and other are really illegal, the government knows they free minds!

...if you wish to stay the same because believe me, once you read it, you never will be. I got this book when I was about 26-27 years old when I felt as though I was just passing through life and not really living it. I felt like everything was "ho-hum". All of my senses were set to dull. Inside of me there was just this gnawing ache that there has got to be something more...not just "out there"...but "in here"...in my heart, in my soul, in my mind...

And then along comes Timothy.

Irreverent, Rebellious,Smart-Ass Timothy Leary espousing the Truth that all advancement in life is already in our very DNA. It dwells deep within the very marrow of our bones because we, as a species, were not meant to stand still...we were not meant to live lives of quiet desperation...we were meant to behold a world that burns and sparkles with Light.

People tend to think one is hallucinating when one sees vibrant colors, when everyday things seem to shine with a new brilliance, when even the song from a songbird feels like a musical triumph, but this is how life really is, boys and girls! We are hallucinating when we think that the world is dull and thick and leaden...we are hallucinating when we think that we are just these heavy clods of biodegradble clay that stalk the earth. We are here to discover...or should I say, uncover the paradise that is already within the invisible realms of the ancient mind that dwells within us and we in it.

Does this mean you have to take LSD in order to experience the jewelike radiance that all of life is made in and out of? Not neccessarily and I am not advocating that you do. What I am advocating is that you allow yourself to get enthused about life. Enthusiasm literally means to be filled with God. God wants to know Itself as you...as me...in each and every moment of creation.

Read Timothy Leary. Marvel at his excitement for life, join him in the mind & soul rebellion against flaccid governments and soul controlling religions and their warped politics and dissapointing creeds both of which are more than happy to think and decide for you, laugh in joyful relief that you are not a body with a soul, but you are a soul with a body,and be willing to stray from the pack of lemmings that's headed for the edge of the cliff only to drown in the shallow seas of mediocrity.

Open your eyes.
Open your mind.
Open your soul.
Open your heart.
Open this book and let the tingling in each of your 40 trillion cells remind you are here to do more than exist, you are here to LIVE and to LIVE WELL.

Peace & Blessings to this this place we call the world.

This work is a hallmark for questioning authority, pursuing individual freedom and happiness, and working to build a more enjoyable and enriched world. Lovers of liberty would be well-advised to study this work thoroughly, and then pass it along to the nearest religious extremist. It will surely get a reaction.

The book is very usefull for clinicians, it gives you real good tips about when a person is in real risk to comitt suicide. I think it's a great tool for clinical staff to have in treating people who suffer from any kind of mental health problem, as well as for students that are in training. It's wrriten very clear and it's easy to follow.

This book is very useful for mental health professionals. Even if you're not doing sucide assessment, per se, it's good to know what questions to ask, and how to ask them, of ALL clients!

The book is very well organized and well written. Although I've only read about half of it, I think I've learned a lot, and am looking forward to reading it to the end.

Dr. Shea shares great insights into the interview process for suicidal patients. Too often there is a reliance on demographic or symptomatic factors to determine suicidal risk. Dr. Shea convincingly brings us back to the realization that suicide is an individual choice and the risk of suicide can only be estimated by understanding the individual's thought processes regarding suicide. Theorectically sound and practical book.

This was an excellent guide to suicide assessment and I highly recommend this book to any mental health professional. Beyond that I think this book is valuable for any clinicial who may one day have to talk to somebody about suicide. Well written and organized.

I'm currently in school for addiction counseling and felt this book would be good to read. It is well written and easy to read, with a lot of good advice. As a counselor in preparation I know I will be having sessions with people who are experiencing suicidal ideation, & while I know this doesn't qualify a person to do suicide assessments it certainly gives a good method for drawing out as much information as possible. It makes me feel a little more comfortable about the job I am going to be doing.

This important, well written book reads like a crime novel. It is highly entertaining and gets scary, especially where Ms. Robinett describes the crime scene- I skipped that part first time through. Shocking that FGM was taking place so recently in the civilized" world, even more shocking that Male Genital Mutilation continues today. I recommend this book, it is an eye-opener.

This is a wonderful book by a courageous woman about a terrible sex crime committed against her when she was a child, and against many millions of others. She has come through the shock of the discovery of this sex crime with greater understanding and compassion for all of us, for we live in a country - the only one in the whole world - where the medical profession still today mutilates the healthy sex organs of the majority of male babies. Many ignorant people in this clueless, brainwashed, genitally mutilating culture believe that female genital mutilation - what "they" do over there - is an horrific sex crime, but that male genital mutilation - what "we" do here - is the best thing since sliced sex organs. Ms. Robinette suffers from no such delusional sexist hypocrisy. She knows that what sex the child happens to have been born is 100% irrelevant. What counts is whether the adults caring for the child know enough to respect the child's healthy sex organs and keep them fully intact. Sometimes this feat requires a fight, but as this book makes abundantly clear, it's a fight worth winning. Congratulations and thanks to Ms. Robinette. Her capacity to deal truthfully, compassionately, and productively with the permanently mutilative sex crime committed against her and millions of others is an inspiration.

Patricia tells her story honestly and truthfully, and having read it, I feel like I know her.
Patricia, you should be commended for the work you have done to end MGM and FGM. I hope that your book brings us a step closer to accomplishing this goal.

The Rape of Innocence is a very personal and moving true story. Patricia shares her deepest feelings with the reader. In addition to personal experience there is a wealth of insights and information. For example, one US insurance company was paying for removal of clitorises until 1977.

Such an honest look at the almost taboo topic of circumcision is recommended for anyone who has experienced it or who knows anyone who has and doubly so for prospective parents.

Here in America, for the past 100 years, there's been an on-going mutalation practice which was not talked about and was accepted without question. At last author Patricia Robinett has exposed this cruel and barbaric practice.

Herself, a victum, she has researched circumcision relentlessly in an effort better understand her own feelings and condition.

Robinett asks, "Why do men want women who don't want them? Why do men not want women who do want them? Why do men like women who ignore them, who treat them badly? Why do they resent the ones they have, who treat them well? And further she wonders, "Why do many men seem to be uncomfortable with affection unless it involves sex? Why are they reluctant to be friends with women unless there's the promise of sex?

She has found the answers and thoroughly discusses her findings in this very revealing text. At last the truth behind both male and female crcumcision is brought out in the open. This is a book that every parent should and must read.

I wish there were more stars to give this book! Its hilarious!... and I'm not even a smoker. Worth whatever money you pay for it (which isn't that much). Highly Recommended.

I smile every time I open this book. Max Brallier's wit paired with the great line drawings--priceless. I'm a nonsmoker...but there are some good arguments here, such as: "That new car smell." Who doesn't hate that?

Funny stuff! Great concept, perfectly executed. Brallier nails it. Perfect gift for smoker and ex-smokers, and should be enjoyed by anybody who knows, was, or is a smoker. Where's this book been all these years?!?!

saw this at barnes and noble yesterday, grabbed it on the way out. full disclosure: i'm not a smoker, but damn near all my friends are. gave it to one for his birthday, he cracked up - could completely identify. def. good gift for a smoker.

There's so much to this little book. No doubt the title will irk some people, but the more I think about it, the more I realize the author's surgical knife may be cutting both ways. The fact is, all smokers have "reasons to smoke," and many of these reasons stay sheltered deep inside their psyches. What Brallier does in 128 pages is expose them all. Well at least most of them. You can't stop flipping the pages because one reason makes you laugh, the next makes you think and the next annoys you. But eventually you'll hit a reason that stops you dead (sorry) in your tracks. Bonk - your secret reason to smoke has been knocked loose from its little hiding place and is lit up under the spotlight. This guy Brallier KNOWS why you smoke. And that's got to take some of the delicious allure out of your smelly habit. So all you priggish bloggers who are freaking out because there's a book out there called "Reasons to Smoke," well maybe Brallier is smarter than you! And by the way - two more "reasons" why this book is so cool: 1.) At $4.95 it's cheaper than a pack of smokes, and 2.) It's so small you can roll it up in your t-shirt sleeve and pretend you're Travolta in Grease.

It may seem trite to say but this book literally saved my life. After doing tons of research and making many telephone calls, this was the ONLY resource about addiction that covered the topic honestly, compassionately and COMPLETELY. It provided me with the clear, unbiased information I needed about addiction and recovery and helped me make an informed choice about treatment.

It was clear to me from the start that the authors have a very open minded approach, non-judgemental approach to addiction treatment that is unusual and very refreshing. They make it clear that there is no one "correct" way to deal with addiction. Instead they explore the pros and cons of all available treatment methods so that each reader can decide for him or herself, which course of action is appropriate.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who feels that they, a loved one or a friend might have an addiction problem and to anyone who wants honest, up to date information based on scientific research. The authors include many examples of real people (including themselves) which makes this book easy to read and relate to.

GLENVIEW, IL -- Addiction Treatment Forum (www.atforum.com) book review; Recovery Options: The Complete Guide; released June 16, 2000 (reviewed by S. Leavitt, PhD, editor, A.T. Forum) -- The 23 chapters and more than 300 pages of this new book by Joseph Volpicelli, MD, PhD and Maia Szalavitz provide a complete overview of psychoactive drugs of abuse and their effects, an in-depth look at the many ways to view alcoholism and other drug addictions, and a review of addiction treatment research, modalities, and pharmacotherapies.

Experienced addiction treatment staff at all levels will find this book to be an excellent review, along with some interesting updated perspectives. It definitely should be required reading for new staff members and trainees.

Volpicelli, associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania and senior research scientist at the University of Pennsylvania Addiction Treatment Research Center, was an initial investigator of naltrexone for the treatment of alcoholism. However, his outlook in this book is extremely well-balanced, without lobbying for any particular treatment approach as a "one size fits all" solution. In fact, the "Penn Paradigm," which he advocates, stresses that "it is what the patient considers important, not what the treatment program is pushing, that matters."

Szalavitz, an experienced and well-known journalist specializing in health, science, and drug policy, is savvy to the real world concerns and fears of patients and their loved ones. Her philosophy of treating addiction is "if it helps people, do it," and the underlying posture of the entire book is, "Patients given a menu of treatment options do significantly better than those who are simply told what to do."

Case studies and anecdotes, used liberally throughout, vividly illustrate important principles in the book and make for very interesting reading to hold one's interest. The book is obviously well researched and evidence based, although we would have preferred a more thorough referencing of the sources used.

Then again, the primary audience isn't researchers or healthcare professionals, as denoted by the book's subtitle: How You and Your Loved Ones Can Understand and Treat Alcohol and Other Drug Problems. Volpicelli writes that "to get the best care, patients themselves need to know what to look for -- because many professionals have too much of an attachment to their own ideas of what should work to take into account individual differences."

While that statement might perturb some professionals, most will agree with the authors that educated consumers of addiction treatment make the best patients. The one caveat is that this first-of-its-kind book exploring all treatment options may be challenging reading for some persons and getting the most from it would require a commitment to take more responsibility for one's own treatment success. It may not be for everyone but, as suggested earlier, one size needn't fit all; but this book could help many people.

Recovery Options: The Complete Guide (ISBN 0-471-34575-X, paperback, $15.95) is a Wiley book available at local bookstores or by calling 1-800-225-5945. In Canada, call 1-800-567-4797. Also available at www.amazon.com ($12.76 + shipping) and from other online booksellers.

This book has changed my life. I knew I needed help, but didn't really know what kind, where to go, who to see, etc. Dr. Volpicelli paves the way for anyone who has an addiction by presenting options that you might never know existed...options that might be right for you. If you think you need help with drug or alcohol abuse, GET THIS BOOK! He offers almost 100 different websites, books, resources etc. in an appendix that is detailed and comprehensive. Dr. Volpicelli and Maia Szalavitz present information and options to the reader with respect and dignity. The book is written in a way where you feel YOU have the ability to choose the treatment that would be right for you. They tell you how to choose treatment that would best match your needs, what criteria to look for, and what to expect as part of your recovery. I think that was the scariest part for me before I read this book...the fear of the unknown. After reading the book, and rereading certain chapters, I felt armed with the knowledge I needed to take that first step. If you're having a love/hate affair with an addiction, and want to get a grip, get this book. It may change your life. For the first time in 10 years I feel there is hope for me and I owe it all to Recovery Options: The Complete Guide.

Dr Volpicelli and Maia have put together a wonderful book, full of sound advice and unbiased information. Great for addicts, health-care workers, and just as importantly, friends and relatives of people with substance abuse problems. An absolute "must".

It's great to have straight talk about the whole range of recovery options available from one source, with a minimum of axe-grinding. People struggling with addictions and their friends and families will find this an invaluable resource. Personally I'm a bit more positive about 12 step and more skeptical of some of the alternatives than the authors, but what's important is that they're all in here and the authors make a serious attempt to evaluate them objectively. We all know someone who needs this book!

I am reading this book on the advice of my counselor. I checked it out of the library first because I didn't want to buy it if I didn't like it. When I found myself wanting to write in and highlight the passages of the library's copy, I knew I needed a copy of my own. The Resilient Self is singularly the most difficult book to read that I own. I read a chapter and put it down for a while. The thing that makes it difficult is that Dr. Wolin seems to see right through me. I think he was a fly on the wall at home in my family of origin. How could he possibly know what happened to me and how I feel about it unless he was there? I like the book because it tells me that it is not me that is flawed. I have strength and character of my own, something my counselor has been trying to tell me for five months. I also learned that there is no such thing as a perfect family. They all have troubles and challenges to overcome. We do the best we can with what we have. My advice: if you think your family of origin had problems, read this book.

The authors, Drs. Stephen and Sybil Wolin, a married team have compiled an amazing reference about overcoming the adversity of surviving with incompetent or deeply disturbed parents. They describe resilience as the capacity to channel your pain rather than exploding. It is rising above the adversity of growing up in a troubled family. The book is based on 26 survivors.

Not only is it based on survivors stories, an impressive amount of research has gone into this book. Plus, the appendix contains an informal assessment. The questions apply to your childhood and adulthood. It is called the Damage Inventory and evaluates how bad your self image was hurt by enduring a very troubled home.

I remain forever baffled by what cruel things parents do to children. But with that, it does happen and nothing is surprising anymore. The authors have created a circle graphic, a mandala that lists the resiliencies. An example is this:

The first would be Insight, or awareness; sensing something is different, to knowing extent of trouble, and into adulthood, where you understand.

The other is Independence: Straying away from the family chaos, to Disengaging, slowly parting from family, and into Separating from family, making a final choice to partially or completely separate from a hurtful family life.

Another example is Search for Love involves Connecting with available adults, Recruiting, as in enlisting friends, ministers, teachers, etc. and then, Attaching to those to form meaningful balanced relationships.

Every family needs to read this! Give it to parents so hopefully they can break a maddening chain!! Rizzo.

This was a tremendously helpful book! Steven and Sybil Wolin have done a remarkable job here. I could not believe how much they knew about how I was feeling. It was as if they where there doing therapy with me.

In the book, they discuss seven "Resiliencies" that survivors instinctively use to get through difficult childhoods. Then they use "reframing" to show you an amazing transition from "feeling damaged" to "Survivor's Pride". Extremely therapeutic!

Overall, this is an extremely effective self-help book, and it is an easy read. I would definitely recommend it to everyone who has had a rocky childhood.

I easily give this book five stars.

Although written several years ago, this remains a valuable book for anyone who has or is facing adversity. Interestingly, many of the ideas in the book, which were based on a great deal of clinical observation, have actually been born out by empirical research.

One of the least helpful ideas that entered the mainstream of pop psychology was the notion that we are robots who can be programmed to behave dysfunctionally by adverse life events. That simple notion missed the fact that many people who have had awful life experiences turn out just fine, and others who seemed to enjoy every advantage have developed enormous problems. The fact is that we are a composite of our genes and our life experiences. And the genes in the brain do not so much determine our behavior, as predispose us to how we react to the environment. There is also increasing evidence that mental states may impact gene expression. So positive thoughts and emotions may be able to overcome or ameliorate the impact of negative experiences. Enter the notion of resilience, which has a genetic component, but can also be learned.

This book revolves around the idea that triumph over adversity involves seven key components:
1. Insight
2. Independence
3. Robust relationships
4. Initiative
5. Creativity
6. Humor
7. Morality

Each chapter is loaded with evaluations and advice on strengthening these key characteristics.

The model deals only with psychological resilience, with a few nods toward physical and spiritual resilience.

Warmly recommended.

This is a wonderful, positive book which examines individuals from negative or deficient backgrounds and discovers their keys to success. The Wolin's work identifies strong traits and learned experiences which allow some people to beat the odds. Their chapters teach letting go of the negative, finding talents, skills, mentors and strength to become mature successful adults despite negative childhood or family influences. It is a positive book with a "get over it attitude" and explanations how. I find this book helpful as a SELF HELP book for struggles, useful as a clinician working with adults and adolescents and useful as a parent or mentor. Dr and Ms Wolin are also dynamic workshop presenters.