Since I was on Amazon, I saw several other books about addiction, and couldn't help thinking, wow, I wish I had read some of these, years ago. But I just never bothered to see what was on Amazon. Some of them are available on Kindle and also I think some may be available on Audible (my favorite format so I can listen while doing dishes).
Thought these were worth posting, here. I pasted some of the most notable reviews, next to the titles. For most of these books, I just picked one review, but for the first and last ones I posted, I am pasting more than one. Hope this may be helpful to some people.
Understanding the High-Functioning Alcoholic: Breaking the Cycle and Finding Hope
Living with a Functioning Alcoholic: A Woman's Survival Guide
By Luanna on February 4, 2009
Format: Paperback
Dr. Neill succeeds in writing a book primarily for women who live with an alcoholic. "Living with a Functioning Alcoholic" is not a book just about alcoholism. This book helps a woman decide if her partner is an alcoholic, how severe the partner's alcoholism is and what steps she needs to take to help her and her family.
This book truly is a guide. There are questions at the end of each chapter to help a person relate what has been spoken of to her particular situation. Dr. Neill helps take away the hopelessness of being with an alcoholic partner by breaking down the steps of what can be done to help all involved. This book helped me to feel empowered and hopeful about help for alcoholics and their families!
This book truly is a guide. There are questions at the end of each chapter to help a person relate what has been spoken of to her particular situation. Dr. Neill helps take away the hopelessness of being with an alcoholic partner by breaking down the steps of what can be done to help all involved. This book helped me to feel empowered and hopeful about help for alcoholics and their families!
If You Loved Me, You'd Stop! What You Really Need to Know When Your Loved One Drinks Too Much
By Still Recovering on February 1, 2009
Format: Paperback
In this author I met a woman who GETS IT. Most importantly, I learned I AM NOT CRAZY. The symptoms and situations described in this book are real and clearly written from first-hand experience. If I didn't know better, I'd think she'd been sitting at my dining table watching us the past 20 years!
I wish I'd had this book when I first started to realize my loved one was an addict/alcoholic. It's a great primer for anyone who's just begun to cope with a loved one's addiction, but even years into the process, I still learned new things. It packs so much into less than 100 pages about the nature of addiction and abusive drinking in it's many insidious forms.
Do you know what constitutes alcohol abuse? It's less drinks than I had thought. Did you know that 50% of all alcoholism develops at a quite young age, like cigarette smoking? Did you know that pervasive alcohol consumption actually 'hijacks the brain'? I didn't.
I really appreciated her personal struggles and how she framed the story in terms of HER NEED for help. The chapters have titles like 'You're not crazy, Something Really IS Wrong' and progress through a straight forward explanation of brain chemistry and gave me hope in chapters like 'Now What' and 'Reclaiming Your Life'. She tells a sad story, yet one filled with hope for all of us who have struggled with a loved one's addiction. So much hope!
I wish I'd had this book when I first started to realize my loved one was an addict/alcoholic. It's a great primer for anyone who's just begun to cope with a loved one's addiction, but even years into the process, I still learned new things. It packs so much into less than 100 pages about the nature of addiction and abusive drinking in it's many insidious forms.
Do you know what constitutes alcohol abuse? It's less drinks than I had thought. Did you know that 50% of all alcoholism develops at a quite young age, like cigarette smoking? Did you know that pervasive alcohol consumption actually 'hijacks the brain'? I didn't.
I really appreciated her personal struggles and how she framed the story in terms of HER NEED for help. The chapters have titles like 'You're not crazy, Something Really IS Wrong' and progress through a straight forward explanation of brain chemistry and gave me hope in chapters like 'Now What' and 'Reclaiming Your Life'. She tells a sad story, yet one filled with hope for all of us who have struggled with a loved one's addiction. So much hope!
Living Sober Sucks! (but living drunk sucks more)
By NewMacGirl on June 17, 2011
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
Oh yeah, and I'm still sober. I effing love this guy for making me feel that being selfish, getting sober for someone else or in someone else's honor, and not being an AA drone were all valid ways to maintain a happy healthy sober life. I don't count my days anymore. Before reading this book I thought I had to go to AA, 90 meetings in 90 days, get a sponsor, etc which I had done before and still relapsed. But after reading this book I just had a sense of purpose. I knew I wanted to lead my life without alcohol and that was it. I didn't want to alter many other things/my lifestyle/etc. Now what I'm saying is that whatever I'm doing is working for me, which cannot be entirely attributed to this book, but for the purposes of this review I will tell anyone curious or considering stopping drugs and alcohol give this book a chance and hope you don't mind a little cursing here and there. I personally loved his raw language as addiction is no sensitive topic!
The Sobering Truth
By Mark Twain on November 24, 2015
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
Pocket Sponsor, 24/7 Back to the Basics Support for 12 Step Recovery
By Sherry R. on August 2, 2008
Format: Paperback
This little pocket size book has been vital for those times when I need to get out of my own head for a second in a healthy way and gain nurishing food for thought. I've thought many times about the message I've received when I opened it up, it's right where I am emotionally even if I don't really want to see it at the time. I hasn't failed yet to deliver just what I need to hear when I need to hear it.
I've since purchased The Pocket Sponsor for all my sponcees and they love it. I've given them as gifts and used them as topics for discussion groups. There isn't one person that I've shared this little book with that doesn't agree that it has powerful messages.
It's a terrific book!!! I carry it on the motorcycle, in my purse, in my pocket, it even goes to the beach with me.
I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to have acceptance of others, gratitude and some peace of mind in their lives. That's how it works for me anyway, one day at a time and sometimes one minute at a time. Whatever works for you.
I've since purchased The Pocket Sponsor for all my sponcees and they love it. I've given them as gifts and used them as topics for discussion groups. There isn't one person that I've shared this little book with that doesn't agree that it has powerful messages.
It's a terrific book!!! I carry it on the motorcycle, in my purse, in my pocket, it even goes to the beach with me.
I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to have acceptance of others, gratitude and some peace of mind in their lives. That's how it works for me anyway, one day at a time and sometimes one minute at a time. Whatever works for you.
12 Smart Things to Do When the Booze and Drugs Are Gone: Choosing Emotional Sobriety through Self-Awareness and Right Action
By H. Francisco on February 28, 2011
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
I have been in recovery for 28 years and am very familiar with Bill Wilson's letter on Emotional Sobriety. I have been reading and studying this piece of writing in an attempt to have my deeper rooted character defects "cast out" as the 12-step process had done with my alcoholism in my early sobriety. It wasn't until I read Dr. Berger's book that not only was I able to identify more fully with Bill's dilemma (one unhealthily dependent person to another unhealthily dependent person), but was provided with awareness and concrete direction as to what I could do about it! Truth is, I sat down to read a few chapters and had a powerful awakening to my problem and its solution... I could not put this book down until I was finished. Dr. Berger spoke to my dis-ease and my emotional recovery. I highly recommend this book for anyone struggling for lasting inner peace.
12 Stupid Things That Mess Up Recovery & 12 Smart Things to Do When the Booze and Drugs Are Gone: Avoiding Relapse and Choosing Emotional Sobriety through Self-Awareness and Right Action
By Connie Patterson on August 13, 2016
Verified Purchase
Informative and helpful.
By Jules on April 6, 2009
Format: Paperback
As a very good friend...all I can say is that this book is a must read for ALL! It will not only help everyone trying or trying again and again to be in recovery, but also for the family and friends who need a little insight on what they might have missed or not fully understood about being an addict. My feelings were truly changed from the pages of this amazing book and I have a better appreciation and understanding from the "other side"...I can not wait for a follow up to get more information and knowledge of what to do to help and encourage the ongoing process of recovery.
By Claire on September 7, 2011
Format: Paperback
I bought this book off the title alone. So many times, people struggling with sobriety look at a sober life as "boring". Sacha Scoblic takes us on the journey of discovering that its not. Whether you are currently a lush or have "no problem", this book is a wonderful read. It is about discovering who you are, why you do things, what you are telling yourself you deserve, and figuring out how to be true to yourself and real in every moment. Sacha shares it all from the nitty-gritty dark side of addiction to the sober observations of the crazy world around her. I laughed out loud at her no-holds-barred wit, and her tell-it-like-it-is candor. But what lingers me with today is how brutally honest Sacha has gotten with herself, about everything. My life may not outwardly resemble hers, but I want to live in such honesty. And after you read her story, you will as well. I recommend this book to anyone. But if you are by chance someone who occasionally asks, "do I have a problem?", buy it and read it now.
By Phil Brown on March 16, 2014
Format: Paperback
I read your book in a day and was astounded by Rachel's bravery, and honest account of her life with alcohol. HER STORY IS MY STORY. So many times I was nodding my head saying "yep, that's me, my behaviours and my thoughts". I have had to face up to the fact that I don't drink alcohol like the rest of my friends do, and that has taken me a couple of years to admit and numerous attempts to modify my behaviour. If you think you're the only one going through what you're going through, thinking what you're thinking, ....you're wrong.
I cannot recommend this book strongly enough. Cheers (pun intended).
I cannot recommend this book strongly enough. Cheers (pun intended).
By AWR on June 25, 2016
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
For a female attorney who drank and used as copiously as Lisa Smith did, I'm surprised most anyone who had any contact with her in her firm wasn't well aware that she had an addiction problem. I practiced law for many years as an active alcoholic, basically of the binge drinking variety. So even though I only drank on weekends for the most part, I learned you get pegged pretty quickly. There's just too many ways for people to tell and for the firm's lawyers to figure it out, no matter how good you are at maintaining. A little mouthwash in the mornings isn't going to hide it.
So while I didn't believe Smith's version of how she was skating by undetected, I found her amazing somewhat repetitive drunkalogue both entertaining and scary. Anyone with an alcohol or coke problem will find themselves here in full debilitating glory. The intense pressure we put on ourselves as active alcoholics is a crushing experience right up until we "stop digging."
The recovery portion of this memoir is the best part. The fact that she never relapsed after initially seeking in-patient treatment and her willingness to change and grow into a sober person is an enlightening guide to all those who want to know what it really takes to turn it all around. If you're having trouble grabbing hold of a program or path to sobriety, this just might be the book that helps you figure out what it takes.
So while I didn't believe Smith's version of how she was skating by undetected, I found her amazing somewhat repetitive drunkalogue both entertaining and scary. Anyone with an alcohol or coke problem will find themselves here in full debilitating glory. The intense pressure we put on ourselves as active alcoholics is a crushing experience right up until we "stop digging."
The recovery portion of this memoir is the best part. The fact that she never relapsed after initially seeking in-patient treatment and her willingness to change and grow into a sober person is an enlightening guide to all those who want to know what it really takes to turn it all around. If you're having trouble grabbing hold of a program or path to sobriety, this just might be the book that helps you figure out what it takes.
By lakemomof2 on July 29, 2013
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
I loved it! I am also a recovering drunk mom. So many things she did throughout her journey, I can totally relate to. I have learned that I am not alone in this journey, but reading her book just strengthened that for me, like a validation. We can overcome alcoholism, but it takes the help of others, and our decision to QUIT.
(I am including three reviews for this book)
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