Quitting Books

This book provides some information and a vague guideline on the treatment of addiction; good as a self help tool for individuals.

The workbook allows one to view his/her compulsion to drink and/or use drugs from multiple perspectives, to better realize the consequences and to make a reasoned choice about whether or not to embrace sobriety. It then gently guides one into early recovery, giving tips and support for making important changes in life so as not to return to alcohol and/or drugs. Fanning writes in short, clear sentences so that the book is very easy to understand, and shows great compassion for those who are burdened by the terrible compulsion that is addiction.

Bought it for my grown son...along with AA, prof. treatment, the workbook has been a good support for him.

This book has the basis information a person needs to quit their addiction. Is the same basic principles that rehabilitation programs used. Except that in the rehab you have a team a people that help you and the AA/NA meetings are all day.

So, I read a review of this book in the WSJ and ordered my own copy. From Amazon. Using Prime! I am Jewish person and I attend synagogue, yet the book concept still piqued my interest, due to the many commonalities I was able to find.

Overall, Quitting Church is an easy read. It's less than 200 pages, the author avoids the use of big words (thank you!) and the content is captivating.

In general, though the author cites numerous other books/articles that address a similar theme, people are leaving the Church, it was the first time I had heard about it.

Some of the issues discussed:
- worshipers in mega-churches often feel the service to be impersonal
- singles, especially women, feel out of place in Church
- dearth of sermons; many pastors relying on sermons found on the web
- unanswered prayers and the ramifications

In Judaism, from what I've encountered, there's no such problem as "Quitting Church". For one, Jews go to synagogue and not Church. On a more serious note; Judaism does not have enough people, percentage wise and number wise, attending synagogue in the first place, to experience the sort of epidemic of people quitting!

The Jewish religion has yet to experience their equivalent of the "Jesus Years" of the 1960's/1970's that Duin frequently mentions in her book. No doubt Judaism is seeing a nice revival, but it certainly is not on the same level, even quantitative, as the Jesus years.

In terms of looking at the core problems described in Quitting Church, from a Jewish perspective, most Jews I know wouldn't relate and if anything, would see the issues in reverse:

- many "shuls" or synagogues are too small!
- most synagogues will be pro-active in setting up the singles (Duin actually references a JCC in this regards)
- many congregants would prefer shorter speeches
- lots of Jews, especially agnostic ones, have very low expectations when it comes to their prayers being answered.

Very poignant book! Different from Barna's 'rant,' in that Julia doesn't say that all is lost regarding the future of the "organized" church. Her observations are clear, compelling, and at times, disturbing, but her 'bottom line' is that people need to be cared for (pastored). Pastors and Church leaders would do well to read this volume!

This book does capture the causes of the epidemic of people quitting their Evangelical churches in America. It is a very quick read, yet could have been even shorter. I give only four stars because not much is offered in the way of solutions (most of which are summed up in one paragraph on the second-to-last page). What Duin likes is the bonding and participation of "house churches" and the sense of community and mutual service found in close-knit neighborhood churches. She would like to see churches that ask more of you, but also give more in return.

Well, as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I cannot help but mention that my church has satisfying answers to all the issues that occupy Duin. The Mormon antidote screams out silently from every single page, and I am truly surprised that this long-time religion reporter has apparently failed to recognize this. From a feeling of community (built on geographically organized congregations or "wards") to a comprehensive theology, from a lay clergy in touch with local church members to a smoothly functioning organizational model, from providing important work for all members (including women and youth) to participatory Sunday meetings in which members take the pulpit, the LDS church provides all the solutions that Duin seeks. Yet despite her passing admiration for early-morning scripture classes for high-school students (what we call "seminary"), gained during a reporting assignment, Duin fails to dig deeper to discover all the other ways that the LDS church is thriving in exactly those areas she identifies as necessary to prevent church fleeing. By taking a closer look, she would discover what she would call "a decent church".

Thus, while I understand that most readers do not share my faith, and I am certainly not trying to impose it on anyone, there are transferable lessons for Evangelicals to be gleaned by inquiring earnestly about the LDS approach to running a church (which we believe is headed by Jesus Christ), instead of reflexively dismissing it.

Sunday Morning, Staying Home
By TERRY EASTLAND
September 2, 2008; Page A21

Quitting Church
By Julia Duin
(BakerBooks, 186 pages, $17.99)
[Sunday Morning, Staying Home]

By now we know that evangelical Protestants -- generally supportive of Republican candidates but eagerly courted by Democrats this year -- are a crucial voting bloc in the November election. Thus it was big news when Rick Warren, the evangelical megachurch pastor, recently asked both John McCain and Barack Obama about their religious beliefs, in part to address the concerns of church-going "value voters." But what about the evangelicals themselves? Is all well within their communities? Is their own passion for church-going as strong as their supposed political passion?

According to Julia Duin, a religion reporter for the Washington Times, more and more evangelicals are in fact fleeing their churches. Indeed, Ms. Duin regards church-quitting, at least among evangelicals, as nothing less than an epidemic. The problem, in her view, is not in the souls of the church quitters but in the character of the churches they choose to leave. "Something," she observes, "is not right with . . . evangelical church life."

The faults she points to -- relying on her own reporting and survey data -- are many. They are surprising, too, running counter to the stereotype of evangelicals bonding happily in their churches. She reports, among other things: a lack of a feeling of community among church members, inducing loneliness and boredom; church teaching that fails to go beyond the basics of the faith or to reach members grappling with suffering or unanswered prayer; pastors who are either out of touch with their parishioners or themselves unhappy, or who fail to shepherd their flocks, or who are caught up in scandal, or who try to control the lives of church members in a high-handed way. She claims that many churches have "inefficient leadership models" and that many, preoccupied with the care of families, neglect single people.

Women in particular leave evangelical churches, Ms. Duin says, because they are asked to do too little by their churches. Ms. Duin, who has a seminary degree, writes: "I have been one of those unwanted women for years." In fact, Ms. Duin's interest in her subject is partly autobiographical: She left a church in 2001 and didn't find a new one until 2007. She has lived through the process of church-quitting, and she has interviewed a lot of people with the same experience.

There is no doubt some truth in what Ms. Duin reports. But is there truly an epidemic of church- quitting? She says that evangelical churches, which for decades increased their numbers at impressive rates, are today growing "only appreciably." If so, church-quitting may be one reason. But so, too, may be the undisputed demographic fact -- not explored in "Quitting Church" -- that evangelical parents are having fewer children these days. And the church-membership surveys Ms. Duin cites do not include nondenominational churches. They tend to be large and evangelical, and their growth rate remains strong.

If the trend Ms. Duin describes is not as big as she thinks, her concern is still understandable. It is truly disturbing -- to some of us, anyway -- to hear of a longtime church-goer deciding to stay home on Sunday mornings and read, yes, the New York Times; or to hear of a best-selling evangelical author quitting his church and arguing that leaving the institutional church is something that "mature Christians" should do. Whatever the incidence of church-quitting, it is not a happy development for those who regard public worship as essential to the Christian life.

What is the answer? For Ms. Duin, churches will have to become places that people feel eager to attend -- "decent" churches, as she puts it. She calls for better teaching, better preaching and better pastors, who are in touch with the lives of their worshippers -- in short, for better churches, where "community" is cultivated, women are taken more seriously and singles can find mates. With such changes, "people will begin craving church instead of quitting church, and the exodus will be no more."

Perhaps, but Ms. Duin's brief is more sociological than theological, as if a church exists to "serve needs," like any other community organization. It does so in a way, of course, but it exists primarily to serve biblical purposes. Ms. Duin does say that churches should "concentrate on discipleship," and here she hits on a theological point: The church's mission -- as defined in the Gospel of Matthew -- is to make disciples of all nations by teaching them everything that Christ commanded. That imperative entails teaching what is termed "the whole counsel of God" and not the Christianity lite that Ms. Duin finds in many evangelical churches.

According to Ms. Duin, churches dedicated to making disciples will "do well in this era of dumbed-down, purpose-driven, seeker-friendly Christianity." But is that really true? From a theological perspective, there is no guarantee that churches will prosper as they attempt to make disciples -- if we judge prosperity by church membership alone. A church might conscientiously carry out its biblical tasks and yet, by measures of popularity, do poorly in this world. Such a church would not be doing right if it adjusted its mission for the sake of higher attendance records. Note that by the end of his ministry the number of disciples with Jesus was down to 12. Now there was a decent church, one might say, if a small one.

Mr. Eastland is the publisher of The Weekly Standard.

Zender makes some interesting and telling points about mainstream evangelicalism and Catholicism, but he writes in such a cynical, self-righteous way, causing the book to lose much of its power and credibility. Its message is like so many other books of the same genre: "I'm better than you, and understand God better than you, and I'm not going to have anything to do with you any more!" (Sigh....)

Martin Zender's book, How to Quit Church without Quitting God is an examination of the church as a religious institution and how it often exchanges the bondage of sin for the bondage of the church. While he does cover several important areas and cover them well, I have two areas where I thought the text either belabored a point far beyond what was necessary or left out a point that was very important.

The belabored point was on the definition of a cult. Zender discusses the fact that the very activities that many Christian groups use to define a cult are the same activities that they engage in. While his points are well made on this front some of them also suffer from problems with his analysis. For example, he accuses the Christian religion of meeting several of the aspects of the definition of a cult as espoused by Bob Larson in his book. The problem is that Zender applies these to point out that the Christian religion as practiced today meets these traits of a cult. For example, he accuses the church of meeting item two of Larson's definition which states that cults alter the diet of those who follow it. They do this by "depriving one of essential nutrients and enforcing a low-protein diet" which "can lead to disorientation and emotional susceptibility". He then points out that they use dozens of cookies at Vacation Bible School and so meet this criteria. Well, so does a typical day care center, many Grandparents offer cookies, ice cream and other items to the grandchildren, etc. As a matter of fact the typical parent would fit just about every factor for definition as a cult according to Larson's book. I felt that Zender wasted my time with Chapter Six on the discussion of how the church today fits the bill as a cult when the problem is the definition of a cult as espoused by Larson would make almost all families cults. The definition itself is defective so why use it?

For the most part, the rest of the book was excellent and points out many of the problems of the church as it practices religion today. Accurate and filled with Biblically based arguments, it is a very good read.

On the other hand, it misses one of the best reasons to quit church (while not quitting God). That reason is the perfection expected from the church. I find it very hard to swallow that so many churches would forgive and accept anyone as a member if they would ask for forgiveness and join their church. On the other hand, if someone who is a member of the church makes a mistake then they are much slower to forgive and much more likely not to forget. For example, I once attended a church where a young, unmarried girl wanted to find new direction in her life and join the church. She was welcomed into the youth group and encouraged to join other activities with the youth. Then one of the young ladies who was already a member of the church and youth group became pregnant. She was told that she could no longer be part of the youth and since she had made an adult decision she would be included on the role of the adult classes and was no longer to have any involvement with the youth activities. With that sort of perfection expected if you join a church then why would anyone want to? Once you are in then you must be perfect, something that even Apostle Paul was unable to attain.

Don't get me wrong, I like the book and would recommend it. The chapters on God does not live in Boxes, the Church digs People into Spiritual Ruts, and the Church binds People to clocks and Buildings are insightful and excellently argued. Taken as a whole it is a good read and can cause the reader to see things in a different light that is based on truth instead of institution. An excellent book that is part of what are probably the three best books on the problems of the church today. The other two books would be "Messy Spirituality" and "When Bad Christians happen to Good People". Every Christian who realizes that something isn't quite right about the way the Christian religion is practiced today should read these three books.

I loved this book. Zender hits the problem of today's churches square on and holds nothing back. Zender also points out that "going" to church has nothing to do with the measure of our faith. A must read, especially for anyone struggling with today's concept of church attendance.

As one who has followed Christ for over twenty years, I can vouch for the fact that church can be, well, bad. I've certainly had enough spiritual abuse, backstabbing, arrogant leadership, and bogus doctrines to last an eternity. And as a 40-year-old singleton, I feel pretty marginalized at a typical couples-oriented church service. So it was with interest that I picked up "How To Quit Church Without Quitting God." Is it possible to sleep in on Sunday and still be a good Christian? Martin Zender thinks so.

Mr. Zender grew up in a legalistic Catholic environment. Eventually, he became disillusioned and broke with what he calls "organized church." However, he still claims to follow Christ, and is much happier in his faith now that he's freed himself from bondage to Sunday meetings. Here, he provides "seven good reasons to escape the box." They include, "Church digs people into spiritual ruts," and "The Christian religion fits its own definition of a cult." These are fightin' words for some, to be sure. But Mr. Zander writes in a rough, humorous style, and I found myself identifying and sympathizing with many of his conclusions.

Even so, I struggled with some of them. Despite the fact that church often sucks, it's the only game in town for many believers. Indeed, its suckiness may be part of God's plan for sharpening, hard as it is (Prov. 27:17; Rom. 5:3-4). Tough or not, Christians are Scripturally required to maintain fellowship for ultimately positive reasons (Heb. 10:24-25). And unless you feel called to the mission field, the church is often the best place to hang with the brethren. But if a church service feels like detention hall, the doctrines are wacky, or abuse is occurring, then I agree with the author that alternatives such as a good small group or fulfilling para-church ministry are just fine (full disclosure: these two venues are my current primary means of fellowship, although I do attend my church's services when I usher.).

In addition, I'm a bit skeptical about his universalist leanings. I would certainly like it if everyone wound up in heaven, and perhaps God continues salvation after death, a la C. S. Lewis' "The Great Divorce." However, the Bible has too many passages that deal with the consequences of rejecting God to dismiss altogether. As Christians, we need to confront the hard parts of Scripture, be wary of feelings-based theology, and acknowledge that God may be up to things that are tough to bear (to be fair, perhaps Mr. Zender presents a more thorough Biblical exegesis on the subject in his book "Martin Zender Goes To Hell," but I haven't read that one yet. Nice title, though.).

At any rate, I recommend "How To Quit Church Without Quitting God" to anyone who is questioning their involvement in organized Christianity. You may decide not to "escape the box," but reading this book will cause you to think outside of it. He also has a self-named website if you want more info on him and his beliefs. Some other books that might help you deal with your church struggles are: "The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse," by Johnson and VanVonderen, and "Twisted Scriptures," by Mary Alice Chrnalogar.

Zender has a unique way of bringing to the table "reality" of which the institutionilized Churches ignore. After reading about some of his experiences, I found them not at all dissimilar to my own.

I recall years ago when I was a member of a Baptist church discussing "baptism" with the pastor there. I was convinced that water baptism has no place in this present "dispensation of the grace of God". Rather than sitting down with Bible in hand to discuss this issue, the pastor instead said that our "church" doesn't teach this and he recommended that I find another church. He would not take the opportunity to show me the "error" of my way. Had I gone into Mormonism or Jehovah's Witnesses I am sure that they would have come with Bible in hand to rescue me from my heresy. But because my error was in this case "dispensationalism" they were the ones afraid lest I should seek them out.

Zender's courage, conviction and knowledge of the Bible is most refreshing though I don't agree with his version of choice and his opinions of the KJV. I have come to similar doctrinal convictions as his from just my KJV and Youngs Analytical Concordance. The Concordant Version is based on Westcott and Hort's nefarious Greek Text. All one has to do in my opinion is read most any verse in the Concordant Version and compare with the KJV and any unbiased person will see the superiority of the KJV. (Especially John 3:16) The Concordant Version doesn't even take a shot at translating a lot of words but rather transliterates them. That is not translation. The KJV may have translated "aionios" as "everlasting" in this passage but leaving the ambigious transliteration the CLNT does is inexusable. However, what Zender says about Hell, Hades, Sheol is most accurate (Especially in his other book "Martin Zender goes to Hell"). And what he points out about the translation of the KJV in certain places is definitely true. But this is easily discernable through a careful study of Youngs or Strongs Concordance.

All in all, Zender has challenging points to consider if you happen to be in the "rut" of church. And his style of writing, humor, and keen understanding of Scripture will help and challenge and uplift as well.

Also, in regards to his view on Universal Salvation, this seems to me more wishful thinking rather than careful Scriptural exegesis. Zender pulls out the usual "proof texts" that most any Universalist would use (though Zender is a BIBLE BELIEVER not a Universalist, that is, Zender doesn't subscribe to the Universalist denomination's statement of faith if I understand him correctly. He doesn't want to be labeled with them since they don't regard the Scriptures as the final authority for faith and practice and he does. Fair enough).

However, you don't take a few verses out of the Bible to prove that the rest of the Bible is not true. It is also true that the rest of the Bible is true. You don't produce 5 verses from Paul to make a liar out of God.

For a Scriptural view on the Doctrine of Eternal Punishment (Not Eternal Torment) see Edward Fudge's "The Fire That Consumes". However, after saying this, this doesn't distract from Zender's point about leaving Church one bit. Zender's points are all valid and his conclusions are well founded.

Zender is a very talented writer and speaker.

This could have been a good book, but it is nothing but a farce where Franzese would have the reader believe that he was some poor misunderstood victim, harassed by law enforcement until he was put in the position of "well, if they are gonna accuse me of it, I am just gonna do it!", which is obviously so much baloney. Then, he does admit to "white collar crime", but strangely every time the government hauls him into court, Franzese would again have us believe that he was wholly innocent of all of the charges. He sets himself only in the very best light, like some sort of misunderstood, valiant and progressive J.P. Morgan, a modern day Robin Hood, and it is to the point of sheer unbelieveability. Franzese is still the same scammer as he always was, and he carries it on as usual in this book with the complicity of Matera. I can't believe Matera wasted his obvious talent producing this drivel. It's Franzese vanity press, plain and simple. And, as far as Franzese being a "changed man", a reborn straight arrow? PFFFFFTTT!!! Search thesmokinggun.com for Franzese and read about his post conversion shenanigans if you'd like to see the "new man"....meet the new boss, same as the old boss. Yep, these guys took what could have been a great story and turned it into the same stuff you find on the floor of a hog pen, and they expended the same amount of energy doing it that they would have had to in doing it right! Maybe, with a little luck, the real story will come out, and I bet it'll be a good one. Until then, take my word for it, this book is irredeemable from page one through the end....don't even waste your time. I regret that I have to give it a one star rating, because it sure doesn't even deserve that.

I knew Michael after the whole thing finished, he was indeed a changed man. Great book, good job Michael & Dary.

I am not a huge reader, but i finished this book really quickly. In a rare instance, you are shown the inside reports on how the mafia works and how some of the stereotypes are just that, stereotypes. If you have any interest in true crime books or books that can show that people can change, this is the book for you! Trust me, I don't like reading too much but found myself looking forward to reading this book.

In Quitting the Mob Michael Franzesetells his story with the help of Dary Matera.Of his love for his father who brought him into the family after seeing his son not being scared of going a little out side of the law to make money.How he was raised to the rank of capo in his mafia family making millions of dollars for his bosses.And left it all for the love of a woman.

Each time I have read the book, I see something else that I did not see. Michael's father Sonny, was as dedicated as they came. It's amazing that someone could have led the life that he had lived and still live to tell about it. I would imagine it would be fun just to sit down and talk with Michael Franzese about all the things that he had expierienced. If anyone knows how to reach Michael Franzese please drop me a line.

I have been a 1 pack-a-day-smoker for about 25 years and even though the physical need and mental desire to quit became stronger every year, I just couldn't do it or 'stay quit'. Tried about 4 times with success-rates averaging from a few weeks to a few (3) months ... But at some point, I picked up that cigarette again. And usually I didn't even have a good reason. So basically I wanted desperately to be motivated enough to quit for good now. This book provided me literally with e v e r y t h i n g I always wanted (and needed) to know about smoking & quitting. An informed person, I was then gently taken by the hand and even more gently guided to never-smoke-again-land. Who would ever have imagined that I would be eagerly & impatiently waiting for the day I would (finally!) be a l l o w e d to quit !... This book got me to that point. And beyond smoking... And now, over 1 smoke-free year later, I'm still enjoying my new life. Without having killed my friends/family/collegues/myself in the process... So I would like to extend my infinite thanks to Dr. and Mrs. Quit for the precious information and extremely motivating guidance they provide in this quit-smoking bible... A definite recommendation : reads like a good novel, puts quite a few smiles on your face and last but not least...(don't say I didn't warn you !) there's a 95 percent chance that you won't make it to the end of this book smoking ! Wanna bet ?

I've tried everything to quit smoking, hypnosis, patches, acupuncture, cold turkey (at least 100 times), and nothing has worked for more than 3 months. I went to the library one day, and this book caught my eye, thank goodness. It is a wealth of information for a smoker wanting desperately to quit. From this book, I have developed my "3 W" plan (Water,Walk,and Web). And for me, it's working. Question: When is the website going to be ready? (drandmrsquit.com)

This book is interesting, and I bought it while trying desperatley to quit while I was pregnant. It focuses way too much on available treatment methods (the patch, drugs, etc.) and not enough on practical gradual cessation. I wanted to know exactly what benefits my body was getting for being smoke-free for an hour, a day, a month, etc., because anyone who's quit knows how unbelievably horrible you feel, especially the first week, and what prevented my quitting in the past was not seeing some immediate benefits such as greater oxygen or at least better endurance during exercise. I haven't smoked in 5 years, and I'm glad I quit, but I'm still not understanding how it benefitted me beyond the typical exagerated and questionable research into the likelihood of obtaining certain diseases. A better book is the no nag guide.

I love Randall Robinson. I teach World history at an all male school for Emotionally disturbed students. His writing is so clear and understandable . My students listen as I read to them (High-school age) and have another perspective on this country they call home. There is so much the text books don't say . I am recommending this book for their summer reading list, as I prepare to leave America.

During the Jeremiah Wright contreversy I decided to go to the website of Barack Obama's rascist, anti-semetic, and America hating church. One of the links gave a list of recommended books, and this was one.

It is not a suprise that such a book would be on the website of Jeremiah Wright's church of hate. It is also no suprise that a fool like Randall Robinson would write such a book. Robinson was a fixture on American TV in the 1980s as an "expert" on African issues. As you can guess, Mr. Robinson was always heaping praise on communist governments like those in Angola, and the evil government of Robert Mugabe, who, by the way, has killed more blacks than any aparteid era South African leader by a landslide.

Anyway, I must give Robinson some credit here. Unlike the Baldwin boys, and the other members of the liberal elite, he actually left, making the USA a much better place. If only all the other liberals followed his lead and left the country, the true patriots in America would not have to support all these spoiled brat liberals and have to listen to their uneducated drivel.

I reccomend this book to all the liberals of America. It is a guide on how to leave and never look back. Come on libs.....put your money where your mouth is. Buy this book and follow Mr. Robinson to St Kitts. The weather is lovely.

...full of non-sequitors, documented errors, reverse racism and precious few references or footnotes. Look, I can't blame the man for wanting to move to the pretty, pleasant little island of St. Kitts, where the money he earned in America allows him to live like a king. If you're ready to enjoy a quiet, pastoral life with nice weather and a low cost of living I'm sure it's a fine place. He gets royalties from his writing and by now is old enough to collect social security as well, I'm sure it's a great life. But a little more intellectual honesty about his sojourn would have been nicer. Fewer outright lies or partial distortions or technical truths presented without any context, please.

Oh well, I'm glad that Mr. Robinson was able to earn the money that allows him such a lavish lifestyle right here in mean ol' Capitalist Pig America. I'm also glad that he was able to write and speak on controversial topics here in America, where such expression is constitutionally protected. Most of all I'm glad I purchased this book used, so I didn't directly support his new lifestyle with any of MY money.

I really enjoyed reading Randall Robinson's book Quitting America. I was intriguied by his comments and his point of view. The book is very eloquently written in that I had to stop reading at times to really contemplate exactly what the author was trying to convey to me as a reader. I would reccommend this book to everyone because it gives you insight into a very educated black man's feelings about living in America.

Disclaimer first: I am not American. I have lived in eight countries around the world, including nine years in the US, as well as countries in Asia, Europe, and Africa. I think I have a pretty good idea what elements constitute a functional society. America, by and large, is dysfunctional, given how money-hungry and superficial it is. And I also happen to be an outspoken advocate for minority issues. I work in multicultural education. And I am writing a doctorate on a certain aspect of the Transatlantic slave trade.

That said, I went about reading the book with an open mind. And while I enjoyed the well-crafted, eloquent writing, I became pretty appalled by the need to rant and accuse and point fingers at The Enemy *without offering a solution*. You, Mr. Robinson, are sitting cushily on a cute little island close to Mainland America, driving your Honda CRX and making enough money to actually be able to afford the luxury to write such racist treatises. You are having it pretty darn good, and America is funding your life - you do not have to go about earning a meager living on St. Kitts the hard way, like the locals. And you, the Pan-Africanist, have elected NOT to move to The Motherland... why not? Newsflash: Africa, ruled as it is by African leaders, is corrupt and messed up to the core. They pocket Western aid funds to build lavish palaces while their people are dying of hunger and AIDS. Africans commit genocide against fellow Africans. But from the safety of a pretty little island paradise, one forgets that so easily when one is consumed by hatred for one particular group of people. I take exception to your generalizations and simplifications of The Evil White People In Evil White America. And as I said, I am not even a part of them. So, other than writing hateful tirades with a view of making money off of a predominantly African-American readership, what do YOU do or suggest to fix the problems that America undoubtedly has? Running away to St. Kitts is not the answer, Mr. Robinson. If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem. And that is exactly what's wrong with this book.

Alcoholics Anonymous has a 100% success rate for those that work the program AS IT IS OUTLINED in the book of Alcoholics Anonymous. Ellis and Volten have made ridiculous statements like AA is negative because the person in AA is always recovering and this is a negative comment. In reality, The Big Book refers to the person who has worked the steps as being RECOVERED. But, if Ellis and Velten had noted this, they might not sell as many books. The fact remains that NOTHING has a higher success rate than AA, and things like Rational Recovery and even psychotherapy alone, have NEVER worked long-term (meaning over 20 years). Don't waste your money....go to a meeting.

Everywhere we are bombarded with false statistics that are invented and propogated by the AA followers.The fact remains that the MOST sucessful people to quit their addictions do it on their own-please see the Harvard News Letter.
Dr. Ellis' book can and does augment peoples ability to quit,for good,their self destuctive tendancies including substance abuse.
Factual analysis of the why we become addicted are presented here in an easy to understand format.It is our irrational beliefs about ourselves and the world that lead to frustration,depression and addiction.
I practise this philosophy daily in dealing with my husbands' cancer and my own patients illnesses.It calms me and helps me to deal with life on lifes terms and not the way it should be.
If you rely on your ability to think to lead you through life then this book is a great way to help structure your thoughts into a benefical program not only for substance abuse but for accepting whatever life may throw at you at any moment.

I've been recovering from alcholism for about 9 months now, and after a stint in an AA-oriented rehab I've been attending meetings on a regular basis. The problem is, I'm just not wired for all of the spirituality that's necessary for an AA recovery (according to AA, that is). I've got nothing against AA, I think it's a great organization; however, it's just not doing the job for me.

The ideas expressed in this book, stripped of all the RET jargon, are not new: ultimately, you are the one who chooses to drink, become aware of the thought processes involved and perhaps you will choose differently. That appeals to me. To be honest, I'm sick of fretting over the power alcohol has over me, and I like the idea that I have some control over my own destiny.

The book gets a little redundant after a while, and I wouldn't say the writing style is the easiest to follow, but the ideas expressed have really clicked with me. If you are an AA-believer, you will probably find this book somewhat offensive. If you are struggling with the AA concept, this book is certainly worth a read.

You've read the reviews. And if you're interested in this book all you really want to know is "does this book contain something that will help me stop drinking?"
The short answer, like everything else you might try, is "Possibly". It's a good start for some of us. Here's why:
If you've tried A.A. and found it didn't work, then you're looking for something more logical and rational than a spiritual change or complete overhaul in your thinking. This is what A.A. offers. The fact is that this change is absolutely needed if you're going to remain sober. What this book focuses on is the rational approach as opposed to A.A.'s often spiritual approach. Where you might have difficulties is that there is nothing logical or rational about addiction; however, the book is straight forward and easy to read. There are no hidden phrases to be interpreted by a scientist.
A.A. doesn't have a monopoly on sobriety. It does have the highest success rate of any therapy, but the former reviewer (obviously a member of A.A. like I am) is incorrect in stating that A.A. has a 100% success rate. That's not accurate, whatever the reasons we can give. But don't despair - all is not lost.
If you are one of the few people that can't click in A.A. or simply won't adjust, the chances are that this or any other book won't be much help to you because you may not be completely willing to start the process, even if you feel you are. This is where a support group and like minded people to talk to and work with, be it A.A., family, friends, etc. is -extremely- important.
Barring that, this is one of the few books outside of A.A. literature that I would recommend to someone interested in beating the alcoholic problem. Pick up a copy and see if it has what you need. The other reviews are well written and tell more about the book. I would like to encourage you to do whatever you can, whatever you are willing to try, to live happy. Sobriety is the key to happiness if you're an alcoholic.
I tried A.A. - it didn't work. I read this book - it didn't work. I went back to A.A. and now I'm am doing great and I'm as happy as I've ever been.
Give this book a chance if you're at this point. Reaching out and trying something - anything - is a good first step to get comfortable with the idea that you can do this. You can.
If it doesn't work, A.A. will still be there with open arms and understanding people. Here's hoping this book is all it takes for you. Best of luck.
-We're not bad people trying to get good. We are sick people trying to get well.

Virtually everyone knows of AA and its efforts to address problem drinking -- it is the largest, most visible and most accessible group, and the group that most entering recovery will either gravitate towards or be directed to by the therapy community. Yet, AA, for all of its benefits, doesn't work as a program for everyone -- particularly for those who are not spiritually inclined (and don't want to have to become spiritually inclined in order to recover) or those who are more cognitively-oriented people. There are thankfully alternatives to AA available for those who seek them out, and the "RET" (rational-emotive therapy) approach founded by Dr. Ellis, and which is the foundation of the SMART Recovery approach to recovery, is well outlined in this easy-to-read, easy-to-understand book.

The basic idea is very simple ... you are not powerless over alcohol as AA says but rather you are empowered, or exercising your power, every time you make a decision in life about anything, including the decision to drink. When you drink even in spite of the fact that your drinking is interfering with your life goals (as you define them) or causing you tangible problems (legal, financial, relationship, career, etc.), then you have a good sign that your decision-making process around drinking alcohol needs some examination. RET is a technique that helps the individual drill down into her cognitive processes and isolate the real mental issues underlying her decision to keep drinking under these circumstances. In particular, a lot of attention is paid to "stinking thinking", which in RET terms means underlying beliefs we may have about ourselves, the world around us and others that are irrational, self-defeating, and lead us to make the decision to drink. RET teaches the individual how to unearth these often hidden, reflexive beliefs, examine them, challenge them, and replace them with healthier, rational, self-helping beliefs, ones which will not lead one to make the irrational decision to problem drink. RET also teaches how to relate more healthily to life's frustrations and disappointments by placing them in perspective, not overblowing them, and developing a higher frustration tolerance over time ... in other words, how to deal more effectively with the frustrating things in life, in ourselves, and in others that may have led us in the past to decide to drink. In all, RET teaches the individual to be much more aware of what is going on inside themselves, to be much more in control of that interior situation, or at least be able to manage it and relate to it more effectively, and thereby to make better choices about how to act ---- rather than being largely unaware of what is happening interiorly, but nonetheless being subjected to what may be a somewhat or largely irrational set of interior beliefs, whether we are aware or not, and acting accordingly.

In all, it is a wonderful approach, for some people. I don't believe that this approach is for everyone (and neither is AA), but if the AA approach isn't working for you (see title of the book), and particularly if you are the kind of person who is more cognitively oriented, then Ellis' approach of RET is certainly worth a read, and just may hold the key to your own recovery.

At first it seemed pretty good, it really hypnotized me. Then it gets to a part where they bring you back in time to your first cigarette. This eventually gave me an 80's attitude towards smoking and I ended up smoking extra. So actually it worked backwards. I'm now struggling to get back the progress I had made before ever listening to these tapes. I would recommend you stay away from these tapes.

This program was the easiest to follow, and the greatest thing that has happened to me in the last thirty years. After smoking 2 1/2 packs a day since the early 60's, two heart attacks and open heart surgery, I QUIT! I owe her everything.

I caught Victoria Wayne's act in Vegas and bought her stop smoking program after the show. I quit smoking that night, and have been passing these tapes around to my family members who also wanted to quit - all who have! If she ever comes out with a hypnosis program for ending baldness, please let me know. This program is incredible!

I read the not revised book. should be the same right?!?! anyway, not knowing hardly anything about it, i thought this book to be a great resource. it takes you step by step from testing to see how suggestible to the acctual putting under. to the people that wrote it needed to be more in depth. Its hypnosis, most of it is just repeating, and anyone can make up there own techniques this is mearly a guide. nothing should be easy there's no fun in the conquest then!

Novices should skip this poorly written "How to" book. The basic techniques outlined by the author are not fully explained. The authors favorite technique described on page 84 is incomplete or too vague. I'm concerned by the authors section on "Homosexual to Heterosexual and Vice Versa.... It seems the author fails to talk about the "vice versa"... (an attempt at political correctness poorly disguised?!) This is reported to be the revised edition (gee, I would hate to see the first!) Editing and proofing are needed... Keep telling yourself: Buy another book... Save your money... Buy another book... Save your money...

Through the hypnotic techniques outlined in this book, anyone can learn to control unwanted behavior such as smoking, overeating, alcoholism, and insomnia.
Hypnosis is a powerful tool in behavior control, helping people to cope with many serious problems. This book shows you how to tap your brain's resources and efficiently use its energy in a most positive, controlled manner. Here are all the most up-to-date methods and uses of hypnosis, illustrated by case histories of people whose lives were changed through hypnosis. You'll learn how to stop overeating, quit smoking, solve problems of [love making], and control pain - all through hypnosis.

I had been interested in the art of hypnotism and so I thought I could learn from this book. I am sorry to say that this book could have used more elaboration in the techniques. The things discussed in this book were not explained in an easy to read manner, therefore making it hard to grasp it.

Having had an interest in hypnosis for a number of years meant that I was interested in technique and to learn - the book was chosen for its "How to". After reading it several times I failed to understand "how to" and more of the reasons "why". Whilst the book was interesting I think it failed to hit the mark for me