Alcoholism Books

You know when you're in AA meetings and there's that person who just blah-blah-blahs aimlessly about herself and everyone else is bored? That's fine for an AA meeting--it's important for us to process out loud in that forum--but it's not fine for a memoir. It's not that there is no value in this book, in the way that hearing other alcoholics' stories has value...but where is the craft? What is Cheever saying that someone else hasn't said better? This writer would never have been a writer if not for her famous name. Or, maybe if she hadn't had the famous name to fall back on, she might have actually developed her craft. As memoirs of drinking lives go, skip this one and try Augsten Burroughs' DRY or Caroline Knapp's wonderful DRINKING: A LOVE STORY.

The autobiographical drinking story has been done many times before, so the subject matter here is nothing new.

What's so striking different about this book is that there is almost no self-reflection. It's just a compilation of what Susan Cheever drank, the places Susan Cheever drank, the men Susan Cheeer screwed while she was drunk. We'd get much the same result of Susan had gone to Kitty Kelley and asked "Will you write a shallow, vapid account of my life?"

Note Found In a Bottle is self-absored and boringly so. I imagine what keeps Susan awake at night is that most people have found this account of her drinking years Not Very Interesting. She earnestly wants the reader to believe her life was glamourous, but in fact it's just an average drunk story.

I guess there are worse ways to spend (money) than to throw it away on this book....but not many.

"Even in my family, where God knows we have experienced enough alcoholism to have drawn a few conclusions and recognize a few signs, alcoholism is still invisible".

This memoir is an excellent example of alcoholism in women which is different than alcoholism in men.

Women are more vulnerable to alcohol and develop alcoholism drinking much smaller quantities than men. The line of alcoholism is invisible. So, when Susan Cheever drank in pace with her father and then with her husband, she was already an alcoholic.

She describes how alcohol is woven into the fabric of her life from the beginning. "My grandmother Cheever taught me how to embroider, how to say the Lord's Prayer, and how to make a perfect dry martini."

Alcoholism is a genetic vulnerability. "I grew up with a secret. My family did have a skeleton in the closet. ... But the real family secret was not my father's bisexuality, it was the drinking."

Alcoholism has at it's core a dysfunctional relationship between the drinker and the drink. This dysfunction is invisible to the drinker. "If you told me that the problems in my life came from my breathing, it would have made as much sense to me if you said the problems in m life came from my drinking." "Even when my father took me to AA meetings, I never dreamed that I might be an alcoholic." "I didn't know that I had to stop drinking. I didn't know that I could stop drinking."

Susan Cheever lived the life of alcoholism... superficial, filled with shame, unpredictable. It is a life that looks for solutions outside of oneself ~ money, sex, manipulation. She describes this in her life.

What is missing is an internal life. A woman loses herself in the process. "And somehow, I spent all of those years searching, searching for someplace where I did belong..." When she develops this internal life, she does so the only way it can be done... "I don't understand God; I just believe in God".

In the end she "gets" it... it is the "getting" it that is unique for each individual and too personal to describe. "It seems my belief in God should take up more space in this book, but it is intensely private and truly beyond my ability to describe."

I feel this book is a worthwhile read.

Though "Note" is neither deep or introspective, it was easy to read with occasional excellent lines. My favorite (which made the whole book worth it for me) was "It's not that I had a miserable childhood -- I didn't -- it's that I was a miserable child."

The memoir is interesting in its very ordinariness: except for her father's fame which gave her access to more wealthy and famous people, her life, her affairs, her alcoholism and her recovery were unremarkable.

Though I enjoyed this book, it was more like an after-school special on the dangers of alcohol (you will forget things, have big fights, and sleep with many men) than an illustration of alcoholism or even the life of Susan Cheever. She admits some things, such as God, and apparently her feelings about her father, are "too private" to explain. Perhaps so, but then why write a memoir?

In reviewing a book, one must have a basis from which to start. In considering Cheever's book, I cannot fathom where to start a conclusive review because the entire title of the novel is completely misleading. My intent in reading this autobiography was to learn more about an alcoholic firsthand, in her own words. Unfortunately, there was very little substantial material written about alcoholism, its effects, repercussions, etc. In fact, had that title been different I would have probably enjoyed this bland book about a woman's life tinged with alcohol, among many other things which were given just as much attention in the book. Therefor I find it useless to judge this book because it is based on so many vacant concepts.

This book is another example of Christian Social Terorism. The author clearly has no expereience with AA. It appears her only motivation is to convince others to believe in her god....Jesus Christ. I beleive in Jesus just as much as the Easter Bunny, and Santa Claus too.If youre new to recovery, do not buy this book. Go to AA, where the people actually care about you, versus converting you to their brand of belief. I also truly beleive that when this author passes, she will be joined by the likes of Dahmer, OJ and of course good ole George.

This book is only worth the read, if you believe that Masonry is the cult of cults, and that AA is expressly "anti-Christian". While I am NO FAN OF AA, I found this book to be a complete waste of the money paid for it, and unless you are a fundamentailist Christian, is not worth the read. The scholarship is pathetic (citations from ENCYCLOPEDIAS!), and does not reveal anything about the origins of AA, or the 12-Steps that has not been previously revealed, and better documented and researched before. I am surprised that AA has not taken legal action against the author, and publisher, as I am sure that even THEY can find an item or two that is libelous to the point of demanding a lawsuit. DO NOT BUY OR READ THIS BOOK!

It's a shame that it comes down to money. For someone to sell a book with such damage, with such contempt for the human race and for the total disregard of facts is unconsciencable. The power of the group goes back two thousand years ago to Roman times. We get our power from the group and some groups are good such as the boy scouts, a honorary scholastic fraternity or even a church. Some are bad such as gangs (the Crips), Vigilantee's who take law into their own hands and even the taliban that mis-uses human life in the name of the Lord. Miss Burns is an idiot. Plane, simple and the truth. These facts are un-challengeable. How can one person say that her way works when over two million people are sober today because a couple of guys joined the Oxford Group, splintered off and ran with the AA division of it leaves me questioning if she has her sanity or not. But then again, we all must admit that we at one time or another lost our sanity and came to believe that our lives were totally out of control or we never would have gone to the first AA meeting. The one thing that she fails to recognize about AA is that without the acceptance of a higher power and that higher power can not be disquised for anything other than God almighty, Jesus Christ our Savior and directed by the influence of the Holy Spirit, then the entire program of sobriety will not work. AA does not endorse a religion, does not compare an older, more better organized religion (ie; The Catholic Church) as opposed to a newer one (ie; the Mormons) but they do recognize that without a higher Power (whatever that higher power may be to you the individual) thus allowing the possibility of agnostics and even muslims to enter their ranks, that this power, whatever you concieve him to be, is what makes the program work. If you are considering buying this book, please contact me by email as I have a bridge I want to sell you in Brooklyn. If you are that far removed from reality that you could possibly buy this thing (don't feel bad, I bought a copy and it was the first book in my life I ever burned in the fireplace) then anything I or anybody else will say to you will fall on deft (and dumb) ears. Pick up a copy of the Big Book called Alcoholics Anonymous, it will show you the way out of the darkness and into the light.

I can't believe a book like this has been written or even published for that matter. Alcoholics Anonymous is one of the few programs that work for Alcoholics on a long term basis and people who can't get sober in AA are most likely 'constitutionally incapable of being honest with themselves'.

Alcoholics in AA meetings are not 'lewd sinners' as one person wrote, and if that happens to be someones perception then perhaps they should go to different meetings, or maybe they're just afraid of real sobriety.

Do yourself a favor if you are an alcoholic don't cheat yourself of AA go to many different meetings and find one that's right for you. AA is not all one thing or the other, they're not all bible stomping christians, or sinning heathens they are spirtual people who are trying to be honest about their problems and become more mature.

I can't believe the number of supposed "adults" on this thread speaking of the doings of "Satan" or their faith in "Jesus Christ". This is all folklore and ancient mythism, people! You can not, as a rational human being, take it literally! If you are doing so you are not taken seriously by those who do not believe in fairy tales.

Get it? So view this book in context. If it does or doesn't provide any sort of RATIONAL message to you, dismiss it. But, don't take this book, derived from a non-existant entity/folklore/superstition, as anything more than that. People need to grow up.

This is a great edition of the 'Big Book' of Alcoholics Anonymous if you regularly attend Big Book study meetings, or meetings where members take turns reading a paragraph or two from the text.
The paragraph breaks are clear, plus there is ample space for your to add your own annotations.
The font changes to larger font in the back section of the book which is helpful for people like me who are sight challenged.

There is no better book that I have ever read that will help a person to understand their addiction to alcohol, and the wide reach of the addictions impact on all aspects of your life personally, with those you love and who love you, and with the world at large.
Despite the Judeo-Christian principles that the founder's of this organization have used as their spiritual reference, it still will work for those with or without a 'faith' based in any culture.
I personally have been amazed to see the complete transformation of people -- over time, often a great amount of time -- that this book and this organization has facilitated.
With the (as suggested) 'least possible organization' AA has found a place in almost every community in the world. No other organization can make that claim.

This is NOT A.A. General Service Conference approved literature! To use the A.A. name on this product is misleading at best and criminal at worst. Total ripoff!

Save your money, buy the real thing, printed by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
It is cheap, too, but the "stories" are real recovering alkies, not rehab just-recovered types, ( at least one story is even written by a non alcoholic).
The Lois history page is inaccurate, also.

This book doesn't do justice to the program of recovery prescribed the big book of Alchoholics Anonymous.
The editing's terrible and one of the saving grace's of the big book of Alchoholics Anonymous is that the first 164 pages have remained the same. Guess what? THEY'RE NOT THE SAME HERE! The page formatting is terrible. It's great to be told by your sponsor to go to page 21 and read of the real alcoholic. You can't do this with this book. Do yourself a favour and get the real one.

This does the alcoholic who still suffers a grave disservice. The stories omitted from this un-official and dangerous edition (text is missing) are the culmination of much work from the members of Alcoholics Anonymous to benefit alcoholics. To arrogantly revise and omit the official works that are tried and true and have helped millions recover, without the sanction of the unity of AA toys with peoples' lives that are at stake.

Do NOT buy this book, but DO get the official AA Big book from your local AA chapter or Alcoholics Anonymous World Services.

I enjoy this edition and the Personal Stories


We, of Alcoholics Anonymous, are more than one hundred men and women who have recovered from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body.


To show other alcoholics precisely how we have recovered is the main purpose of this book.



For them, we hope these pages will prove so convincing that no further authentication will be necessary.



We think this account of our experiences will help everyone to better understand the alcoholic.



Many do not comprehend that the alcoholic is a very sick person.



And besides, we are sure that our way of living has its advantages for all.


It is important that we remain anonymous because we are too few, at present to handle the overwhelming number of personal appeals which may result from this publication.




Being mostly business or professional folk, we could not well carry on our occupations in such an event. We would like it understood that our alcoholic work is an avocation.



When writing or speaking publicly about alcoholism, we urge each of our Fellowship to omit his personal name, designating himself instead as "a member of Alcoholics Anonymous."



Very earnestly we ask the press also, to observe this request, for otherwise we shall be greatly handicapped.




We are not an organization in the conventional sense of the word.



There are no fees or dues whatsoever.



The only requirement for membership is an honest desire to stop drinking.



We are not allied with any particular faith, sect or denomination, nor do we oppose anyone.



We simply wish to be helpful to those who are afflicted.



We shall be interested to hear from those who are getting results from this book, particularly form those who have commenced work with other alcoholics.




We should like to be helpful to such cases.


Inquiry by scientific, medical, and religious societies will be welcomed.

I just received my copy of this supposed reprint of the First Edition of the book Alcoholics Anonymous. AA World Services claims to maintain the copyright to the book outside the U.S. and maintains trademarks on the names Alcoholics Anonymous and The Big Book. Despite the fact that the validity of the original copyright is in dispute and that distribution outside the US is prohibited, BN Publishing has published this volume including the use of registered trademarks and without the citation of these trademarks or text being reproduced with permission of AAWS, Inc. There is also nothing in this book stating that the volume is not published by AA World Services, Inc. or that the material is used with permission. There is no disclaimer stating implication or suggestion of affiliation with or approval of, AA World Services, Inc is not there - in fact, there IS implied and suggested information to the prospective purchaser that this volume is in some way affiliated and endorsed by AA World Services.

The inferrence that this is an AA book (advertising AA Services insted of AA World Services, Alcoholics Anonymous as author and Anonymous, World Service as author) is a new low. The cover of the book states "Including: Personal Stories" - Nowhere in the advertising nor in the text does it state that several of the stories which were included in the original AA publication are not in the BN so-called "Special Edition." One would think that a reputable publisher would let potential purchasers know that when they advertize "Including: Personal Stories," they would mean all the personal stories and not only some of them.

Caveat Emptor - Let the buyer beware! I would hope that AA World Services and their legal team would go after this publisher for ripping off the AA name for purely mercenary reasons and leave the rest of those reprinting materials to carry the message of recovery alone.

Only the first sentence is from Steve M.The rest of the verbage is copied from the Forward to the First Edition of Alcoholics Anonymous. He is taking credit for these words and not giving credit to Alcoholics Anonymous!!

The copyright on the first 164 pages of the Alcoholics Anonymous "Big Book" expired several years ago. Anyone at all can do what they want with it. Including apparently pretending to be the original publisher.
Amazon is selling literature claiming to be the AA "Big Book" published by "AA Services" (whoever that might be ) that appears to actually be just the first section of the original text, with the remaining section written to resemble the portion still under copyright by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services.
The information on this website could lead people to believe they are purchasing the "Big Book" from Alcoholics Anonymous.
This book does not appear in the list of publications on the AA website. A Google search for "AA Services" brought up various Amazon websites (where it is given credit for many of the AA publications), and several Auto Clubs. No contact information.
I'm sure they are not anticipating trouble from Alcoholics Anonymous, which is notoriously averse to controversy of any kind. Too bad.
Amazon is complicit in this foolishness in each situation where it attributes AA literature to "AA Services" or provides a link that further confuses the issue.
Money is not the issue here. Imagine another reputable non-profit human services outfit has publications that lose their copyright. Let's say it's the Mayo Clinic, or the Hazelden Foundation. Any dingus can select from that material, and add their own pearls of wisdom too, and that's fine. What you don't want them doing is presenting the result as a Mayo Clinic or Hazelden Manual. And Amazon should certainly not help them do it.
Ron Ayotte

I began reading this book several years ago just as my problem drinking crossed the line into full blown alcoholism. I had never tried AA but had listened to drinking associates who had...half heartedly. In fact, this book was given to me by one of these people. One who had read it and was still drinking unsuccessfully. All it did for ME was set me up for another failed attempt at quitting on my own. The only thing that has worked - so far - is treatment and a committment to the AA program. Its been proven to work over and over. Why go anywhere else?

I grabbed for this book with all the enthusiasm of a malaria patient reaching for quinine. I couldn't take the AA message. I couldn't see how anything was wrong with me except that every now and then I drank a little too much.

So I read this book. Even memorized parts of it. I could quote whole pages at one point. I was going to be a "responsible" drinker. Only problem was that I am an alcoholic. I will never be able to drink like "ordinary" people. The advice in this book kept me working for that control. In the process, between when I gave up AA and finally threw this dangerous pack of misinformation and lies into the trash, I lost my wife and three kids. My behavior on one night of "controlled" drinking was so impressive that a restraining order was put out to keep me from causing them undue harm and anxiety. I totalled my company car and lost my job. A month later, after my broken collar bone healed and the stitches had been taken out of my skull, I was arrested for drunken driving at two in the afternoon after a business lunch. Depression set in, and I decided to do my own version of "Leaving Las Vegas." Even that didn't work. And all this responsible and rational bologna was just making me feel worse and suicidal. Why couldn't I just take control and beat this liquor thing with the ideas in this book?

The answer is very simple. I am addicted to alcohol. Once I start, I can NOT predict what the outcome will be. I have been going to AA for almost eleven months now. Not only has the twelve step program helped rid me of the urge and compulsion to drink, it is teaching me how to live life honestly and without denial. I believe I now have a chance for a better life than I ever had before. The reason is simple: I admitted that I was powerless over alcohol and that my life had become unmanageable. I learned that only a Power greater than myself could restore me to sanity. I'm sticking with what works. I am just thankful that I never killed anybody with my car when I was believing the garbage in this goofy book! The contents of this book are not dangerous, they are criminal.

This is a valuable book, and particularly so for those who have tried Alcoholics Anonymous and found it ineffective or unworkable. The book stresses personal reponsibility in controlling the consumption of alcohol and, after all, that is the key to controlling all forms of addiction. When it comes right down to it, what else is there? No one else can do it for you.

This is a sad and dangerous book. The facts based upon research and experience are overwhelming. The only successful treatment for a true alcoholic is total abstinence from alcohol. Barrett offers his readers a false hope that further experimentation at "controlled drinking" will bring different results than in the past. The worst part of offering such false hopes to those in the throes of addiction is that in their desperate state the wishful thinking contained in this tome prolongs their agony and makes a potentially perilous outcome of their situation even more possible. Time and again it has been proven by experience that "rational" recovery is a pipe dream. Carl Jung's theory of the need of a `psychic change' or `spiritual awakening' to break the cycle of addiction still stands and is proven by thousands each year.

This was not a bad book. Only I felt at times things were missing or left out. I would of LOVED to of learned the the true indentity of "Jesse" for example, that part was disapointing. I was under the impression he was a cousin of John Travolta's. Apparently I was incorrect because no mention of him was made. Through the book at times was a bit colorful, I hardly found it shocking, or risque. I was hoping for more 'name-dropping" and details, it is hardly a scandalous book. The part concerning his Mother was heart-breaking through, and I felt much sympathy for him. Not a dull read but not as entertaining as thought!

I do not understand the notoriety of this book. My initial impression after 20 pages: here is a truly self-absorbed neurotic. That impression solidified after 100 pages. Repeatedly, the "writer" puts himself down , then self-exults in the same paragraph. He is clueless, but imagines his boring blather is ironic and honest. Schlock. I give this book 1-star because zero stars is not an option.

I got this book for research purposes because of references made by other reviewers to "hollywood stories". After finishing the book I just feel sad for the author because he clearly gets that he's not the "big celebrity" he so often refers to himself as, nor does he begin to circulate in the arena of celebrity in hollywood. His "stories" are self aggrandising though couched in self depracation. I can find no reference to the "hit" television series that made him a "big star" on any of the enterainment databases and he never mentions what network originally aired the show beyond an unamed cable network airing reruns. He trades on the tragedy of his friend "Jesse" who kills himself after throwing in the towel on an acting career that is sabotaged by the powerful celebrity family of his famous father who would never claim his illegitimate son. He candidly admits that his friend is a raging alcoholic but the real reason the guy didn't make it is the machiavellian machinations of some unamed hollywood movie star's family? The only reference to the author on any entertainment database is as an uncredited body double in the film EdTV. This poor guy "made it" in his own mind only and his book is the boring retelling of that delusion. I would say that this is an excellent book to pass along to a marginally talented high school theatre student living in the midwest as a cautionary tale EXCEPT that they might think that they too can be a big star like Rikki Lee Travolta and miss the point that he's just another wannabe with substance abuse issues and a big fantasy life.

I recently used this text for a Counseling Addicted Families Class I was taking as a Graduate Counseling student. I found myself circling typos and writing in questions. Curtis does not cite references properly or nearly enough, with the exception of Steinglass(1987)who is overcited, causing me to think this is just a summary of his earlier book. Her explanation of family systems and family therapy seem simplistic and archaic. Since I was taking a Marriage and Family class at the same time as the addicted families class, I was learning much of the material more in depth (& more accurate) in my other class. Reading the book was frustrating, and I would not suggest anyone read it unless required for a class. There are much better Counseling Addicted Families texts such as one by Juhnke and Hagedorn.

Some authors pass down source material like a suit on its third pass through the Salvation Army Thrift Shop, without checking the label. Ignoring the paper trail can be especially dangerous in addictions and family systems writing, where authors must navigate the reefs and shoals of folk, pop psychology and pseudoscientific models. A recent example is Chemical Dependency: A Family Affair by Olivia Curtis (Curtis 1999) This short text has the imprimatur of Brooks-Cole, premier publisher of counseling texts. It is well-written, lively, user-friendly and helpful in its review of skills. This subject of this review, however, is the erroneous attribution of ideas, widespread in family addictions training, posing a problem for faculty dedicated to building a solid intellectual base for their students.

On pages 4-6, Curtis describes the work of Gregory Bateson and his colleagues in the "Palo Alto" group (Bateson et al 1956, 1963) who pioneered in family systems research. They hypothesized that the disturbed behavior of the "identified patient" might serve to unite conflicting family members, or reflect disturbed communications systems in the family. While family therapy owes a great debt to these researchers, their conclusions about the etiology of schizophrenia : the famous "double-bind" theory, has been relegated to the dustbin of history. As is now known, schizophrenia has complex roots in neurochemistry and brain development, not scapegoating, double-messaging, or poor mothering (Andreasen 1999) . Curtis uncritically presents the fatally anachronistic double-bind theory of schizophrenia as her prime example of systems theory. Moreover, a case vignette - parental empty threats and inconsistency when a child jumps on a couch, is not what Bateson and company had in mind as the madness-inducing, toxic family system.

Chapter Two, entitled Theoretical Approaches to Family Treatment, begins by citing Celia Dulfano's description of family systems approaches in alcoholism treatment, which appeared in her contribution to the compendium Practical Approaches to Alcoholism Psychotherapy (Dulfano1985). Unfortunately, Dr. Dulfano is consistently referred to as "he". Next is a consideration of alcoholic family types (pp. 14-15) , which cites a summary by Edward Kaufman in his text Substance Abuse and Family Therapy (1985) including the "neurotic, enmeshed family", the "disintegrated" family . (Kaufman 1985 pp 30-1) , as well as the "absent" and "normal" families. .However, Kaufman failed to cite Salvador Minuchin (1967, 1974), who developed the concepts of family enmeshment and disengagement . By relying solely on Kaufman, Curtis misses Minuchin as well as his conceptualization of enmeshment and disengagement as two poles of an axis in family typology, and his consideration of ethnicity. (1967) By the time we get to Curtis, we've arrived at a third generation in the lost tribes of psychotherapy! The reviewer would like to emphasize that it is not just intellectual sloppiness or dishonesty that's at issue in our chastisement of secondary and tertiary authors (although it is troubling when peoples work is not given its due) but that the student or counselor is denied an opportunity to find out about the rich, eloquent, and subtle work of such as Minuchin. For example, Minuchin noted that "Members of enmeshed subsystems or families may be handicapped in that the heightened sense of belonging requires a major yeilding of autonomy" (1974, p. 54) Chapter Eight is largely concerned with "family survival roles" as described by Sharon Wegscheider-Cruse (1981). Curtis prefaces her summary by stating that Wegscheider-Cruse discovered the "survival roles" of family hero, scapegoat, mascot, and lost child roles in the alcoholic family. Indeed, a reading of Wegscheider-Cruse, whose template is widely accepted within the children of alcoholics recovery milieu, gives no hint that intellectual forebears exist. Yet descriptions of these roles were standard in family systems research for much of the 20th Century independent of alcoholism concerns: Alfred Adler , Salvador Minuchin, etc All of these concepts have been highjacked, oversimplified, their serial numbers filed off, and repackaged by Wegscheider-Cruse as a template specifically of alcoholic/addictive family roles.

Each small practice manual need not flood the reader with bibliographic citations going back to 1956. Yet they should not perpetuate popular myths on the origin of theory , and they should provide at least some major, accurate bibliographic links for the advanced or curious reader. Curtis would have done well to review primary sources in family therapy, which would have revealed a more substantive theoretical underpinning for addictions family therapy. The addictions field increasingly seeks quality assurance in training through certification and accreditation - authors and publishers need to take care not to enshrine scientoid sources within textbooks.

When I speak with people about others who drink too much, their reaction is normally that that person just drinks too much, and they consider that the person him/herself needs to be more responsible. They rarely think that the person is an alcoholic, or tending towards alcoholism.

Doctors normally treat people with drinking problems as drinking too much and are loathe to brand them as alcohlics. I agree with these reactions or attitudes, and so does this book.

It is refreshing to realize without saying it that AA is "ONE" unique way to respond to heavy drinking, and that everyone is not necessarily an alcoholic. There may be other well-founded ways to react to heavy drinking, a way that has been considered a normal reaction.

Each of us is unique and each of us reacts to alcohol differently. This book seems to capture those sentiments, and with a little bit of research, stamps these thoughts as normal and valid.

I like the way the author compares he! avy drinking with heavy eating or heavy smoking, and how people react wonderfully when such a person signs up for a new diet or a smoking cessation clinic, as being responsible and taking their lives into their own hands: it smacks of being a common-sensible way to deal with an ordinary problem.

Unfortunately, heavy drinking can maim or kill others, whereas smoking or heavy eating rarely hurt others. Because of this, possibly, society has overreacted and jumped on the band-wagon of branding heavy alcohol users as sick, insane, diseased, or whatever. As a result, this book is a refreshing look at a problem millions of alcohol-users deal with in the privacy of their own thoughts, but whose thinking has been stymied by the existance of the AA system, good in itself, but too much for some for whom AA does not apply. Surprisingly, even AA says it may not apply to everyone.

Robert Ackerman's "Children of Alcoholics: A Guide for Parents, Educators, and Therapists" is a book written about the effect of alcoholism on the family of the alcoholic written for the lay person. It does describe well the fact that alcoholism effects all in the family unit, but it's use is very limited as it spends most of its time describing its effect on young children and pre-teens. Some adoloscent-related things are mentioned and adults are given the short shrift. Useful only as a basic introduction.

Though written in the 80s, the pictures make it look like it's from the 60s. Minorities are depicted in unflattering situations, while most of the positive images feature white people.