Synopses & Reviews
With skill and compassion, Sarah Hafner, a recovering alcoholic, elicits from 18 women their struggles and triumphs as they fought alcoholism in a society where women cross-section of women, Hafner makes readily available the identification process found so helpful in various recovery programs. These stories reveal the personal side of a disease that afflicts approximately 10.5 million Americans, nearly half of them women, and directly affects many millions more.
Nice Girls Don't Drink invites us into the lives of women from all segments of our society--rich and poor, gay and straight, women in diverse ethnic groups and a variety of occupations. Housewives, salesclerks, counselors, and artists are here together telling of a disease that transcends the distinctions of class, education, and culture. With courage, candor, and even flashes of humor, the women recount the early influences that led to their addiction, often including alcoholic or abusive parents; how alcoholism took over their lives; crucial turning points; and the recovery that enabled them to reclaim their dignity. The book guides readers to sources of help, and lists the twelve steps of Alcoholics Anonymous and the thirteen affirmations of Women for Sobriety. A monument to the resilience of the human spirit, Nice Girls Don't Drink is a source of inspiration for the female alcoholic, but more generally, it is for anyone struggling to overcome an addiction or other handicap with the goal of living a more complete life.
Review
. . . these accounts of blackouts, bloating, the DTs, and mental illness may give sufferers of the disease the encouragement they need to find help. Of particular interest is Dr. Jean Kirkpatrick's own story and her conclusion that women alcoholics need a different type of recovery program than men do, which led her to organize Women for Sobriety. But there are as many versions of recovery as there are human beings, and other women are satisfied with the AA method. Hafner doesn't take sides. She simply presents the stories and offers hope. Appended material includes `Where to Go for Help,' `The 12 Steps of AA,' and `Thirteen Affirmations of Women for Sobriety.'Booklist
Review
Harner, a recovering alcoholic herself, compiled these interviews with 20 recovering women alcoholics because she felt that they could serve as examples and their voices needed to be heard. . . The stories her subjects tell, harrowing yet hopeful, partially confirm her theory that its different for women. Many women alcoholics, like men, have abusive and alcoholic parents, but other factors, like addictions to food and Valium, seem more common among women drinkers. . . Of several voices for a women-oriented recovery approach, the strongest is that of Jean Kirkpatrick, founder of the 30,000-member Women for Sobriety, which aims to give women some empowerment. In AA, she notes, "the basis is humility," which women already have in sufficient quantity.Publishers Weekly
Review
Hurrah for Hafner!Dr. Jean Kirkpatrick Executive Director Women for Sobriety
Synopsis
What's it like to be a woman alcoholic in America? How does a woman's drinking affect her children, husband, lover, employer, fellow workers, and friends? Nice Girls Don't Drink answers these questions in compelling fashion through the voices of some 25 women alcoholics.
Synopsis
What's it like to be a woman alcoholic in America? How does a woman's drinking affect her children, husband, lover, employer, fellow workers, and friends? Nice Girls Don't Drink answers these questions as no other book does--through the voices of some 25 women alcoholics who have hit rock bottom, confronted their addiction face-to-face, and completely turned their lives around. By interviewing women from varied backgrounds, Hafner facilitates the identification process found to be so helpful to recovering alcoholics, and the book contains a section listing suggestions for where to get help, the twelve steps of AA, and the affirmations of Women for Sobriety. Though obviously for the women alcoholic, Nice Girls Don't Drink is also an excellent source of comfort and inspiration for those involved in overcoming an emotional or physical handicap of any kind.
About the Author
SARAH HAFNER is a writer and artist. She attended Amherst College and Pratt Institute and now resides in Northamption, Massachusetts where she is at work on her second book.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Making it Through the Night
Abuse
Identity: Searching for a Voice
In Love
Self Worth
Nice Girls Don't Drink
Resources