Alcoholism Books

An amazing book. I read it in a little over 24 hours. I knew that Kristin had gotten better before the book was written so during the part where mother and daughter talk about the difficult years, I just could not put the book down until I knew she was ok again. As a mother and a daughter I could understand both points of view and the best part about the book is it's parallel recounts of the same experiences as described by mother and daughter. I felt every emotion there was to feel. I cried with the daughter during her difficult times, and I cried with the mother during hers. They are both such strong women, true survivors who show us that nothing is for granted, things can happen to everyone and that there is no stronger bond than family. One of the most emotional moments for me was when Kristin crawled through the window at night of her mom's apartment and curled up to sleep on the floor next to her bed after which Mom put her hand on her back and they lay there in silence yet having said everything there needed to be said at that moment. I think about what I would've done in those various situations. I don't know, I've never experienced anything like that (I am married to an addict, but in different ways, and I am going to learn more about codependancy). Yet I am elated and happy to know that both authors are doing well now and helping to get other people on their feet. Thank you for sharing your story with us and teaching us about hardships, love and forgiveness.

Being a recovering alcoholic myself, this compelling story really hits home! It tells the REAL life struggles of addiction. From the first page to the last page, this a memoir you will not want to put down! I recommend "The Lost Years" to anyone who has struggled with addiction, or to any family member who has seen their loved ones go through the stages of addiction! When reading this book, you actually feel as if you are Kristina. The cold, lonely life on the streets. You can feel the fear, anger and the downward spiral into hell that she was on! You can feel a mothers' tough love with her daughter! This is an awesome read and it gives a person hope, and let's the addict know that people DO recover and the person suffering with an alcohol/drug addiction, can get better to live a happy, sober, productive life!! Thank you Kristina and Constance for a terrific, well written story!!
Deb Earleywine

This book gives an excellent look into the uncertain feelings of a teenage girl, and how her choices changed her life. Her events and life walk are depicted from her view, and then from her mother's view. There is an instant snap back to that awkward teenage time. Where do you belong, how do you fit in, and how do you cope? The popular kids (the IT group) share the same fears as the ones who seem to 'not fit in.' It does not matter the way others see you; what matters is the way you see yourself! The way teenagers find comfort is the turning point...some bully their way through and others turn to substance abuse. Either way, it is a dark place that requires the courage and will to come out of (whether one is using bad behavior or substance abuse) or you will most certainly disappear (end up all alone in this world or die). The selfish part of life allows one to foolishly think he/she is the victim and put the blame on the people around him/her. This true view story illustrates how naive reactions and destructive behaviors can shatter a family. This is a must read for parents of approaching teens. This could happen to you!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it to any parent who is living in the throes of addiction with a child. It is a quick, easy read that evokes a multitude of emotions. Both the mother's and the addict's views and struggles are expressed well.
I left the book out for my addict to read and she enjoyed it, too.
This book also gave me the courage to let go of my daughter with the best of intentions......

Having lost a sibling to alcohol and drug abuse at a very young age, I wish that this book had been available when he was struggling with his addiction. Perhaps our family could have had some knowledge of the help that was available through Al-Anon. This book is a remarkable account of courage, and I encourage any family facing these issues to pay close attention to what Constance went through to heal herself and protect her other children from this terrible disease and the horrors that go along with it. To date, I have not read anything that even comes close to touching my heart and soul the way that Kristina and Constance touched mine when I read this memoir. I could not put it down.

I read this book last semester for a Criminal Justice class and it is amazing. It opened my eyes to exactly how wrong the war on drugs is. This book is my #1 recommended book. If more people would read it I think we'd finally be able to find our way out of this fruitless war.

This is one of the best books I've read on the drug war to date (and I've read a bunch). The book carefully went through the origins, history, and effects of the drug war in a captivating and easy to follow manner. When finished, the reader will be left with an iron-clad indictment of the drug war which has covered all angles. This really is one of the most comprehensive and well written books on the drug war, and I highly recommend it.

Q: What is the difference between the Prohibition and America's war on drugs? Mike Gray's overall answer is "very little," but the one glaring difference is that when Prohibition failed, the country repealed the Constitutional Amendment which had created it. Alcohol use remained at about the same level before, during and after the Prohibition years, but the murder, official corruption and gang battles that accompanied official proscription came and went. DRUG CRAZY analyzes the upshot of that distinction and its enormous worldwide effects. The U.S. led anti-drug effort has cost us hundreds of billions of dollars in enforcement efforts alone, not to mention the cost of prisons, imprisonment and court proceedings and has succeeded in creating an international drug consortium with an annual income higher than the U.S. defense budget. Thousands of innocent bystanders have died in sprays of automatic fire and bomb blasts. It has made pot easier to get than alcohol for most American teens and brought Colombian, Bolivian and Mexican democracy to the brink of collapse. Damningly, Gray reports that every refereed study since the 1890s has suggested that marijuana is harmless and that the opiates and cocaine are no more dangerous than alcohol (perhaps less). Even the infamous "crack babies" we heard about for a few years turned out to be an unsubstantiated myth. In every country where legalization and controlled prescriptive availability of harder drugs has been tried, addiction rates remained stable or fell, crime decreased and most addicts proceeded to live normal workaday lives. The U.S. has forced other countries to quit such programs through fiscal pressure and outright lies, insisting that all adopt our abolitionist stance. We have managed to export violence, crack cocaine, corruption and other benefits to numerous other nations along with our failed policy. At the same time, and to make matters worse, the nature of enforcement has become a defacto racist effort. Cocaine in Wall Street boardrooms is harder to see than crack runners on Main Street and while whites are the disproportionate users of illegal drugs, blacks are the disproportionate arrestees. In this country, one in four black males is either in prison, under probation or on parole, mostly as a result of drug or drug related crimes. Small wonder, as the author points out, that blacks think O.J. Simpson was framed: it is their daily experience. Police routinely lie in court to make drug charges stick. (Since private deals between consenting parties are very hard to actually witness, when police claim that a perpetrator dropped a bag or in some other way made evidence visible it is understood by judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys and defendants that it is "acceptable" false testimony to cover an illegal search. So perjury is permitted in the name of enforcement.) Amazingly, the whole morass of current drug problems and policies could be eliminated with the stroke of a pen. Minus prohibition the drug cartels would be defunded. If prices fell, many farmers would find other crops more appealing. If currently illegal substances were distributed by prescription or through state-licensed stores, kids would be infrequently exposed. (How many pushers are selling beer in front of your local elementary school these days?) Mike Gray has brought his story telling skill (The China Syndrome and other screenplays) and his investigative/documentary bent (American Revolution and The Murder of Fred Hampton) to bear on an urgent national and international problem. His recommendations and observations are difficult to refute and his is a well considered voice in a growing debate which affects us all. Even now, the genie released when California and Arizona approved medical marijuana use is being clumsily stuffed back in the bottle by Federal mandate, disenfranchising voters and creating a rising uproar. As former U.S. Attorney General Elliott Richardson observes: "Anyone who thinks the war on drugs is succeeding should read this book. It shifts the burden of proof from the critics of existing policy to its defenders."

When it became clear that the medicines called opiates were highly addictive and caused health problems, they were dealt with as nicotine and alcohol are dealt with today. There were honest and realistic public service messages warning of the dangers of opiates, and there was medical help that greatly limited the damage they did to the individual and which had a chance of eliminating his or her addiction. These methods worked, and where they are applied they work today. Then in the second decade of the twentieth century the country took a nose-dive into authoritarian attitudes and corruption, and people got the strange idea that you could eliminate a practice you didn't like simply by passing a law against it. Alcohol, and the opiates were completely banned, as was marijuana which was now designated a "drug" because of its association with minority groups. Alcohol use, which had always hovered between widespread and universal, had been declining but now became more common than ever before. Worse, the alcoholic drinks that were taken became much harder and not being regulated they might contain enough alcohol to be dangerous. Worse still, an untold number of criminals were created, crime of all kinds increased radically, organized crime came to control whole districts and corruption reached heights never seen before. "Public service messages" regarding what were now illegal "drugs" became simple expressions of hatred having very little to do with the "drugs" they were about, and everyone actually familiar with those "drugs" knew it. Medical treatment by doctors who were actually trying to help their paitents was declared illegal, and a number of doctors went to prison. The lives of opiate addicts had usually been no worse than the lives of nicotine addicts, but now those lives became impossible. Addicts could no longer hold jobs raise children or do anything else but concentrate on their addiction. Current "rehabilitation" for opiate addicts is an expression of hatred for those addicts and makes no attempt to help them. It mostly consists of telling them they are evil it they don't break their habits, and for those addicted to opiates or nicotine, breaking the habit altogether is usually not possible. Opiate use had always been an insignificant phenomenon nationwide, and in the early part of the century when it was being dealt with intelligently, it was declining. But then the hate laws were passed, and now a measurable percentage of the population is addicted and condemed to ruined, useless lives, organized crime is more powerful now than at any time in history, and whole countries like Columbia are completely dominated by corruption-- as are large sections of others like the United States and Mexico. None of this needed to happen. The things we call "drugs" were handled intelligently at the beginning of the twentieth century or were never a problem in the first place. If realistic laws were passed, the worst of the damage would be fixed very quickly since it is directly caused by bad laws. The rest of the damage would take a decade to undo, but if we begin treating the opiates as we treat nicotine and alcohol we will gradually undo it.
I think that is a pretty good thumbnail of what Mike Grey had to say, and he is completely right. Everyone in the country should read this book. Our real addiction is to hatred.

Author Mike Gray tackles the failed drug war in this book and effectively shows how the present war has many similarities to alcohol prohibition in early part of the twentieth century. Gray begins his discussion of the subject of drugs by taking the reader back to 1925, in the city of Chicago, during the height of the nightmare of prohibition. Gangs ruled the streets. The air was filled with the smell of cheap booze and the sound of gunfire. Police were defenseless to the total chaos going on all around them. They simply could not stop the manufacture and consumption of alcohol. There was too much money to be made by selling this "forbidden fruit". There was no possible way that this "war" on alcohol could ever be won.

Does this sound familiar? It should, because the same thing is going on right now. The government's failed attempt to eliminate alcohol is now being attempted a second time with the war on drugs. These laws are discussed in the book with a history lesson on the various court rulings and congressional decisions that led to the present prohibitions on drugs. These laws have some of their roots in the U.S. Congress. According to the book, marijuana itself became illegal as the result of a lie told to congress by Fred Vinson, a man who would later become the U.S. Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Vinson was sitting in a congressional hearing one day, just before congress was about to vote on whether or not marijuana should be made illegal. The American Medical Association knew of the benefits of marijuana in medical treatments, and was strongly against such a law. But when Vinson was questioned by congress, he lied and said that the AMA backed the proposed law 100 percent to make marijuana illegal. This was enough to help push the law through congress. Vinson's lie, coupled with the onslaught of government propaganda against marijuana, marked the beginning of America's second nightmare with prohibition.

The lying and deception by government cooled off a bit during the 1940 to 1960 period. But then, the lying and deception continued when President Nixon decided to revive the anti- drug crusade, in part to cover- up his own problems with Vietnam and Watergate. George Bush then escalated the damage even more by scaring the public into backing his anti- drug package and his "get tough" policies against drug dealers and drug users. Gray talks about these and other political maneuvers; why they happened and the true motives behind these so- called "moral" crusaders.

The present- day situation looks pretty bleak. Gray points out that the United States is now the largest jailer in the world with roughly half of all prisoners being non- violent drug offenders. We have also corrupted our police officers, with many of them actively taking part in the drug trade; cutting special deals, accepting bribes, etc, because of the allure of easy money. Respect for law enforcement is low, and violent criminals have been allowed early release to make way for non- violent drug offenders, thanks to mandatory minimum sentences.

This book is an easily manageable length: about 198 pages and fairly easy to read. There are a total of eleven chapters and two appendices. Appendix "A" details the changes in the U.S. murder rate, showing how it peaked during alcohol prohibition and during the present- day drug prohibition. It also shows graphs depicting the U.S. prison population and the Federal Drug budget. And to give the book some balance, Appendix "B" contains a listing of activist organizations, both pro- drug war and anti- drug war, along with a brief description of each and their respective websites.

As Mike Gray points out, the War on Drugs is one of America's greatest failures. Gray never specifically condemns the war. He wrote this book as a means to educate the reader on the motives behind drug prohibition and the reasons that politicians continue to fight a losing battle when they know that the war is not winnable. Gray never resorts to name calling or any form of moral persuasion. He really doesn't need to. He lets the facts speak for themselves, illustrating the endless problems created by a war of prohibition and why it is so important to stop this insanity once and for all.

Whether or not you believe in reincarnation or spirit guides or even pre-birth planning, this book has something to teach you. The book helps us look at the negatives in our lives and turn those into positives - especially the negative people we encounter. Instead of harping on the negative lessons our parents (or anyone) gave us, we can thank them for being examples of how to and how not to be. It's a complete flip from the negative to the positive. I felt like a tremendous load had been lifted after I finished the book. Again, even if you don't believe in mediums, reincarnation, etc., you can still learn from this book. Give it a try.

If you have unanswered questions about why some of your relationships didn't work out, or why certain things seem to just "happen" to you, read this book! You will get a better understanding of how we chart our lives, prior to incarnation, in order to learn the lessons our soul needs to grow and perfect. Robert Schwartz does a wonderful job of researching!

The author is very humble in his approach to his subject. He, along with the reader, is in 'learning mode'. He takes a back seat to the real people and their real stories and is as awed by the information provided by psychics and channelers as we are. I will be using this book as a reference and will also be recommending it - highly - to others. For someone who has long believed in reincarnation and the healing it offers, I know what is important is the effect of what we believe. We accept that God exists but it is the extent of our faith which gives us strength and hope. Why scoff at the fact/concept of reincarnation, at the idea we've led many lives and even chosen the people, the events - beforehand - in them? A famous personage once opined that it is a miracle we've lived even one life. WE are not just 'one-hit wonders'; we have so many songs in our repertoire.
This book is so beautifully written and arriving at the last page was like leaving an old friend or ending a wondrous journey. I look forward to the next one and have emailed the author to share with him how much I loved his book. The heartbreaking stories, the insights and wisdom from the channelers allows us to feel a little bit more powerful, a little bit more knowledgeable and yes, even more humble to the greatness of our spiritual universe.

With my mother dying I had a lot of questions about the journey of souls. This book is packed with a lot of wonderful information and gave me a sense of calm and made me felt more accepting of situations and people in my life.

One of the most important books I have ever read. This book confirmed to me many things that I have always inherently felt to be true, but more than that, it has helped me see life and the people in it from a much more elevated perspective. I cannot stress how amazing it is. I am re-reading it once again. I hope the author writes another very soon.

This book is timeless with the message. You will better understand the message of healing. I know I have.

This book clearly demonstrates that Christ not only provided for salvation but also for healing through His completed work while here on earth. It shows that healing and salvation are closely linked together in many ways, though often we seperate the two in modern thinking.

A great book to pass on to others. Every library should have it. Mandatory reading for everyone who calls himself a "believer".

Like so many others here, I find this an essential book for Christians. I've given it to friends for years, and many of us have received healings more than once, relying on the book for encouragement. This black-covered edition is the one I like best, as others have said. It is Bro. Bosworth's own writing, or not so edited as some other editions, and the addition by his son of details of Bosworth's death is very inspiring. Bro. Bosworth, apparently, learned from the Lord that his time on earth was over, went home and had family and friends meet with him, and 2-3 weeks later he died, not having become sick. I love knowing that he lived and died by what he preached to others and it worked well for him.

This book has awesome revelations about healing. We bought a number of them so we can share them with people who are seeking truth about healing from the Lord. I'd recommend this highly!!

Yhis book belongs on the bookshelf of all those interested in the early days of psychedelic research and it's social ramifications. One word for it: Excellent!

Can't think of a more informative and interesting way of describing this period of time. I loved this book. Big thanks to the authors!

_Acid Dreams: The Complete Social History of LSD: The CIA, the Sixties, and Beyond_, first published in 1985 and revised in 1992, by journalist and author Martin A. Lee and author Bruce Shlain is a fascinating and wild account of the history of LSD in America. The implications of this journalistic history are startling in that they show the role of the CIA and the government of the United States in creating much of the LSD culture that grew up during the Sixties. I should add that one advantage of this book over Martin A. Lee's other book _The Beast Reawakens_ (1999) is that Lee is able to keep a cool head and write about LSD without lapsing into paroxysms of hysteria as he does when writing about Nazis. This is very fortunate for the reader because it spares us from having to sort through a lot of irrelevant nonsense. The history of LSD in the United States is a fascinating one, and the creation of a drug culture in the Sixties as well as the links between this culture and the hippies, the New Left, and the anti-war movement offers much interesting material. But, lurking behind the whole thing is the nefarious role of the CIA and the government, originally in testing out these drugs in a series of unethical experiments and later in possibly manipulating the very culture that arose from their newfound prevalence itself. This is a fascinating story and one that should be told particularly in light of the complex relationship that has always existed between the drug culture and the state.

The book begins with an Introduction entitled "Whose Worlds Are These?" by Andrei Codrescu. This Introduction lays out the use of LSD as presented in the book both through the experiments of the CIA and as promoted by such figures as Captain Al Hubbard, Aldous Huxley, Timothy Leary, Owsley, Art Kleps, Ken Kesey, and others. The book proper begins with a Prologue in which the authors explain the discovery of LSD-25 by Dr. Albert Hoffman, who was later to give an important speech to psychedelic followers in 1977. This Prologue also details the role of the CIA and through such projects as Operation MK-ULTRA engaged in unethical experimentation with LSD on unwitting participants. The first section of this book is entitled "The Roots of Psychedelia". The first chapter of this section is entitled "In the Beginning There Was Madness . . . " and details the role of the CIA in the unethical use of LSD and later in promoting the LSD subculture. This chapter includes sections entitled "The Truth Seekers", "Enter LSD", "Laboratories of the State", "Midnight Climax", and "The Hallucination Battlefield". This chapter details the role of the CIA in experimenting with LSD through projects such as Operation MK-ULTRA, mentioning such figures as William "Wild Bill" Donovan, Allen Dulles, Dr. Sidney Gottlieb, and the hijinx of George Hunter White. The authors explain how originally the model for LSD was that the drug mimicked psychosis, but that eventually this model was to change. The CIA saw the drug as potentially useful for interrogations and engaged in many experiments on unwitting participants with the drug. The second chapter is entitled "Psychedelic Pioneers" and details how the drug was moved from the CIA clandestine operations to the counter-culture. This chapter includes sections entitled "The Original Captain Trips", "Healing Acid", and "Psychosis or Gnosis?". In particular, this chapter explains how government funded psychiatrists and psychologists came to believe that LSD may have some therapeutic potential thus abandoning the original "psychotomimetic" theory of LSD. The government engaged in much research on this drug, and by taking place in government sponsored experiments as participants, many prominent counter-cultural figures became involved with the drug (as a case in point there is the case of the poet Allen Ginsberg). Some figures came to see LSD as revealing deep secrets and as having a profound effect on human nature leading to the popular perspective that LSD offered a form of "gnosis" thus replacing the government's "psychosis" perspective. The third chapter is entitled "Under the Mushroom, Over the Rainbow" and explains how prominent individuals including Harvard professors (such as Timothy Leary and investment banker R. Gordon Wasson) became involved in the drug counter-culture. This chapter includes sections entitled "Manna From Harvard", "Chemical Crusaders", and "The Crackdown" - showing how the government eventually sought to crack down on LSD use eventually leading to its illegality. The fourth chapter is entitled "Preaching LSD" and discusses for example the hijinx of Timothy Leary (who some maintained was a CIA agent). This chapter includes sections entitled "High Surrealism", "The Psychedelic Manual", and "The Hard Sell". The fifth chapter of this book is entitled "The All-American Trip", detailing the rise of the Merry Pranksters who followed Ken Kesey. This chapter includes sections entitled "The Great Freak Forward" and "Acid and the New Left" - showing the problematic relationship between the LSD counter-culture and the political New Left. The second part of this book is entitled "Acid for the Masses". This part begins with the sixth chapter of this book entitled "From Hip to Hippie" showing how the LSD counter-culture created the emerging phenomenon of the hippie. This chapter includes sections entitled "Before the Deluge", "Politics of the Bummer", and "The First Human Be-In", in particular this chapter discusses how the "bad trip" came to emerge from a cultural matrix in which LSD was regarded as harmful by the establishment but as liberating by the counter-culture, virtually assuring that many would experiment with the drug themselves to find out for themselves the effects. The seventh chapter is entitled "The Capital of Forever" and includes sections entitled "Stone Free" and "The Great Summer Dropout". The eighth chapter is entitled "Peaking in Babylon" and includes sections entitled "A Gathering Storm", "Magical Politics", and "Gotta Revolution". In particular, this chapter shows how the LSD culture emerged in Haight-Ashbury and how it interacted with such other phenomena as the political New Left and the anti-war movement emerging as opposition to the Vietnam War, mentioning such things as the Diggers and the Yippies. In particular, many on the politically reductionistic New Left saw the whole hippie phenomena as an attempt to drop out of politics entirely and thus regarded it negatively. Further, many hippies became easy prey for dangerous psychopaths such as Charles Manson. The ninth chapter is entitled "Season of the Witch" and includes sections entitled "Armed Love", "The Acid Brotherhood", and "Bad Moon Rising". This chapter explains the relationships between the New Left and the anti-war movement forming as a force of opposition to the Vietnam War as well as the continuing and complicated relationship with the hippie culture and the phenomenon of folk music. The tenth chapter is entitled "What a Field Day for the Heat" and includes sections entitled "Prisoner of LSD", "A Bitter Pill", and "The Great LSD Conspiracy", in particular, this chapter maintains that behind the scenes the CIA may have been manipulating the drug counter-culture and may even have seen the Haight-Ashbury district as a social laboratory. The book ends with a Postscript entitled "Acid and After" and an Afterword.

This book offers an interesting study on the Sixties and the drug culture focusing around LSD that emerged out of this decade. In particular, after reading the book, it becomes clear that the hippie movement was easily manipulated by psychopaths such as Charles Manson and larger forces out of their control such as the CIA. Further, the naïve belief of many that LSD would lead to world peace turns out to have only been a passing phase. Another problematic raised by this book is the relationship between LSD use and New Left politics. Unfortunately, the New Left sought to reduce everything to politics so failed to appreciate any sort of development that lay outside of their own political sphere. This book offers a good examination of a troubled era and some of the hopes of people in that era that were ultimately manipulated by larger forces.

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2NWFN612DXX3 My video review of Acid Dream. Really great bookAcid Dreams: The Complete Social History of LSD: The CIA, the Sixties, and Beyond. ***** 5 stars =)

This book is perfect - It offered everything I was hoping for when I first purchased it. It covered from the end of the 50's and the Beat generation and how their influence lead into the hippie generation, and it ended in the early 70's tying in the beginning of rock and punk. It is a true spectrum of the 1960's counterculture generation.

It's a large book but its facinating to learn about the history and the culture. Like previous reviewers said, it really ties up everyhting and clearly shows the correalation between the drug counterculture and the govn't & society during that time period. I was born in the 80's and this book really showed me alot about the 60's counterculture and the attitudes towards drug use and young people during that time. I can see alot of correalations between that era with Vietnam as the war that they were protesting versus todays war in Iraq and the amount of US citizens that are against it.

The author also goes into government policies at the time and conspiricys and covert CIA and classified documents. I was amazed by the actions of the CIA and thetesting of LSD on unsuspecting American citizens. It is like the stuff movies are made of but it really happened! Truly and amazing and interesting book - I could not put it down. I reccomend it to everyone, regardless of your view on LSD or drug counterculture - a true wealth of information on 1960's America.

This is one of the best books I have read -certainly the best in the category of social history. Jay Stevens has researched his material meticulously and has delivered the narrative in a most enthralling manner. I found it hard to lay the book down. Whether, like me, you lived through the psychedelic experience of the sixties or you have but a passive interest, you will be amazed to learn of the full impact that the psychedelic culture has had on Western society, religion and philosophy -right through to the chemical hedonism of today.
This is truly a superb read!

I bought this on the recommendation of Dr. Stanley Krippner in a lecture on ayahuasca. It is absolutely the best book I have read on the history of the psychedelic movement during the past 100 years or so. Timothy Leary is not dead - he's only outside looking in. :-)

This should be required reading in American History. Who knew Canada had legal LSD centers? And the characters- Nin, Huxley, Kesey, Leary and Capt.Al Hubbard (??). Will we ever see their like again? Really a very sad story, and a fascinating one. Nice to see the Chief Boo Hoo, old Art Kleps in there as well. Sen. Kennedy: "Is your title really Chief Boo Hoo?" Art Kleps: "I'm afraid so, sir."

This is the definitive account of the 1960s psychedelic drug scene. Stevens does a great job of conveying the highs and lows of LSD and its proponents. His ability to relate endless facts while retaining a fast-paced narrative structure is amazing. I found this one of the most "addicting" books out there about the significance of drugs in American culture. Stevens reviews all the major personalities: Albert Hoffman, Timothy Leary, Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters, the Grateful Dead, Alan Watts, Jack Kerouac, Aldous Huxley, and more. If you're interested in this electric decade, the power of psychedelics to warp the mind, or any of the poet-prophets who were compelled to experiment with and sing the praises of acid then this book is sure to delight.

This was a very good book. You get lots of interesting stuff about Aldous Huxley, the famous beat writers, Owsley, Timothy Leary, Ken Kesey and the evolution of the so called counterculture as a whole.

The problems that I have with Storming Heaven is not for what was in it but what was left out. For one Stevens was WAY too easy on Timothy Leary. The author seemed almost like a school girl with a crush when he recounts his visit to Learys home for an interview for the book. He comes off more as a fan than he does an objective writer at times when he deals with Leary. Why wasn't it mentioned that it has come out that Leary was a government informant and information he gave led to the death of two members of the Weather Underground? Its also a known fact that Leary was surrounded by CIA assets and there is a lot of evidence that he was a government agent himself, and at the least he was feeding them information.

There is also a fleeting mention that wasn't elaborated on about Ken Kesey that he had LSD experiments done on him at Stanford by the guy that ended up in charge of the CIAs Mkultra mind control program. This really makes me wonder about Kesey. Its more or less accepted history that the first LSD to get out on the street level was what Kesey stole from the medicine chest at his job as a night shift janitor at a mental hospital and distributed it among his elitist friends. Kesey went from writing what was probably the best novel written during the 1960's to, while becoming a counterculture hero, never writing another thing worth reading again. Did doing too much LSD scramble his brains and ruin his creativity or was his creativity nullified by Mkultra programming? Its hard to say for sure but I have to wonder if Kesey was not under some sort of mind control or was being used by the CIA in one way or another. There are a lot of unanswered questions in my mind about Kesey.

They also fleetingly mention the Brotherhood of Eternal Love who were major LSD distributors and were known to be full of CIA people and had a close association with a Jewish man named Ron Starks who was a CIA spook that also happened to the biggest LSD dealer in the world. Starks was not even given the first mention in this book!

I mean with all these ivy league, Mkultra and CIA connections to the elites of the so called counterculture I have to seriously wonder how much of the hippy movement of the late 60's was an organic rebellion against what was (and still is) a very repressive society both socially and politically and how much of it was intentional social engineering that came from the highest levels of the power structure. Many people believe that the anti-war movement was flooded with drugs, in particular LSD, by federal agents. Its well known that the government tried to subvert and destroy the anti-war movement with the cointelpro program so why wouldn't they also use drugs to try to destroy it? While it can't be denied that LSD has enhanced many an artist, writer and musicians work can you honestly say that sitting around frying on acid all the time is going to do anything but disable political activists who in many cases were in a life and death struggle? Besides that the fact remains that many people became permanently damaged as result of doing acid.

All that said I would definitely recomend reading or of you can get it cheap, buying Storming Heaven. I could hardly put it down once I started reading it. I realize that this book was more geared toward looking into what psychelic drugs can do with the mind and its exponents history and theories on the subject than any conspiratorial maneuverings by the US government involving LSD but it just didn't go deep enough into the rabbit hole for my tastes.

Wisdom of the rooms gave me insight into all of the twelve step programs and words to help me through my own recovery. The collection of twelve step wisdom is eye-opening to all, I hope, and has helped me find my way through my recovery.

I simply love how the item comes quickly and the great excellent shape the book is in. Thank you

Each time I read this book I get something new from it. Reading a quote from this book is like attending one of those meetings that changes your soul, and Michael Z's interpretations seem to reach out connect with me on almost every level. The spiritual wisdom in this book touches those in and out of recovery, and the people I've given it to not only identify, but often buy copies to give as gifts - it's that's kind of book.

Quotes like "When fear knocks on the door and faith answers, no one is home", seem to be just the thing I need to read when I pick it up. I can literally just glance at any page and find something that speaks to me right when I need it. Whether I'm struggling with my concept of God, or with my fear, or even with setting healthy boundries ("No is a complete sentence"), it's all here for me.

If you're looking for a book of spiritual yet practical wisdom that can fill your well with faith and hope, this book will become a favorite of yours, too. I love "The Wisdom of the Rooms" and look forward each week to the new quotes Michael Z puts out for free (visit the website: www.thewisdomoftherooms.com) and you can sign up.

This is a must have for those in and out of recovery, and it will enrich any spiritual practice you currently have. For those of you who haven't read it yet, you're in for a wonderful treat. Enjoy the wisdom!

An outstanding spiritual guidebook for those in recovery or those who just want to embrace their higher power. It helped me stay connected to what's really important and not feel so alone in this world. It's one of those books you can read again and again and always grasp something new. Thanks Michael Z!

For an "on the go" person in recovery like me, this is like the blackberry of 12 step meetings. Any page I open in this book, seems to give me exaclty what I need to read at that time, to give me a spiritual perspective on any situation. The way the author explains the quotes with ease, and then allows the readers to internally answer some questions regarding the quote, can bring tranquility to a turbulent head.

I wish more books on recovery were written this way.
Thank you Michael Z!!

I simply adored every detail of _Two Truths and a Lie_. How rare for a popular-fiction mystery novel to have true character development *and* a plot! I'm one of those who always figures out the who-done-it way too early and finds little reason to finish the book (except to skim the important bits to see that I'm right). This time, I didn't want to miss a word all the way to the end. Dair, Peyton, and their friends, family and animals were real down to the last detail. Anyone who has ever struggled with an addiction (or loved someone who has) must read this book. Also a must for understanding compulsive lying.

I've never read another book which combines two subjects so well. Another author might have written a murder mystery without the caracter depth of this novel, or a relationship oriented story without the suspense that grabs the reader. This novel is definately on my top 10 favorite list. Of course this may just be the absinthe talking, but I can't wait for Kittle's next masterpiece.

Dair Canard has problems, big ones. A compulsive liar with a drinking problem, she has a husband that seems to have something to hide, parents who have separated, and a close friend whose recent and suspicious death was bizarre to say the least. Dair's life is definately spiraling out of control, and her lifetime of lying is starting to take it's toll.
This is a well written page turner with just enough twists to keep the reader guessing. My only criticism would be that I found the "animal telepathy" angle a little difficult to swallow. Even an animal lover such as myself grew tired of the endless references to the character's pets. That said, this is still a enjoyable, albeit unusual mystery novel worth reading.

It is scary how real these characters were. As a matter of fact there were times that I had to put the book down and walk away from it because I felt such a strong connection with them. I say bravo a job well done and a toast to a book that is the finest I've read in years. If you only read one book this year pick this one up you won't feel sorry. The narrative is beautiful, the characters are life like, and even the animals have a personality of their own. There is not a single place where the book falters or gets drab. It will grab you and won't let go until the very last word.

"Dair was a habitual liar. Not pathological or anything, just...recreational." Thus begins this story about lies, deception, and what happens when the truth is sometimes less believable than the lies we tell. Let's face it we've all been guilty of telling "little white lies". Stories we enhance, niceties we introduce to spare someone's feelings, the occasional all out fib. Whether we like it or not, lying is part of human nature.

And it is with this introspective into someone who has spent her entire life telling little (and sometimes not so little) lies that begins our story. We meet Dair, on the way to pick up her husband Peyton from the airport, plotting the lie she'll tell him to explain why she is late. It is the accident, or apparent suicide she witnesses on the way, which truly does make her late, and turns out to be stranger than any fiction she could have concocted.

From here a web of lies, not only Dair's, but also everyone else's, begins to spin out of control. We meet Peyton, her husband, who has his own demons to contend with, we learn more about the reasons behind Dair's "habit" of stretching the truth. We meet Dair's mother, with her unusual talent of communicating with animals. We learn the identity of the alleged "suicide" victim, and his relation to all the players in this book. And we open up a whole lot of questions in the process.

I really enjoyed this book. I wasn't sure what to expect from it, not even having a clue what the story was about (it was sent to me by a friend), and so was glad to discover that it was full of twists and turns and surprises. The characters were very real, and easy to identify with. The author creates a world not unlike the world her reader's live in, and therefore, these characters could be our neighbors, our friends, our co-workers. Their secrets and their lies, possibly making them people we don't truly know. The relationships between the characters were realistic, deep, captivating, and I could identify with Dair, I felt for Peyton, I adored the cranky upstairs neighbor, Mr. Lively. But it was the "secondary characters" in this story, the animals, which really tied it all together for me. Katrina Kittle did a wonderful job of making the pets as much a "cast of characters" in this novel as the humans. Shoddan and Blizzard, Peyton and Dair's dogs, with their huge personalities, Captain Hook, Mr. Lively's parrot, with his extended vocabulary, Dair's Chickadee, they were vital to this story, and added a nice twist to the mystery and the drama.

For me, this book had it all, great character development, wonderful storytelling, mystery, humor, a bit of sadness, fantasy and realism. A+

Excellent for anyone facing Interventionof a loved one. It is clear and consice and very easy to understand.

The revised and expanded edition of Love First is now available on amazon(10/2008). You can search under Love First, Jeff Jay or Debra Jay to find it.

For 18 years I was at a loss of what to do, if there was anything I could do to help my husband with his Alcoholism. Three months ago in despiration, bitterness, worry and anger,I called the local treatment facility and they recommended I read this book. At almost the first page, I had a sense of direction and HOPE!!! The book is wonderful. We thank the Jays immensely for their work and encouragement.
ReNae

This book gives great insite into the problem of dealing with alchol.
It helped me a great deal.Hazelden is known to be one of the best resorces on the subject

The subject of alcoholism was approached so lovingly in this book that it brought tears to my eyes. What a wonderful way to encourage the alcoholic to seek treatment. I could relate to so many instances when I had tried to get my partner, who I love dearly, into rehab, without success. I would highly recommend this book to anyone seeking information and answers on this very misunderstood disease.

I bought this book for myself and my 18 year old son to read before he left for college this fall. I read it first and then let him read it. The Volkmann family did a great job of communicating to the reader the dangers of teenage drinking. My son went to numerous parties during high school where alcohol was present. Our son told us about the drinking going on at these parties and I began to realize what a serious problem exists concerning teenage drinking. I hope that many parents will read this book and realize that teenage drinking is not something to be taken lightly. Many parents do not realize what can happen to their teens who take part in this dangerous activity. I encourage any parents of a teen to read this book and then make their teen read it as well and then discuss the book with your child.

This book should be read by every parent who has pre-teen/teen kids and should be made a mandatory book in every high school. It is a true eye opener and very insperational.

I found this to be extremly informative , seeing both sides of bing drinking and the perceptions of the family as well as the Alcoholic. I read this while my son (who also asked for help) was in rehab for his 21st birthday. He is now reading my copy. I found I could identfy with alot of the thoughts/situations as well as the codependent/alcoholic behaviors. As I work on my codependence and my son works on his sobriety I strongly encourage anyone with a teen/young adult afflicted with this disease to read this book.

As a high school counselor and child of an alcoholic I found this to be a great resource both personally and professionally. Your candid account of your journey for information and for recovery has already given me insights to help my students and their parents.
Thank you both,

This book was very educational and informative. A MUST READ for anybody struggling with alcoholism or who has a loved one struggling with the disease. Very realistic and honest.