Book Description
This is a sensitive book, rich in understanding and common sense. It will put the reader in touch with what it is like to be an addictive person, and what must be done to bring the person back from being an outcast.As the author explains in a respectful way, how the afflicted feels, he includes, biological, psychosocial, and family damage caused by the chemicals being used. His effect is to created ways to deal with addiction, along with new possibilities.This book can be helpful to all who are involved in the world of addiction; it is straight forward.

“This book is an ultimate guide to substance abuse and addiction; a powerhouse for preventing relapse and curing the disease you have in alcoholism or drugs. It shows you a path to reality.”

Dalila Feba Tapia

Author/Translator Lima, Peru ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

Start you recovering reading this great book!
Reading this book I found my way to recovery from alcohol.I recommend this book to somebody looking for a recovery from drugs or alcohol.It helps me a lot.

Dennis the Menace
Having just entered into the world of alcoholism as a lay person, via my son's addition,I was hoping to find through Mr. Siluk's book a clearer understanding of my son's world and the world of addiction in general. Mr. Siluk, while proclaiming years of experience in counseling different forms of addition, writes his book as if he, himself, is under the influence. While there are more gramatical errors and misspellings than can be counted, to add insult to injury, Mr. Siluk also felt it necessary to curse throughout the book, chase rabbits, and go off on tangents that no one elementary in their understanding of this disease could have dreamed of following. The book is disapointing not only from an informational standpoint, but is so unprofessionally written that if Mr. Siluk does, in fact, have the credentials he boasts, one would wonder how any publisher would underwrite such an endeavor.

A very good book in recovery
It is a very helpful book for somebody who is really looking for a recovery (from alcohol or drugs.)A family member after read this book start his recovery.Now I could say he is not a drunk anymore.Thank Mr. Siluk!

A Very Helpful Book
I found this book simple to read, I was not checking for grammar or whatever, but for substance, and it has that. I have noticed on many other sites this book is rated high, and it has out sold most in its field; it has helped my friend, and thank goodness someone has written a book common folks can understand.

Convoluted writing, unfocused, self-indulgent
The writing style is convoluted and overly wordy.Grammar aside, I learned nothing new about understanding alcoholism and addiction.To be fair (fair, and not fare is the correct spelling here), the author did work for a number of years as a licensed psychologist, and draws upon his vast array of experience.However, the work is written in such a disjointed manner that the reader loses focus from the topic: overcoming addiction. In one paragraph he refers to bulimia, then a couple of paragraphs later, he's on something else.His facts are not supported by other experts or studies.He cites no experts or references.He uses no statistics or charts to underline his main or strongest points.Moreover, he should have focused one or two addictions, not dozens of them.Trying to address all of them, or as many as possible, hurt the quality and focus of this work.The book had such potential (in its subject matter), but the author didn't quite carry through.In addition to being poorly written, the work is self-gratuitous.The author means to relay his knowledge and experience in the field, yet the reader learns more about the author than alcoholism and addiction. (Ex: then I did this, then I did that, etc.)All writers in this field weave in their personal experiences and some case studies, but Siluk isn't quite able to master this art. ... Read more

Product Description
In conjunction with many specialized doctors, psychologists, and spiritual counselors, author Chris Prentiss has developed an uplifting and empowering three-step program that breaks with the traditional notions of the origins and treatment of addictions. Used by the most successful rehab clinic in the worldPassages Treatment Center- it has assisted in the cure of over 84% of patients.Description in Spanish: El presente libro expone una visión novedosa del tratamiento de las adicciones. Sostiene que éstas no son el origen de los problemas, sino una respuesta a condiciones subyacentes de orden físico y psicológico, que pueden desenmascararse y curarse completamente con el enfoque adecuado. Apoyado por un equipo de profesionales de la salud, que incluyó, entre otros, a un médico general, un médico de medicina tradicional china, un psicólogo, un hipnoterapeuta, un entrenador físico y un consejero espiritual, Chris Prentiss desarrollóel Programa de 3 Pasos contenido en estas páginas, para que el lector se rehabilite o ayude a un ser querido a hacerlo. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

This book's program should be in all alochol abuse programs.
If you have a problem with alcohol and has been unsuccessful with conventional programs or know someone who has. DON'T GIVE UP BEFORE YOUR READ THIS BOOK. IT COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE OR THE LIFE OF A LOVE ONE.Thisprogram can help millions who suffer from alcoholism. It explains why somany alcoholics are unsuccessful at abstaining from alcohol. Itcontradicts the general perception of alcohol abuse and that alcoholicscan't be helped until they want to. It proves (if you will) that alcoholismis indeed a disease and not only mental but mostly physical. I foundanswers and reasons for why alcoholics behave the way they do and how it isgenetic and hereditary. This book is based on scientific and medicalresearch and the findings are absolutely amazing.It also shows that likeany other physical disease or illness, if after diagnosing the problem,there is not a physical treatment to prepare the damage, recovery is almostimpossible.The program described is extraordinary to say the least.Frankly it disturbed me that our government has had this evidence for over40 years that this program can triple the success rate of recoveringalcoholics as well as make it easier and less painful for persons trying toget help.Reading this book could probably greatly increase the amount ofpeople who seek help.

Great book - helps explain the chemistry of alcohol cravings
I found this book facinating! It not only explains why some people cravealcohol but it also gives a roadmap out of the horrible maze of addiction. It is facinating and gives real help to those people that haven't foundtheir solution to their problem. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Honest struggle of an eloquent man
This book describes all aspects of a sensitive and intelligent man's struggle against alcoholism. Despite all the relapses in the past and possibly the future, the only sensible thing to do is to keep searching for a way to release the self of this constant preoccupation. This man is always questioning and evaluating, choosing his words carefully and always aware of the consequences his addiction has on the people around him and of course on his own life.
Very useful account for people struggling with addiction and everyone interested in them, out of professional or personal interest. ... Read more

Book Description
Heavy Drinking informs the general public for the first time how recent research has discredited almost every widely held belief about alcoholism, including the very concept of alcoholism as a single disease with a unique cause. Herbert Fingarette presents constructive approaches to heavy drinking, including new methods of helping heavy drinkers and social policies for preventing heavy drinking and the harms associated with it. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

Truth will be told!
I copied this verbatim from Orange Papers. Org.

I used to be a 12 step aholic.

What, Lois? Me go get a job? Oh dear, I can feel an anxiety attack coming on. I think I'm about to relapse...

Bill would not let even Lois, who was dying to do so, write the chapter titled "To Wives." After all, she was the wife who had endured Bill's drunken years and the houseful of alcoholics he was trying to wrestle into sobriety. "I have never known why he didn't want me to write about the wives, and it hurt me at first," she said.
Getting Better Inside Alcoholics Anonymous, Nan Robertson, pages 70-71.

Bill had a grandiose sense of self-importance, and exaggerated his achievements and talents, and expected to be recognized as superior without commensurate achievements, like his belief that he was essential to other alcoholics' recovery, and his wildly exaggerated claims of success in drying out alcoholics, and his years-long nationwide tours, grandstanding and promoting his own legend.

Bill was preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love, like the Oxford Groups' "Absolute Purity, Absolute Honesty, Absolute Love, and Absolute Unselfishness". Bill also liked to imagine that he was launching a movement that would sweep the entire world and save all of the alcoholics. Bill even claimed that A.A. was "the miracle of the century", and "probably one of the greatest medical and spiritual developments of all time."

Bill believed that he was "special" and unique -- the only man in the world with the answer to alcoholism (or, before that, the first American to make a working boomerang, or the only man on campus to truly understand calculus). Bill thought that he understood God, alcoholics, and alcoholism better than anybody else in the whole world.

Bill required excessive admiration.

Bill certainly had a sense of entitlement, and felt that he deserved the best of everything, like all of fame, credit, and prestige, all of the money, and all of the women, and even a house in the country and a Cadillac car supplied by the A.A. organization. Bill also felt entitled to dictate the terms of other people's recovery from alcoholism, and even to dictate their religious beliefs.

Bill Wilson was outrageously, heartlessly exploitative. He used everybody, and he discarded and drove away people when they refused to kowtow to him.

Bill Wilson lacked empathy -- he didn't even think about the welfare or recovery of the women alcoholics whom he was thirteenth-stepping, and he disregarded the recovery of the unbelievers whom he drove away from A.A.. And Bill even disregarded the feelings of his own wife Lois while she supported him for years.

Envy of other people seems to be the only characteristic of narcissism that Bill Wilson did not overtly display, but I think that he was envious. Bill spent his whole life trying to prove that he was just as good as other people. He must have felt envious of those other people who were born with a higher status than him, and who were never cursed with alcoholism, whose honor and morality was never questioned.

Bill certainly showed arrogant, haughty behaviors and attitudes.

Bill strongly displayed "Vulnerability in self-esteem". He couldn't stand criticism. He lashed out in defiant counter-attack whenever he was criticized, as shown in the cases of his wife, his calculus professor, his business partner Henry Parkhurst, and Ed the atheist who dared to challenge Bill's bombastic religiosity. When Bill was criticized, he often nursed a bitter resentment over it for years, until he could get his revenge, or he went into a fit of deep depression that often lasted years.

Bill's interpersonal relations were very impaired due to "problems derived from entitlement, the need for admiration, and the relative disregard for the sensitivities of others". Bill fought with everybody from his wife to his best friend and partner Henry "Hank" Parkhurst to the A.A. members who wouldn't believe in God as Bill dictated. Loud screaming matches were routine behavior for Bill Wilson.

And Bill certainly suffered from "Major Depressive Disorders":
A one-year-long depression in his childhood when his parents divorced and his mother left Bill and his sister with his grandparents.
A three-year-long depression when his high-school girlfriend died.
Various sporadic depressions throughout his drinking career.
Then, while sober, an eleven-year-long deep, crippling, clinical depression from 1944 to 1955, from indeterminate causes.
And Dr. Alexander Lowen added one more characteristic of narcissism:


The tendency to lie, without compunction, is typical of narcissists.
Narcissism, Denial of the True Self, Alexander Lowen, M.D., page 54.
That fits Bill Wilson too.


A.A. began as a branch of another cult religion called "The Oxford Group", which was the creation of an evil fascist renegade Lutheran minister named Dr. Frank Nathan Daniel Buchman, who actually admired Adolf Hitler and praised the Gestapo leader Heinrich Himmler as a "wonderful lad".

The cofounders of Alcoholics Anonymous, William Griffith Wilson and Dr. Robert Holbrook Smith, were both enthusiastic true-believer members of the Oxford Group cult, and they simply adapted Buchmanism to their own ends when they created Alcoholics Anonymous. For all practical purposes, Alcoholics Anonymous is simply Frank Buchman's cult religion dressed up in a different suit of clothes.

The A.A. religion pushes a concept of God that is worse than medieval.
According to A.A., God is a fascist dictator, an authoritarian, vindictive Old-Testament-style patriarchal God Who will kill you with a painful slow death by alcoholism if you don't
believe in Him, and
constantly confess your sins to Him, and
grovel before Him, and
Seek and Do His Will every day.
According to Bill Wilson, God uses "the lash of alcoholism" to force people into the A.A. religion, where they will find endless "Serenity and Gratitude" while working as slaves of God.

The Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous are not "spiritual principles", they are cult practices that Bill Wilson got from Dr. Frank Buchman's Oxford Groups. The Twelve Steps are a recipe for building a cult religion, not a formula for quitting drinking:
The Twelve Steps do not even tell you to quit drinking, or to help anyone else to quit drinking, either.
The Twelve Steps don't even mention sobriety, recovery, or health, but they do mention surrender to the cult, and going recruiting for the cult, and guilt-inducing confession sessions.
The 12 Steps also mention God, directly or indirectly, in 6 of the 12 steps. The Ten Commandments of Judeo-Christian religions mention God fewer times than that -- only 4 or 5 of the 10 commandments refer to God, directly or indirectly1 -- but the A.A. true believers still insist that A.A. is not a religion.
Seven of the 12 steps, Steps Four through Ten, are designed to induce guilt in members by having them make long lists of every sin they ever committed, and every fault, moral shortcoming, and defect of character they have, and then they have to confess it all to another member and God. Then they make another list of everybody they ever hurt or offended, and confess that, and try to make amends. And then they have to repeat the whole process again, and again, for the rest of their lives.
The Twelve Steps tell people to surrender their wills and their lives to "God" or "Higher Power" or the A.A. group, and to pray to "God" or "Higher Power" or the A.A. group, and then the Twelve Steps tell people how to pray and what to pray for, but the A.A. true believers still insist that A.A. is not a religion.

Twelve-Step enthusiasts declare that the Twelve Steps, just like good old-fashioned snake oil, will cure anybody of anything. They claim that the Twelve Steps are equally applicable to everybody from drug addicts to gamblers, from compulsive shoppers to emotional wrecks to rape victims, from divorcees to diabetics, from schizophrenics to fat people. The 12 steps really do have just as much to do with being a rape victim as they have to do with being an alcoholic -- absolutely nothing.

Loved One With Drinking Problem?Read This Book.
All I can say is "wow"!!This book changed my life and the way I view the world.If you've ever been close to an "alcoholic", you KNOW inherently that there is something missing in the conventional thought and explanations presented by AA and the Rehab industry.How is it possible, for example, that a helpless victim of "the disease of alcoholism" can EVER exhibit control over their drinking, which they invariably can and do in specific instances? This book explains it and the answer will blow you away. Everything you thought you knew about alcoholism is probably wrong. As you read this book, this inescapable truth will amaze and bewilder you.Most shocking, the research community has known for DECADES that there is no such thing as "the disease of alcoholism", but has withered in the face of the powerful (and supposedly useful) "disease" culture firmly engrained in our contemporary society.If you are not moved by the large body of research and near uniform agreement among serious researchers referenced throughout this book, you'll be hard-pressed to deny the simple logic by which the disease concept of alcoholism is systematically destroyed.

Why is it important to expose the myth of alcoholism as a disease?If your ailment is incorrectly diagnosed, what are the chances you will receive the right treatment for recovery?Not good.In this book, you will read about numerous research studies that strongly support the argument that our current methods of treatment are almost worthless.Herbert Fingarette provides an invaluable service to all of us who really want to understand the problem and help those who suffer from problem drinking.This can only happen if we are realistic about the nature of the problem.When you read this book, it will be clear to you that, as a society, we have a long way to go.But, what YOU can learn form this book can improve your life and the life of those you have a much better chance of understanding and assisting.Read it.

A Sacred Debunking.
When I was an intern at a mental hospital in suburban Detroit I worked with a host of social workers who seemed to blame everything that anybody had on alcoholism. It was bewildering to me the way in which they responded to every family problem with a nod of their heads and a resuscitation upon the evils of drinking. I had no idea as to just how anti-intellectual and dogmatic they were about this issue until I brought in Fingarette's work and watched them explode. I read passages out loud which led one of them to begin trembling and then yell at me. She said that he had to be wrong and wondered "why" he would write such a book in the first place (how I've grown used to such politically correct reasoning over the years--alas!). Another looked quite upset but did not raise her voice. She told me that she could not write as eloquently as Fingarette, yet, regardless of his skill, he had misanalyzed the situation. The fact is, his basic premise that alcoholism cannot be a disease because once you stop using the disease disappears, cannot be refuted. It is such an obvious but perfect argument, and one so reeking with truth, that it sends conformists scattering like a shotgun burst. Thank you so much, Herbert Fingarette, for this magnificent work.

Courageous
Fingarette's book assults basically all of the central tenets of the alcoholism-as-disease industry, including the causes of alcoholism, the lack of self-control of an alcoholic, the efficacy of treatments, and the chances of recovery.The idea that somehow a person can't help but be an alcoholic, can't control his own behavior as one, and can't get better without specialized treatment administered by self-appointed experts, is simply demolished by the evidence, presented in hard numbers quoting study after study.It becomes clear that alcoholism or what we call alcoholism is in fact not one 'disease' that can be 'treated', certainly not in the way they have been over the last few decades.

The book skewers the logical inconsistences regarding the treatment of people supposedly unable to control their drinking in any way by insisting that prior to beginning treatment they voluntarily stop drinking.It analyses the success/failure ratios of various in- and out-patient treatment and arrives at the conclusion that no treatment does anything much more for the patient than would an hour in front of a competant shrink.He refutes the argument that alcoholics not in some kind of program are doomed by showing that fully 30% seem to recover completely on their own, regardless of circumstances of treatment or cause.

The problem is that people have made decisions over a period of time in which for them drinking has become the 'central activity' in their lives, around which almost all revolves.This can be replaced with another less destructive choice but it takes time and effort.And here is the frustratingly sad part because while it is doable many choose not to do it.Much as society would like to help, and Fingarette has some suggestions (unfortunately most of them involving Big Brother state-imposed solutions), in the end the choice is that of the problem drinker.There is as yet no pill or injection or psychological treatment available to make imprudent and self-destructive people prudent and self-affirming.

Bucking the vast industry that benefits from the current dominant approach taken to deal with alcoholics is not easy.Fingarette's classic of scholarship and common sense was a brave and fundamentally positive contribution to helping people with serious problems.

A matter of semantics
While I found some of the author's points interesting, overall I thought this book seemed more like a Master's thesis,where the student was trying to 'prove' a hypothesis he didn't fully believe.Using the same arguements the author does, I could show that type 2 diabetes and hypertension are also not 'diseases'.His points which relate to all three conditions: Condition is brought on, made worse, or better through behavior of patient; even though there is clear evidence of hereditary predosipostion to the condition, the relationship is not 100% (the same could also be said of cancer); Some people can continoe their 'bad' behavior and function without the condition escalating to a greater stage.
At age 53 and as a sufferer of hypertension (which runs in my family), I was, at one time, on four different medications.I also drank too much, ate too much, and exercised too little.Over the last couple years, through diet, exercise and limiting drinking, I've gotten off of three of the four medication, and I hope to get off the last soon.Does this mean hypertension is not a disease?Certainly, there are many who just take their drugs and get by without the disease progressing and there are those who ignore it and die of a stroke or heart attack.Overall, while I think Fingarette makes some interesting semantic points, I think his book will mainly serve to give recovering alcoholics an excuse to fall off the wagon.

... Read more

Product Description
Whether you're a newly diagnosed patient, a friend or relative, this book offers help. The only volume available to provide both the doctor's and patient's views, 100 Questions & Answers About Alcoholism gives you authoritative, practical answers to your questions about treatment options, advice on coping with the disease, sources of support, and much more. Written by a prominent psychiatrist, with actual patient commentary, this book is an invaluable resource for anyone coping with the medical, psychological, and emotional turmoil of alcoholism. ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description

Book Description
This comprehensive work by Jerome D. Levin provides psychotherapists and counselors who treat alcoholism and other addictive states with a solid understanding of the inner world of their pa-tients, the dynamics of these disorders, and a repertoire of ther ... Read more

Book Description

Despite the lack of medical consensus regarding alcoholism as a disease, many people readily accept the concept of addiction as a clinical as well as a social disorder. An alcoholic is a victim of social circumstance and genetic destiny. Although one might imagine that this dual approach is a reflection of today's enlightened and sympathetic society, historian Sarah Tracy discovers that efforts to medicalize alcoholism are anything but new.

Alcoholism in America tells the story of physicians, politicians, court officials, and families struggling to address the danger of excessive alcohol consumption at the turn of the century. Beginning with the formation of the American Association for the Cure of Inebriates in 1870 and concluding with the enactment of Prohibition in 1920, this study examines the effect of the disease concept on individual drinkers and their families and friends, as well as the ongoing battle between policymakers and the professional medical community for jurisdiction over alcohol problems. Tracy captures the complexity of the political, professional, and social negotiations that have characterized the alcoholism field both yesterday and today.

Tracy weaves American medical history, social history, and the sociology of knowledge into a narrative that probes the connections among reform movements, social welfare policy, the specialization of medicine, and the social construction of disease. Her insights will engage all those interested in America's historic and current battles with addiction.

Book Description
You inherited your mother's eyes...Your father's smile...And your grandfather's drinking problem.

"For over thirty years," writes author and recovering alcoholic Kathleen FitzGerald, "the American Medical Association has recognized alcoholism as a disease with identifiable and progressive symptoms that, if untreated, lead to mental damage, physical incapacity and early death. Yet still do not treat alcoholism as a disease, but as a sin, a social stigma, a moral aberration.

This book takes you on a journey through not only understanding alcoholism and drug addiction, but also addresses the emotional, physical and biological effects of this disease. If you are looking for a way to understand, overcome and recover alcoholism, you must read this book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you
I can't even tell you how much this has helped my life.I now have the tools to understand alcoholism.It is a disease that has destroyed so many families and ruined so many lives.It is important for us to understand the disease in order to try and help those who suffer.We need awareness and this book indeed opens our eyes.If you or someone in your family deals with addiction, you MUST read this book.It is the only book that deals with everthing from family issues, intervention to recovery.A MUST GET!

Now I Get It!!!
This book was very helpful for me to understand alcoholism as a family disease. I finally found a book that spoke to me in my own language. It seemed to know my life. I now know that this is a disease and not something I could control on my own. This wonderful book saved my family.Everyone in the world should read this. It relates to everyone!!!

An excellent and understandable explanation of alcoholism.
This is an inspiring book for anyone who is or knows an alcoholic. Mymother-in-law is in the final stages of alcoholism. I felt like crying whenI read this book because I felt like the author had met her or seen her.Just when we think there is no hope and that we are alone with thisdisease, we realize that others are out there, and that we can learn fromtheir experiences.The descriptions are detailed and the personal accountsare vivid. Anyone who is an alcoholic or who knows an alcoholic should readthis book. ... Read more

Book Description

This bestselling recovery classic has helped untold thousands of alcoholics onto the road to recovery. Written by the founder of the Johnson Institute in Minneapolis, one of the country's most successful training programs for treatment providers, I'll Quit Tomorrow present the concepts and methods that have brought new hope to alcoholics and their families, friends, and employers. Abstinence is not the only objective of Johnson's breakthrough methods -- his therapy aims at restoring the ego strength of the victim to assure permanent recovery. Johnson outlines a dynamic plan of intervention and treatment that will block the progress of alcoholism and lead to a richer, more productive life.

Customer Reviews (11)

When it's time to "be a better friend to yourself," read this book
I friend recommended this to me. Now, through understanding the issues associated with drinking this book will help me improve the rest of my life. Buy it, read it and recommend it to others you care about.

Summary of Alcoholism Treatment
Dr. Johnson's book, at it's simplest is a summary of the treatment that his center provides for alcoholics.His book traces what creates the alcoholic, how the alcoholic can get treatment, and what family members and co-workers of alcoholics can do to help.I didn't glean a whole lot from his book that I didn't already know, although I did find his graphs/figures helpful to help understand how alcoholics can get stuck in this inevitable cycle once they take the first drink.

The chapters that cover treatment talk about how his facility provides it - several weeks-months of detox, followed by outpatient therapy/AA.I felt this portion of the book wasn't necessarily intended for an alcoholic, the family of an alcoholic, but more for a medical professional looking for a quick summary of treatment options.The end of the book includes an appendix of the paperwork that they provide at the facility.

The book is a fairly quick read and is very well organized. I got little new information from the book but I am glad that I read it as it gave me a little more detailed insight into the treatment options and procedures for alcoholism.

I'll Quit Tomorrow: A Practical Guide to Alcoholism Treatment
Excellent information for those stuggling with an alcoholic in the family.All Vernon Johnson books good.

Disappointed
I was very disappointed in this book. I was looking for a self-help book for a family member who has not yet consented to attend AA.The foreword alone is insulting and I know they would never get past that before laying the book down. It is dry and difficult reading. It took the author three chapters and a graph to explain that an alcoholic has to drink more and more to feel better and sinks further into depression each time. Why not just say it. Maybe this book is intended more for the person studying alcoholism, not living with it. Clinical studies and statistics won't put them on the road to recovery. I'm glad I read it first. If this was the first book I got them to read, it would be the last.

catchy cover for the problem drinker in your home
The problem drinker took it to work the very next day as I had "left" it on the coffee table without saying a word. Another bookreccommend is Am I or am I not an alcoholic? I read him a chapter before he goes to his game. He doesn't verbally fight with me about reading it like I thought he would. ... Read more

Book Description
The extensively revised edition of this easy-to-read, authoritative guide arms health care professionals in the trenches with the latest clinical and research wisdom in a convenient form—a pocket-sized yet comprehensive reference (part of the APPI's ongoing Concise Guides Series) packed with practical advice they can use every day.

Intended to complement lengthier works on the same subject, this Concise Guide is grounded in both the central importance of the doctor-patient relationship and in the empirically based DSM-IV-TR, systematically detailing all definitions and disorders within the entire addiction section.

It also presents the latest research findings, including epidemiology data, treatment recommendations that address the newest medications and psychosocial therapeutic modalities, and entirely new tables and references. Its relevance is further enhanced by the experience of all three authors, who treat addictions and their complications daily in both inpatient and outpatient clinical settings.

Following an introduction to the general tenets, therapeutic alliance, and potential treatment abuses of substance use disorders, topics presented include:

• Magnitude of the problem—General epidemiology, polysubstance problems and underlying issues, and all substances addressed in DSM-IV-TR (e.g., alcohol, opioids, cannabis, and phencyclidine/ketamine)

• Developmental issues in the field—Disease concept, neurobiology, prevention, and treatment; definition, presentation, and diagnosis-nosology, general and specific definitions, polysubstance dependence, diagnosis, and psychiatric comorbidity

• Detecting and approaching substance abuse in the general hospital and workplace; laboratory findings and diagnostic instruments; natural histories of substance abuse, detailing all substances addressed in DSM-IV-TR

• Treatment approaches for substance use disorders—Abstinence, relapse, characteristic predictors of success, differential therapeutics, matching treatment to the patient, treatment settings and clinical situations, polysubstance abuse, treatment and psychopharmacologic modalities, and psychosocial treatments

• Treatment approaches for special populations—Women; children and adolescents; the elderly; chronic, handicapped, and homeless patients; cognitively impaired chronic patients; blind and deaf patients; and minorities

With its practical focus and remarkable range, this exceptional reference is useful for both students and practitioners across a broad professional and multicultural audience. Although primarily written for clinicians and other mental health care professionals, this informative guide will also be welcomed by allied professionals such as addiction counselors, lawyers, police and corrections officers, clergy, educators, and public policy makers. ... Read more

Book Description
Based on the authors' extensive research, this book focuses on the context, processes, and outcomes of alcoholism treatment programs.It also investigates the influence of factors such as marital status, gender, family and work environments, stressful life events, and personal coping responses on patients' functioning up to 10 years after treatment.Bridging the gap between alcoholism treatment research and the field of program evaluation, this innovative study argues for a broader approach to treatment evaluation than the commonly used black-box model.In addition, it examines the impact of alcohol abuse on spouses and children of alcoholic patients.It will prove invaluable for those working in professional and lay groups interested in alcohol and substance abuse, as well as researchers, clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, and social workers. ... Read more

Book Description
A leading wellness advocate offers a step-by-step holistic plan for the 50 million people in recovery a personalized blueprint for adding years to their life and life to their years.Includes a foreword by leading relapse prevention expert Terence T.Gorski.Based on over thirty years in the trenches as a wellness professional and counselor, John Newport, Ph.D. shares the missing dimension in recovery and the reason why the majority of people battling alcoholism and drug addiction fail to reap the full benefits of recovery and optimal health: They dont adopt a wellness-oriented lifestyle. Newport breaks down the nebulous concept of wellness into 7 steps, and gives people in recovery and their families specific tools to design their own blueprint for optimal health, including:Nutrition: nutritional hazards associated with alcoholism and drug addiction, and how to lay a sound nutritional foundation for recovery.Exercise: role of exercise in preventing relapse and enjoying optimal health, with tips on how to get started.Stress Management: practical tips on stress management and meditation, specifically geared to people in recovery.Spiritual Needs: tips on how to manifest your unique sense of central purpose, and how this will help you stay clean and sober and move toward optimal health.Social Supports: how to develop a strong social support system, sexuality in recovery, and more.Conquering Substitute Addictions: including nicotine addiction, caffeine addiction and junk food binging.Health Care: why our health care system is "wired backwards", and how recovering people can effectively work with doctors and other health care resources.A must read for people in recovery, and treatment professionals. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

I'll stick with my meat
I was't planning on becoming an alcoholic nor am I planning on becoming a vegetarian. I stick to going to meetings and a belief in a higher power.

Must Have!
A wonderful tool for anyone in recovery or working in the field. Great information for a lifetime of wellness of the mind, body and spirit. ... Read more

Amazon.com
George McGovern, the 1972 Democratic nominee for President, offers a tragic family drama while confronting the choices of his own life in this story of a daughter's fatal fight with alcoholism. Told in direct prose, the tale is a harrowing one. Teresa Jane McGovern, the middle child of five, began drinking at age 13, was hospitalized for depression after her arrest for smoking pot at age 19, cleaned up for a while in her 30s, but then spiraled out of control until she froze to death in a parking lot after a drinking binge. Her father openly examines his role and the causes of his daughter's demise.Book Description
Rarely has a public figure addressed such difficult, intimate issues with such courage and bravery. In a moving, passionate memoir, former Senator George McGovern recalls the events leading up to his daughter Terry's death as a result of alcoholism. What McGovern learned from Terry is an unforgettable, poignant tale certain to engender controversy and compassion. of photos. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

yes, buy it
This is an incredibly sad book.I remember George McGovern's run for president as well as the excitement of that time.Reading his take on it around his daughter's alcoholism changes the memory to one much more personal.It's also a really good portrayal of the decent of the alcoholic.From being a good, daddy's girl, to passing out in the snow.The story is all there and true blue.There is some advice from George to other parents of alcoholics.What he would do if he could do it all over again.I recommend this book to anyone with an alcoholic in their lives, but it's not for the faint of heart.He doesn't pull many punches.

Moving and realistic
This is a brave story for Senator McGovern and his family to tell.By writing this book they have taken some of the shame out of alcoholism and told a real account of the devistation alcoholism takes on the alcoholic and everyone that comes in touch with them.I really appreciated their taking the time to write this helpful book.

To Drink or Not To Drink - Only the Drinker Decides
'Terry' is the heart-wrenching tale of the life and death of Terry, daughter of George McGovern. I was reduced to tears in the book's first 40 pages as he recounts her tragic death. The book was very personal to me because I have lost a daughter (in an auto accident) and alcohol abuse and dependence have disrupted my life. Of course, the setting is familiar to me as a resident of the Madison area (indeed the Teresa McGovern Treatment Center is located adjacent to my favorite local place to walk). And McGovern's quixotic 1972 presidential campaign was the first of many political campaigns upon which I have worked.

Teresa McGovern simply could not stop drinking and in the end effectively drank herself to death. The book tells the excruciatingly sad tale how this bright, sensitive girl grew into an alcohol dependent. Despite untold attempts by herself and her family to get her to stop drinking, in the end the booze won.

The book is a cautionary tale for 'recovered alcoholics' - Terry did stop drinking for some 8 years and had several other substantial bouts of sobriety. In the end, sobriety was more painful than drinking despite the incredibly painful consequences of her drinking. If you think you have the booze beaten, remember that it lurks in wait for you.

The book does highlight the lack of any predictably succesful treatment for alcoholism. She tried many times to get cured, although she did not, apparently, try any non-AA programs. In one section McGovern simply records police, hospital, and detox center reports as she was taken repeatedly to detox. At the end of her life she was basically drinking to the point of incoherence and incontinence every day. One does wonder why the authorities did not attempt to have her committed involuntarily - but whether that would that have worked is highly doubtful.

One thing McGovern does not mention is the woefully inadequate insurance coverage for AODA treatment. Even if you have insurance, it is likely that your policy severely limits the amount that will be paid to cover treatment.

A powerful, honest, deeply felt book. The reader wants to reach out to McGovern and remind him that, in fact, he did try to help his daughter, it didn't work and her death from alcohol abuse really was not his fault. To drink or not to drink - only the drinker decides.

Terry's Purpose in Life-To Help Others Through Her Story
This story holds a grip on me that I can't get over. Maybe I am like George McGovern myself in that I too can't explain what causes a beloved child in the family to grow up and self destruct. This story haunts me in that I am watching my own daughter at the age of 43 create similar suffering for every member of her family and friends who love her. I relate so strongly to the McGovern family on every page of this book, even to our own happy 50th wedding anniversary last year, that it frightens me based on Terry's tragic outcome just a year after the McGovern's celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary. At the same time, I am so grateful for McGovern's advice as to what he would have done differently, especially in the last several months of Terry's life. I just bought several books for family members, and one to donate to a Milwaukee area hospital Women's Pavillion library that has every subject covered but alcoholism! This book documents one of the most heart rending accounts of alcohol addiction that I could ever imagine. Your tears may stain these pages, but Terry is continuing to help others, like me as she did in life through the courages words of her father.

A Father's Tragedy
This book was an incredible read.I was riveted from page one. Terry McGovern's death was such a senseless one.It serves to remind me that not all alcoholic deaths are due to cirrhosis(sp?) Alcohol can claim lives in the strangest of ways.Terry McGovern stumbled out of a bar and fell into a bank of snow, freezing to death.I still am shaken up when I think of this.

George McGovern is a great writer but I gave the book 4 stars because his belief that he could have somehow prevented his daughter's death is unfathomable to me.I can't imagine what it must be like to lose a child, it must be the most painful thing in the world.This book feels like a catharsis for his grief and he expresses a lot of irrational thinking in his dealing with it. I don't think there's anything he could have done differently to prevent Terry's death and prolong her life.I'm sure it's little consolation to her parents but Terry is at peace now.I pray the family has come to grips with this tragedy in some way in the 10 years since Terry's passing. ... Read more

Book Description
Guidelines For Getting Sober. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

An outstanding integration of spiritual values for recovery.
I first read this book in a typewritten, soft-bound compilation, and I still have the copy on my "frequently accessed" bookshelf.Although I have never met Dr. Whitfield, I feel as if I know him from thisbook, and as a result, I have held him in the highest esteem.I believe heis one of the first writers in the recovery field to bring a cogent,systematic transpersonal psychological perspective to the theory ofaddictions.At the time, his writing was a refreshing and excitingdevelopment, and openned many doors for further exploration.

I highlyrecommend this book to anyone with an open spirituality and an interest inthe complex task of recovery from traumatizing addictions and lifecircumstances. ... Read more

Book Description
Project MATCH was a large-scale treatment evaluation study established by the U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse to determine whether the treatment of alcoholism could be improved by matching different types of alcoholics with the most appropriate kinds of treatment. This book, edited by the two principal investigators, is the first comprehensive report of Project MATCH, the largest alcoholism treatment study ever conducted. It describes the rationale, methods, results and implications of the study, and presents new findings about how treatment works, for whom it is most effective, and who does best in different kinds of treatment. It also offers some of the first scientific evidence of the effectiveness of Alcoholics Anonymous^DCO. ... Read more