Alcoholism Books

The book reviews the newest treatments of a really complex disorder. It also has some of the most recognized experts that work with addiction. It helps you understand addiction and it is a great source to help addicts.

This book and DVD set were so informative and they help the person or persons that have an addict in their life understand the decisions that the addicts make.

This book was very informative and educational. I even earmarked a couple pages that I will reference in the future. Highly recommended for anyone who is looking to understand substance addiction, it's causes, effects and treatment options.

Highly recommended.

This book starts off with Al-Gore-type big lettering at the beginning, which I guess is supposed to subdue us into accepting its message. Next come CAT scans of brain slices, showing "addicts" on drugs. I guess this is designed to cull those of us who have never seen a CAT scan before into thinking that it means something or proves something. Next come a bunch of scare stories on addiction. The overall ideology of this book is that the human brain on drugs is "hijacked", and that once addicted, the addict is can't stop using. Not withstanding the "all or nothing" approach here, which obviously is wrong, the "hijacked brian" or "diseases brain" has already been refuted (for instance, read the book "One Nation Under Therapy", by two clinical psychologists, which totally refutes the "brain hijacked by drugs" theory.

This book is hugely disappointing, and does not reflect the current thinking on addiction. What it does reflect is the addiction treatment centers, which of course have a vested interest in making us believe that we can't quit substances without their expensive "treatment" plans. I find it interesting that people can't see beyond this in the U.S., that there is a pharmacological/medical/treatment complex. In short, let's face it, there is no money to be made if we all just stop using and don't need pharma products, $ 200-an hour therapy, and "in-patient treatment" centers.

Despite this, we all know people who quit various drugs, without "treatment".

To read the current thinking on addiction, see Miller of Univ. New Mexico and read up on Motivational Interviewing. This book is not, and I repeat, NOT up to date on current thinking in this field.

The reality is, millions of people have quit even the most serious addictions on their own, without expensive in-patient "treatment" or 12-step programs. In the U.S., we have allowed some people masquerading as "experts" to cull us into this ideology. It is time we start to say: the emperor has no clothes !

If possible, I need to order (1) copy of the old VHS Video cassette in "Addiction: Why Can't They Just Stop".

Please e-mail me if available.

Thank you for an opportunity to respond.

Bit of a tedious read. Mostly obvious. Very cautious and circumspect at times. It could be a feel good book for those afraid to enter the bleak world of abstinence but its not. Heather's new book might be titled: "Smoke one cigarette a day in relative safety".

Sometimes it seems like 12-step programs have taken over the world! Their adherents zealously insist that the 12 steps/AA is the ONLY way to cope with alcoholism. This book presents a welcome escape from the tyranny of 12 steppers. In a thoughtful, balanced way, the author reports that there really are other answers for alcoholics, answers that might suit some of them much better than abstainence programs do. She carefully examines all sides of the abstainence argument and details a variety of alternative programs. In addition to the very readable narrative, the book contains an extremely valuable appendix that describes more than a dozen different programs/organizations and gives contact information for each as well as a list of therapists who offer moderation training.

This relatively recent compilation of treatment methods for alcoholism is a well-researched summary of alternatives to the popular AA-style abstinence method. The book has an agenda, as will any work on this subject--Ogilvie asks why, in a world where medical treatments are increasingly being tailored to fit the individual, treatment methods for alcoholism other than complete abstinence are so controversial. A very useful resource.

I liked this book because it describes different options than the only one I knew about before I read the book -- Alcoholics Anonymous. As a person who is not particularly religious, the idea of giving up drinking completely AND beginning a new religion at the same time was never going to happen. Now I have some ideas to help me try to cut back, and see if that will work for me. If not, maybe I'll try one of the other groups mentioned in the book. Easy to read, too! Also liked all the web addresses for help and research.

I liked this book because it describes different options than the only one I knew about before I read the book -- Alcoholics Anonymous. As a person who is not particularly religious, the idea of giving up drinking completely AND beginning a new religion at the same time was never going to happen. Now I have some ideas to help me try to cut back, and see if that will work for me. If not, maybe I'll try one of the other groups mentioned in the book. Easy to read, too! Also liked all the web addresses for help and research.

Dr. Perkinson works with a number of people I know in the Christian treatment arena. And his book lays out some fundamental senses-knowledge rules of the road for counselors of all beliefs. But I yearn for much more willingness to avoid misleading talk about a "higher power," "God as you understand Him," and similar compromise language.God and Alcoholism: Our Growing Opportunity in the 21st Century. The "higher power" approach has led to the downward plunge to the thought that you can make the AA group your higher power. But what is a higher power? It's not the Creator. It's not the Highest Power--Almighty God.Turning Point: A History of Early A.A.'s Spiritual Roots and Successes. So too the approach has encouraged sick people, new to recovery, to "create a god" of their own understanding. A New Way In: Reaching the Heart of a Child of God in Recovery with His Own, Powerful, Historical Roots. What is such a fabricated deity? It's not the God of our fathers of whom Bill Wilson spoke.The Conversion of Bill W.: More on the Creator's Role in Early A.A.. Straight shooting even by counselors with diverse client populations is important. If they are talking to Christians, they need to have the Ten Commandments in mind--no other Gods before me. They need to have Jesus' teaching that no one comes to the Father but by him. They need to desist from trying to pacify people of all faiths by suggesting surrender to the no faith approach of today--your higher power can be a light bulb, a radiator, Something, Somebody, Santa Clause, or nothing at all.When Early AAs Were Cured and Why, Third Edition. I am as supportive of trained and training counselors as the next person concerned about alcoholism, addiction, and substance abuse. But counselors need to know A.A. history. They need to know that early A.A. was a Christian Fellowship. The need to know that belief in the Creator was required. And they need to know the success rate of the pioneers was 75% and later 93% in Cleveland. They should not salt the source with substitute seasonings just to appeal to people of other persuasions. Congratulations to the author for his research and experience. Let's demand, as well, that accurate history be made a part of any such guide and any such approach.Introduction to the Sources and Founding of Alcoholics Anonymous There's nothing to fear from facts. The truth can "make" you free. Very possibly author-practitioners should identify themselves as believers or secular protagonists. If they are believers, they should have no problem pointing out that belief in the power of God has been a time-honored approach to cure for centuries and centuries. God Bless, Dick B.

I bought this for an addictions class I took as part of my masters, and found it to be very helpful. I strongly recommend it.

This book is a must for every clinician working in the field. I use the material working with both adult and adolescent clients. The concepts are written in a manner which make it appropriate for any group/individual regardless of age, sex, education level, or ethnic background. The Spirituality exercises are the best I have ever seen.

This book teaches addiction counselors exactly what to do in treatment. It leaves no stone unturned and covers everything a counselor needs to know to offer the best treatment in the world. Besides the book makes you feel good about yourself. All of the major treatment centers in the US had a part in making this book great. At every center this book is within arms reach of every good counselor in the building. All counselors should have this book and use it often. I am a clinical director and I give it to all of my new counselors--they love it.

I teach this college course to new counselors. By the time they are through with this treatment manual they really know what they are doing. Everything a counselor needs to know is covered. The book is informative, meticulously researched and fun. It makes students feel good about themselves. It is the simply best text in the business. I highly recommend this book.

A serious dissertation on early gin history in England and its social and economic impact on English society in the beginings of the industrial age.

This book traces gin (actually Dutch Genever) which was brought back by the British troops who discovered it in Holland, through its heyday in the 18th-century in England and beyond. Almost no aspect of the social, political, or economic facets of the substance is left unexamined. A bit long-winded for a casual read, but an excellent reference on both gin and drug policy for the crazed scholars of either.

Interested in all things 18th Century England, I thought this written reflection on the subject that impelled Hogarth to draw his famous "Gin Lane" obviously worth the read. And while Ms. Warner has a very appealing writing style, and the work appears well-researched, it is less a social history of the "Gin Craze" than a legislative history of the eight measures enacted by the British Parliament between 1729 and 1751 to put a stop to it. Poli Sci majors might love it; social history buffs should look elsewhere.

While reading most of this book, I felt it was a good analysis of the impact of gin on this culture. However, I believe the conclusions in the last 20 pages are wildly simplistic and badly supported.

Warner's book is a fascinating study of how politics, drugs and society intertwined in 18th century England to create the first known "drug menace." Written in a casual, conversational style, "Craze" describes the fifty-year-long, escalating relationship between the introduction of gin in 1720, the deleterious effects upon the people who abused it, and the politicians who then demonized it. Each successive "gin law" ensured that some would profit from the taxation and regulation of Mother Geneva, while at the same time gaining political capital from the prosecution of demon alcohol. Warner also describes the parallels between past and present, especially those presented as "victims" of drug wars -- the unwed mother, the unemployable addict -- whose problems lay far outside the realm of the political or the ability to be helped by these laws. An essential book to the understanding of how drugs affect the individual and society at large.

I really wanted to like this book. The author exhibits some very fine scholarly research, but I don't agree with many of her conclusions. Of course a lot of social organization is based on preserving the power structure of those "on top" and the cyncism in her conclusions is manifest, especially regarding the morality of the clergy in the time period involved, even when they are popular among their own parishoners.

However, the most troubling and I think erroneous data the author displays, is her projection of the past data (and her own conclusions regarding social structures and morality) onto a modern framework. She even states that reported comments from modern addicts like "drugs are better than sex" is nothing but sensationalised classist alarmism. Nothing in my opinion could be further from the truth. I know addicts that have made just that claim regarding several drugs, and they meant what they said. To have this author, claim that such statements are in any way sensationalized is very indicative of an agenda, at least in my opinion.

To summarize, the author exhibits excellent scholarly skills in relation to 18th century London's history, but poor conclusions, especially regarding applicability to social phenomena in modern times.

Elizabeth and Connor break up,so does Ken and Maria,Will and Melissa,who does Melissa chase after? Ken,What a Witch with a capital b,Melissa is the one who spread rumors that Jessica was a S*ut and stole her 2 best friends, Amy Sutton and Lila Fowler ,or turned them against her. Connor starts drinking,While his Mother Mrs. Sandborne is in a Rehab center,She is a recovering alcoholic.

Usually this book is about Elizabeth, worried about Conner and having some kind of feelings for Evan...
While single Jessica wants Evan and wants Liz to stop cheating on Conner and not liking Evan instead. But I say that Miss Jessica has to stop being ALL jealous of everyone that wants someone that she has to like.
She should mind her own business, in fact. In this book, I actually feel sorry for Melissa. It is a good thing that she starts to "move on" without Will. Conner finally apologizes to Tia and Elizabeth. Which I thought it was loyal of him.
Evan and Liz should be a couple. Well, because he's a fun, smart, and a humorous perosn to hang with. If I were Liz, I would go for it. Maybe he has long hair and all, but I think that they would be a great couple.
But Conner was never the kind of guy that would give Liz comfort and a lot of funtime with him. I'm actually surprised that Melissa goes to the dance with Ken. But I say that Ken should back together with Maria. Until she's not crabby or anything to him.
Oh, and Tia and Liz finally make up. Andy has to improve his grades with going to college and all. SO this book was okay.
Now, this is what I would give to the main characters in this book with their attitude and all.

Jessica: 3 stars/out of 5
Elizabeth:4/5
Evan: 5/5
Conner: 4/5
Andy: 5/5
Melissa: 4/5
Will: 1/5 LOL
Ken: 4/5

So in my opinion, I think that of their act in this book. So read this book. If you want to.

Although Conner McDermott now has total freedom and a father who buys him alcohol, he still isn't happy. It's not until he ends up in the hospital due to alcohol poisoning that he "see the light" and returns home, agreeing to enter rehab. But first he breaks up with Elizabeth Wakefield, which allows the inevitable to happen: Liz and Evan Plummer hook up.

Meanwhile, Melissa Fox and Will Simmons are back in the plot loop again, though there's not much to tell. Will's still at home moping after his big football injury that lost him everything-his football position, scholarship, and girlfriend, who is now falling for Will's replacement and Maria Slater's ex: Ken Matthews.

Overall, I thought "Falling Apart" was a lukewarm book. There were some interesting moments, as I've mentioned above, but nothing earth-shattering. Even Conner and Liz's break up wasn't that big of a deal; it was long overdue, in my opinion. Worth mentioning, though, is Andy Marsden's humorous list on page 165 in regard to the homecoming dance that even he attends.

Oh my gosh!! FINALLY Conner wakes up! It's about time! I cried so hard when I read them breaking up... sorry, yes, they break up! That whole Liz and Evan thing is [***]! Liz is in love with Conner, even though he hurt her, and if that's not enough, SHE BROKE UP WITH HIM A FEW DAYS AGO! come on, Liz! Wake up! That whole thing in the end about jess being [mad] at jeremy because he was visualing dancing w/ jess was soo funny! "jeremy looks happy. da[r]n." that was great. overall, this book was sad but good!

This book was pretty good but the not best SVHSY.The best part about it was when you realised that Jeremy and Jessica(the perfect couple)might get together again.All because Jade gave Jeremy this really soppy card while Jeremy gave her this just friends one.Jade begins to flirt again because she doesn't want Jeremy to feel sorry for her.
Conner's off living with his dad and enjoying his total freedom until he goes overboard with the alcohol and ends up in hospital.Will he admit he has a problem?This question is answered in the book.Also Andy has to start getting serious about his future.It's college application time and Andy's grades are not that good.Will he be able to get into college?This might seem a bit vague but I don't want to spoil anything major.You don't actually find out if he gets accepted or anything but you do find out how he tries to get into a good college.
The other storyline which the book is supposed to be centered around is that since Conner took off Elizabeth has been taking comfort in the friendship of Evan Plummer.But does she want it to become something more?Also Jessica wanted Evan to take her to the homecoming dance but since he's going with Liz that's not possible.So Jessica is ignoring Elizabeth and trying to make her feel guilty.
I like this book because it is a fairly easy read and the diary bits between chapters are interesting to haer the characters point of view.This book may not be the best but it's important because many plot lines get started i.e.Jessica or Jade?Elizabeth with Evan?Ken and Melissa?Will Andy get into college?
If these sound interesting go out and find a copy of this book.
Happy reading!!

For those who struggle with the effects of an abusive home environment, Cherie Burbach's book may provide hope and solace. Burbach, the daughter of an abusive, alcoholic father who ultimately took his own life, chronicles her journey through despair to Christian faith, from struggle to search to surrender to embrace --- the embrace, that is, of God the Father's love. The poems are honest, accessible, and cathartic, no doubt, for Burbach as well as others who may share her experience.

That being said, I have to say, with Garrison Keillor, that "[s]elf-expression is not the point of it, people!" In a funny and yet insightful article a number of years ago in The Atlantic Monthly entitled "The Poetry Judge," Keillor makes the pithy observation that "[e]xperience becomes literature when it no longer matters to the reader whether the story is true or not." He's right. Good poems are the ones that bring pleasure in the reading -- so much pleasure that you might just read them to the person sitting next to you. Writers and readers of poetry love the sight and sound of language; meaning and content must be carried along by such words.

The sense I have in reading Father's Eyes is that I am peering into Burbach's journal. When I read "I am the guilt of my father's illness/ I am the burden of his death/ I am evidence of his addiction," I am sympathetic. But because I do not share her experience, I must decide whether to read the poems because I love the writing, and I can't say that I do. I encourage her to use more concrete, particular images, to write about a wider array of topics, and to drop the personal pronoun. For someone who loves writing, I suspect there are good poems to be written and, ultimately, she will write them.

In easy to read poetry, Cherie Burbach discloses her journey of self-discovery. Her poetry provides an insight into the journey we all travel to find who we are and who we want to be in life. At times uncomfortably familiar, at others entirely foreign, Father's Eyes will engross the reader. Although Burbach found her salvation and the strength to accept and finally to be herself through religion, anyone who has struggled with a past beyond their control can relate to the pain, struggle, and ultimate strength found within these poems. Their honesty is heart breaking and yet hopeful. Emotional without being overly sentimental, Father's Eyes is filled with poetry to touch the soul.

Reviewed by Richard R. Blake for Reader Views (8/07)

"Father's Eyes" is the story of Cherie Burbach's personal journey. It is a story of self-doubt, anger, isolation, and pain written in a poetic form. While grieving the loss of her father, as a result of suicide, Cherie writes of her feelings. She felt guilt for his illness and addiction, even as she faced the burden of his death.

As a child and young adult, Cherie struggled with the experience of living in an atmosphere of verbal and emotional abuse. Cherie was driven to live up to her alcoholic father's expectations. Nothing she did would please him or bring a word of praise. Her longing for love was rewarded with loneliness.

Cherie's poems are sensitive and insightful. They are flowing and rhythmic in style. These are deeply-thoughtful poems. Although elegiac in nature, the poems reveal a God- given spirit that keeps Cherie going in her search for love. Unbroken by the experience, she tells of healing as she discovered strength through God's never ending grace.

In the poem titled "Read the Label." Cherie relates another forward step in her surrender:
"I read the label, passionate and honest I'll take it. I said in fact, I'll wear it out of the store. I handed the clerk my old skirt and told her I didn't want it anymore. As I walked out I looked at the mirror one more time, and smiled."

The poems bring to light Cherie's growth and transformation from a woman of despair to a woman full of hope. She relates how she was able to accept forgiveness and guidance as she embraced life as a child of God.

While offering hope and comfort to those who have experienced similar abusive family relationships, there is a universal commonality that will touch the heart of all readers, allowing them to both identify and empathize with those grieving who need comfort and those downhearted who need encouragement.

Cherie has a demonstrated a remarkable gift of poetic expression in this haunting and promising account of her life journey, "Father's Eyes."

Genre: Poetry
Title: Father's Eyes
Author: Cherie Burbach
My first impression was that this is strictly Christian poetry, however the work contained in Father's Eyes will appeal to a much larger audience regardless of religious persuasion. That said, I must state that the poetry tells the story of a young child's evolution from verbally abused victim to strong adult Christian woman. Anyone that has experienced alcoholism and childhood abuse, whether physical or emotional will identify with this work. The poetry of Cherie Burbach reminded me of T.S. Elliot's, Journey of the Magi, an intensely reflective poem, with a special resonance for those who have found their path to Christianity the hard way. Father's Eyes however is written in a more colloquial voice throughout.
More than 50 poems set in 4 vignette style chapters, tell the story of one young woman's life. We begin in Chapter one, The Struggle. I Am, a poignant cry from a child of an alcoholic says it all:
I am the guilt of my father's illness
I am the burden of his death
I am evidence of his addiction......
And in How Far, we see the cruelty in the father's words and how they cut to the quick of the child's self esteem:
How far the distance
Between the heart and themind?
How far to erase
Those words so unkind?...
Chapter two, The Search is filled with emotion as the child struggles to understand the cruelty in the words. In You Said:
You said
I was lazy and stupid
I wouldn't amount to much
The third Chapter deals with The Surrender, followed by The Embrace as the self-destructive young person, grows to embrace God's love. The final poem, Father's Eyes ends:
In the Father's Eyes
I'm His child
His delight
He wants me here
And I belong.

The signature and final poem, Father's Eyes is indeed the most profound and emotional of all of the work. A brilliant summation of the life, the struggle, and the final enlightened acceptance as one of God's children. Poet, Burbach has the multifaceted ability, of actually playing the poems off of one another. Too often readers find poetry collections wherein no thought is paid to juxtaposition. Father's Eyes is laid out sequentially to tell a story and tell a story it does, with such heartwrenching emotion readers will be haunted long after closing the book.
Kudos to the poet, Cherie Burbach. Highly recommended by reviewer: Shirley Roe, Allbooks Review.

The first thing I thought when I picked up Cherie Burbach's collection of poetry "Father's Eyes" was... "Wow, we have a lot in common."

We were both raised in homes with a father who was an alcoholic. Her father-daughter relationship ended abruptly, in tragedy. Mine continues to grow and flourish, now that the years of "being a non drinking alcoholic" outnumber his years as a "drunk alcoholic".

We have both struggled with identity, with body issues, with learning to show up authentically - and we both have a spiritual base upon which to grow, breathe, and find out way. The Christian perspective that fills the poetry is from an open, grateful, non-preachy way which will be appreciated by all readers no-matter whether they are Christian or not. (I say this as someone who is easily turned off by what I call "Christian-ese.")

Burbach shares her poetry in four different sections: The Struggle, The Search, The Surrender, The Embrace. Traveling through the sections is a mirror to traveling alongside Burbach as she tells her life story. Their are subtle shifts in her voice and tone as she awakens to truth.

From "The Struggle" her poem "How Far"is one I literally feel within my skin. It can almost be sung, in a child-like way. IN "The Search" "Every October 6" is exceptionally poignant and "I Looked in the Mirror" ends with such a stunning "a-ha" I wanted to applaud Burbach right in that moment in time.

"The SUrrender" includes "Read the Label" - almost a lengthy confessional process, very honest and passionate - and "The Story of Me" a universal longing recognized.

In the victorious section, "The Embrace" I especially appreciate the poem-book-ends of "I Was a POet" and "Father's Eyes" AND there is not a poem in there that should be skipped over.

These poems could be used as daily readings, one a day - for reflection and introspection.

Burbach invites me into each poem - takes my hand - shares her life and her story with me, and in turn, I connect my life with hers. I will read these poems over and over again.

Through well-known lives in politics and art, Graham demontrates alcoholism is a disease creating disaster for both abusers and victims. He fairly convincingly paints alcoholism not as a symptom but a cause of physical and psychic pain. Graham intimates but does not state the obvious collarary that the patient is morally obligated to seek help. Great work for a layman but I wish he had consulted/cowritten with a psychiatrist.

While I don't expect any history book to heap praise on alcoholics, this book goes overboard in heaping hatred and contempt on them. I generally expect a history book to be written in a disinterested voice, this is not so unbiased. If you are concerned about your own drinking, the information here may convince you to quit. A word of caution, though...if you ever considered youself as having an alcohol problem, the author will try to convince you that abstaining will only PROVE that you are an alcoholic. In order NOT to be an alcoholic, you MUST drink some, but not too much. That, to me, is like telling a cigarette smoker that he/she cannot quit altogether, because that would make you a smoker(!).

Entertaining, but don't read it as gospel.

I just left my alcoholic husband after 6 years. I sought out and
read many books on the subject to try and understand the alcoholic's behavior. This book was by far superior to any other
in describing the alcoholic's Dr. Jekyl & Mr. Hyde personality.
My family & friends could not believe it when I told them about
how I was treated and the emotional abuse I endured.My husband
was an accomplished "con artist", knew when to lay on the charm.
As I was reading this book, I swore the author knew my husband.
It was him to a tee. I felt validated, it wasn't me that was
crazy after all. I never realized how an alcoholic can destroy
not only his or her own life, but those closest to them as well.

I must have forgotten that I'd written a review a couple of years earlier, and somehow didn't notice the duplication. I wrote this near the publication of my first book on the subject, Drunks, Drugs & Debits: How to Recognize Addicts and Avoid Financial Abuse. My review is woefully understated and didn't begin to describe how crucial it was in the evolution of my thinking. Perhaps it's because paradigm shifts in thinking take time to digest. With this in mind, here's what I wrote way back in mid-2000:

This is a phenomenally interesting work. James Graham describes the role of ego inflation in explaining behaviors in the alcoholic, something that nobody else had done before. This is extremely important, because it provides what is sometimes the only clue to alcohol addiction in the early stages of the disease-a massively inflated ego. This often results in extraordinary over achievement, even while the personal life is a shambles.

Combined with Milam and Ketcham's essential work, "Under the Influence," ego-inflation explains how the early-stage addict is often so "functional" and yet, so destructive of others. Brain poisoning occurs immediately in many cases, resulting in this other-destruction. Yet, the toll on the body can take decades, making alcoholism at this stage almost invisible to the casual observer. Most think of addicts on the street, or the obvious, stumbling drunk. This is not when they are most dangerous. Their behaviors are frequently far worse when they can build up to a .20 per cent blood alcohol level without visible signs of inebriation. While Milam and Ketcham describe the biology behind this, Graham looks at the resulting behaviors, explaining much of the troubles in people's personal and professional lives, current events and even world history.

Graham's work is one of the great, unheralded books on addiction. Highly recommended.

Anyone who has been romantically involved with an alcoholic or has an alcoholic family member owes it to themselves to read this book. While Graham focuses on famous despots, tyrants, and celebrities, the same attributes are in some degree present in your basic everyday non-famous alcoholic friend, neighbor or lover. If you love an alcoholic you must understand this. Graham points out the dangerous combination of the alcoholics charm, deception, denial and obsession with looking functional and the tendency to underdiagnose the disease. This underdiagnosis, as Graham points out, is partly due to a bias of society resulting from the ability of most people to drink alcohol without becoming an alcoholic as well as not understanding the differences between highly functional early and middle stage alcoholics and late stage lushes and winos. After reading this book I could understand what the relationsip and marriage counselors were saying about the dangers of loving an alcoholic. Alcoholics are experts at deception and manipulation, they have shallow or stunted emotional growth, they are unable to express themselves honestly and directly, and they can tell you they love you while not caring about you at all. Although they may not become a famous writer, actor, senator or spy, they will become a highly successful con artist and if you are unaware of these traits, you could easily become their victim.

I have not yet completed reading this book but find I can only absorb a small amount at one time and some of the concepts are way over my head. This would probably be a better read for someone who has been or is currently a member of AA.

This is an excellent book. It is full of highlights and dog-eared pages for me to go back to.

This book was the next logical step in the pursuit of long term recovery and the work necessary for the individuals seeking a deeper understanding of alcoholism and it's relation to daily living once sobriety is underway. Dr Paul O. sights many additioinal resources that the reader may find helpful and enlightening for their own personal journey. Many of us will realize in a very short period of time that there IS more to quitting drinking than just the physical aspects of being sober or not taking that next drink. You will find that here.

This book clearly explains the sickness of alchoholism and how to deal with someone who suffers from this disease. It assisted me in making some very important decisions and changes in my life.

I think it would be good supplemental reading for folks early into their recovery. It's OK reading for old timers.

Clear readable practical education and guidance on dealing with your or your loved one's addiction. Covers all the most important treatment approaches without moralizing and helps you choose what is most helpful or appropriate to your situation. I have already recommended to two patients who both found it tremendously helpful.

I can't recommend this book too highly. I have been working in this field for years and have searched for a book that would not turn off people struggling to come to terms with addictive problems. This book is easy to read, concise and presented in a manner that invites the reader to stay with the material. In addition to giving great information on the biology of addiction, it is full of excellent suggestions on how to practically go about attacking the problem. And it is optomistic! So important when someone feels overwhelmed by the problem and has struggled, often unsuccessfully, to change behaviors that are self-defeating. I would also advise relatives and friends of addictive persons to use this book to help them cope better with this issue and to find hope.

I've been waiting years for this book! As a physician I see many patients with addiction problems, yet I've never had a truly "user-friendly" book to recommend to the average reader. Now I do! This book is easy to read, it's concise, and it covers virtually all the important addiction topics in its well organized 20 chapters. The topics are covered in a sensitive, heart-felt manner while delivering critical information. It is obvious that Shaw, Ritvo, and Irvine know their topic and have empathy for clients and friends plagued by addictions. If you want to feel respected by the authors of the book you read, this is a good book. Even if you're struggling with an addiction, yourself, I can't imagine feeling 'talked down'. As they say, addiction can happen to anyone - no matter how strong or strong-minded.

The title of this series always turns me off--so formulaic and usually simplistic. But this book is different! The format is simple and the material is presented in the clear, crisp and easily readable style typical of this series but this book is also truly wise, practical and compassionate in its approach. There is up-to-date information on medications, the physiology of addiction, treatments and groups that can offer support to the addicted person and plenty of practical advice for those on the sidelines (family, friends, spouses) who want to help but don't understand the problem. The book makes practical suggestions for treatments/groups that can help, how to deal with relapse cravings and moving forward in life without relying on an ultimately self-destructive habit. I have 30 years of experience as a therapist and this is one of the few selp-help books that I respect. I plan to give it to my clients and to recommend it to colleagues. Buy it---you won't be disappointed!

Save your money and don't buy this book. An hour watching Opra will provide more information than you'll ever find on the pages of this lightweight text. There are far better books available for people looking to overcome their addiction, as well as loved ones seeking a better understanding of addictions.

This is an entertaining and very readable book. Some tend to recoil from the word "history" in A.A. But most, like myself, like a good story. And a well-told history story is just as appealing as a drunkalog. Dick begins the tale with the Russell Firestone story, Jim Newton's important catalytic role in life-changing recovery ideas, the famous 1933 Oxford Group meetings in Akron, and the way Akron's Christian Fellowship developed from those roots. There is no lack of discussion and depiction of the important personages in the Akron scene--Bill Wilson, Dr. Bob Smith, Anne Ripley Smith, Henrietta Seiberling, Dr. Walter Tunks, Rev. Wright, other pioneers and what they gave to the original A.A. program and its ideas. I found the book very appealing to me as one much involved in recovery work, a person deeply participating in Bible research and history, and a former VMI student and Marine who has a taste for history. Especially when the history demonstrates the potential for victory. There are some who have wondered why the book stops in 1939. But its scope was to cover the "Akron Genesis"--the early beginnings that transpired primarily between 1935 and 1938 and produced such highly successful results. There are other works which cover Rev. Sam Shoemaker,the Oxford Group, New Thought, Father Dowling, Sister Ignatia, Clarence Snyder, and some of the other luminaries of the 1940's. This book is for those who want an accurate and complete picture of the original A.A. program--the one that had a documented 75% success rate among real alcoholics who wanted to get well by relying on God.

Under the guise of "AA History" the writer attempts to bend AA to fit an Evangelical Christian agenda: its his position that "true" recovery is only possible if the alcoholic converts to the writer's version of Christianity...

Not only is this exclusivist revisionism in direct conflict with AA World Service sanctioned histories, it is an assault on the Big Book itself. This is the kind of (truly anti-Christian) stuff that kills drunks.

Dick B. had barely begun his extensive research and publishing on A.A. history before he realized the real hole in A.A. history centered around the total lack of information about the origins, program, and people involved in the Akron A.A. Fellowship. Dick went to Akron, searched the newspapers, interviewed Dr. Bob's daughter and later his son. He spent hours with Congressman Seiberling and later with T. Henry Williams's daughter as well as many Oxford Group and A.A. activists who were knowledgeable of A.A. Bible roots in Akron. These included Rev. T. Willard Hunter, the venerable Mel B., Ray G., the archivist at Dr. Bob's Home, the Clarence Snyder crowd, the Shoemaker family, and many others. The resultant work in this book has become timeless in importance. It has been printed by more than one publisher. It has had several editions. And it is still much in demand. Fortunately, it told the truth. Hence the many additional facts about Dr. Bob, Anne, Henrietta, the Akron AA fellowship, the AA Akron pamphlets, the literature AAs read have served to embellish and enrich The Akron Genesis story rather than contradict it or diminish the value of its contents. Don't miss this book. It is foundational to the understanding of how A.A. really began--in Akron.

After 29yrs of reading different books this provided me with a wealth of information of how and were it all begain.

Most members of Alcoholics Anonymous believe that their program of recovery began with the Twelve Steps. Not true. Many believe that the majority of the pioneer members of AA died drunk. Not so. Still many others believe that AA is at least as successful today as it ever was, and maybe even more successful. Sadly, nothing could be further from the truth.

Today's mainstream "histories" of AA contain the usual generalizations of purported "facts" about its formative years. They follow the lead of New York co-founder Bill Wilson and his woefully inaccurate description of this period as one of "flying blind." One recently published book by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. suggests, "They were still a little unsure and afraid of this `thing' they had found, still groping for clear guidelines, still largely uneducated about their alcoholism." Yet in 1948 AA co-founder Dr. Bob Smith recalled, "...in early AA days, we became quite convinced that the spiritual program was fine." This should signal the observers to conclude that maybe we haven't been properly educated about our own history.

The Akron Genesis of Alcoholics Anonymous magnificently encapsulates the actual details behind the earliest years of Alcoholics Anonymous and its program of recovery, including its root sources and their practical applications, as led in Akron, Ohio by Dr. Bob Smith. The reader will learn of the vital ingredients of the pioneer program, including: permanent abstinence, complete surrender to God through His only son Jesus Christ, the removal of sins such as hatred and adultery, morning Quiet Time [including reading of the Bible and other religious devotionals], helping other alcoholics, forming social and religious comradeships, and church attendance. This book also introduces the reader to the key people who helped to influence the course of early Alcoholics Anonymous, including early Oxford Group members like James Newton, Russell Firestone, T. Henry and Clarace Williams, Henrietta Seiberling, and perhaps the most overlooked figure in AA history, Anne Ripley Smith, the wife of Dr. Bob.

Many revisionist historians are content to say that the Akron influence effectively ended in 1939 with the publication of AA's Big Book. And yet it was the Midwest AA that first commanded the national attention if the media. It was Akron's program that was noticed by philanthropist John D. Rockefeller. It was the Akron formula that produced a 75% success rate for "medically incurable" alcoholics who "really tried." Recently AA's General Service Office concluded that today's fellowship is experiencing a 95% dropout rate for first year members. Maybe there is something in this book that we can all learn from. In an era when an increasing number of individuals are seeking an answer to their problems, it would make sense to start at the beginning. The Akron Genesis of Alcoholics Anonymous should be the first book on their list.