Synopses & Reviews
Finally someone has gone straight to the real experts: hundreds of men and women who have resolved a drinking problem. The best-selling author Anne M. Fletcher asked them a simple question: how did you do it? The result is the first completely unbiased guide for problem drinkers, one that shatters long-held assumptions about alcohol recovery.
Myth: AA is the only way to get sober.
Reality: More than half the people Fletcher surveyed recovered without AA.
Myth: You can't get sober on your own.
Reality: Many people got sober by themselves.
Myth: One drink inevitably leads right back to the bottle.
Reality: A small number of people find they can have an occasional drink.
Myth: There's nothing you can do for someone with a drinking problem until he or she is ready.
Reality: Family and friends can make a big difference if they know how to help.
Weaving together the success stories of ordinary people and the latest scientific research on the subject, Fletcher uncovers a vital truth: no single path to sobriety is right for every individual. There are many ways to get sober - and stay sober. SOBER FOR GOOD is for anyone who has ever struggled not to drink, coped with someone who has a drinking problem, or secretly wondered, "Do I drink too much?"
Review
"Fletcher provides a useful overview of the varieties of recovery programs and practices."
Review
"Fletcher provides a useful overview of the varieties of recovery programs and practices."
Review
"Sober for Good integrates scientific evidence with real-life stories and commentary to create an effective volume that laypeople can readily understand. It's a compendium of hope for anyone who has concerns about their own drinking or that of someone close to them." ---Mark B. Sobell, Ph.D, Center for Psychological Studies, Nova Southeastern University
Review
"An impressive array of first-person accounts of how real people have resolved their alcohol problems, with and without formal treatment. [Sober for Good] reflects a hope-filled truth: that there are many different successful paths to recovery. Those who continue to suffer with alcohol problems, as well as the people who love them, can find hope in these real-life stories" ---William R. Miller, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry, Co-Director, Center on Alcoholism, Substance Abuse, and Addictions, University of New Mexico
Review
"The press kit for Anne M. Fletcher's new book, "Sober for Good," states,'Sometimes one book can make a difference.' After reading it, I could not agree more strongly."
The New York Times
"These stories are part of author Anne Fletcher's in-depth look at people who have overcome serious drinking problems ... Fletcher's main message: That there are many different ways to get and stay sober." USA Today
"Sober for Good integrates scientific evidence with real-life stories and commentary to create an effective volume that laypeople can readily understand. It's a compendium of hope for anyone who has concerns about their own drinking or that of someone close to them." ---Mark B. Sobell, Ph.D, Center for Psychological Studies, Nova Southeastern University
"An impressive array of first-person accounts of how real people have resolved their alcohol problems, with and without formal treatment. [Sober for Good] reflects a hope-filled truth: that there are many different successful paths to recovery. Those who continue to suffer with alcohol problems, as well as the people who love them, can find hope in these real-life stories" ---William R. Miller, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry, Co-Director, Center on Alcoholism, Substance Abuse, and Addictions, University of New Mexico
"A wonderful book - well written, full of hope and useful information, and positive at every turn. A must-read for anyone concerned about their own or another's drinking, as well as for health care professionals." ---Barbara S. McCrady, Ph.D, Professor and Clinical Director, Center of Alcohol Studies, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey
"Fletcher provides a useful overview of the varieties of recovery programs and practices." Publishers Weekly
About the Author
Anne M. Fletcher is a nationally known health and medical writer. Her best-selling book, Thin for Life: 10 Keys to Success from People Who Have Lost Weight and Kept It Off, with a foreword by Jane Brody (Houghton Mifflin, 1994), has sold more than 300,000 copies. Thin for Life won a National Health Information Award and was nominated for a Julia Child writing award. Fletcher's book Eating Thin for Life: Food Secrets and Recipes From People Who Have Lost Weight and Kept It Off won a National Health Information Award as well as the Beth Fonda Award for medical writing for a lay audience. Fletcher's articles on subjects ranging from osteoporosis to heart disease have appeared in Prevention, Redbook, Better Homes and Gardens, McCall's, Vogue, Good Housekeeping, Cooking Light, Reader's Digest, Parenting, and the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. In 1993 Fletcher received a William Harvey Award for medical writing. Previously, Fletcher was executive editor and chief writer of the Tufts University Health and Nutrition Letter and a contributing editor for Prevention. She also taught nutrition and biochemistry for Pennsylvania State University and was an assistant director of the Frances Stern Nutrition Center at New England Medical Center Hospital in Boston. She counseled hundreds of people with nutrition-related medical problems at the New England Institute of Nutrition and Health. Fletcher has appeared on The View, The Today Show, Donahue, Good Morning America, CBS This Morning, Cable News Network, and The Larry King Radio Show.
Table of Contents
Contents
Acknowledgments vi
Foreword by Frederick B. Glaser, M.D. xv
Introduction xix
1 A New Look at How People Really Solve Drinking Problems 1
2 There's Not Just One Way: How the Masters Got Sober -- and Stay
Sober 8
3 It's Not How Much You Drink: How the Masters Faced Up to Their
Alcohol Problems 26
4 You Don't Have to "Hit Bottom": How the Masters Reached the
Turning
Point 48
5 It's Not Necessarily One Day at a Time: How the Masters Made a
Commitment to Sobriety 75
6 Be Your Own Expert: How Seven Different Masters Found Their Way
with Seven Different Approaches 96
7 You Can Help: The Masters' Advice to Family and Friends 146
8 One Drink Does Not a Drunk Make: How the Masters Determined
Whether
They Could Ever Drink Again 170
9 It's Not Enough Just to Stop Drinking: How the Masters Deal with
Life's Ups and Downs Without Alcohol 193
10 Recall the Past, Live in the Present: How the Masters Stay
Motivated 217
11 With or Without a "Higher Power": How the Masters Handle
Spirituality 235
12 There's Nothing Missing: How the Masters Find Joy Without
Alcohol 247
Appendix: A Consumer Guide to Recovery Options 267
Selected References 303
Index 311