5 comments about Courage to Change: One Day at a Time in Al-Anon II.

1. After many many years of suffering with my husband through his addiction and then facing the hard-hitting rock bottom he went through...this book has given me the hope that I need so much.
   Thankfully, my husband has since found the path to recovery "Courage to Change" helps me go through the day when I feel like I just want to call it quits.
   It is also helping me through my own 12 step program...to stop being a co-dependant and living for myself.



2. If you have ever lived with an addict or alcoholic, this book gives you inspiration and courage to learn how to be independent in your growth as a person.



3. I have owned this book since the year it was published in 1992. I have read it almost every night for the last 14 years off and on but mostly on. I am always amazed and brought to tears as to how accurate the message is on any given day. I had a breif relationship with an addict that ended over 10 years ago but this book is the one true gift that I was given from that experience as it truly is a daily message from God and has given me more comfort, solace and strength than I can describe. I plan on purchasing 2 more copies tonight.



4. I bought this for my H for Christmas and realized that I wish I had bought it for me too! It's a great book that gives very easy to read thoughts to help in overcoming different issues related to addictions and being the relative of those who are addicted. The thought size is perfect for those times when you don't have a lot of time. It still gives you recovery material to work with even when you are busy and on the go!



5. This is a great staple of the Al-Anon program and a great influence on anyone's life. Whether you read the daily reading or go to the index and look for readings on particular topics, this book is a classic.

5 comments about Dry: A Memoir.

1. Dry was one of the most amazing books I have read. I really enjoyed Running with Scissors but this was a much more powerful book -- and astonishingly Dry kept its humor more consistently than Running with Scissors despite such heavy materials.



2. This book is one of those that you won't put down until it is finished. He writes with wit, clarity and honesty.



3. Quirky isn't exactly the right word for this book. Insightful maybe. Heartbreakingly honest. Gut bustingly funny.
   
   I cried, laughed, sighed and nodded my head in recognition and/or agreement...sometimes all within the same page. Sometimes in the same sentence. He's a gifted writer and after three reads, and almost 7 years, this book remains at the top of my favorites list. (Plus, I think its way better than Running With Scissors.)



4. This was a great book. Augusten Burroughs has such a great narrative style and you immediately feel like you know him, as if you're friends. I couldn't put it down and finished it in two days (would have in one if I didn't have to stop for meals and work!). Highly recommended!



5. The fact that I finished this book in one day *probably* indicates that I enjoyed it. Indeed, the only novels that I recall where I truly laughed my head off were from chick-lits, trivial as that may sound. But, really, Burroughs has managed to be disarmingly droll while being frightfully honest and self-deprecating. I can't attest if that's from being gay, the result of coming from a dysfunctional family, or perhaps from working in advertising (in New York, no less).
   
   What made this story interesting for me was the way he narrated his excruciating battle with alcoholism, that even someone who doesn't suffer from that ailment can actually empathize with him. Definitely he refrained from being too long-winded about it, avoiding the pitfall of letting his story become boring or monotonous--his cracks about himself, his fellow addicts, down to the closet case that is his boss, openly drew chuckles from me. There was enough balance of falling into bouts of introspection as well as allowing the story to progress via the lively dialogues with the equally captivating secondary characters--the tragedy that is Pighead, the complexity and apparent exceptionality that is Foster, and the oddity namely Greer, among others. A guilty enjoyment for me as well was the encounter with the German advertising client who unwittingly provokes the imagination of Augusten to spout Nazi stereotypes.
   
   Unexpected, though, was the striking insight into repressed emotions and the ability of a person to love another despite seemingly insurmountable flaws. Augusten's relationships perfectly capture what I think is a quintessentially urban tendency of people nowadays to tirelessly compensate for what they think they are missing in life. In a way, this novel shows how cheerless that condition is, and, at the same time, be unafraid of what is, after all, a price for being human.
   
   Augusten's narration of what his childhood was, the blatant abandonment he experienced from his parents, the perversion done to him as a teenager, makes the reader in turns awed and morbidly fascinated with the man that he has become. There were times our protagonist was readily aware of his shortcomings--from keeping up with the AA meetings to juggling his relationships with Pighead and Foster--and if those weren't uncomfortable enough, the reader is also made cognizant of his glaring denials about how he was living his life, pre- and post-rehab.
   
   I highly recommend this novel. Whether one is seeking an understanding of alcoholism, or simply in want of a refreshing, entertaining read--granted it's peeking into the "memoirs" of a self-confessed mess--this story will take you from laughs to sadness, hope to sorrow. (and back again). Without a doubt, this work proves that Burroughs is an Original.

5 comments about Adult Children of Alcoholics.

1. I will simply say that if you are an adult from an alcoholic or a dysfunctional family, READ THIS BOOK. It's short, sweet, and to the point. Lots of books meander around wasting your time with fluff. This one doesn't. Every sentence of this short dynamo is filled with practical meaning. If you are noticing a lot of caretaking, obsessive behavior, dysfunction in relationships, etc., you may be stuck in destructive behavior patterns and dynamics rooted in an alcoholic or dysfunctional family of origin. This book quickly rips to the point. I'm a recovering alcoholic and an addictions counselor. I recommend this book to my clients who invariably love it.



2. In it's time, and for a very -long- time, this was what we had to go on. Woititz understood the dilemmas, the lost decades of our lives, the confusion that swung us hither and yon, and the loss of grasp of ourselves and the world around us that overwhelms the child of confusing, invalidating, ignoring, abandoning and abusive parenting. Though she framed it as she did, it is clear now that the 12 Step movement that sprang from her book includes the children of such parents regardless of their drinking or other substance abuse habits... or -lack- of them.
   
   My own mother did not drink heavily until well into my own adulthood, but she was surely one of "them" throughout her life... and mine. She had Munchausen's by Proxy, and I was her medical punk. Today, I find it wholly and entirely possible to accept her as the daughter of those who confused the h**l out of -her-.
   
   Wotitiz's 13 generalizations have opened the eyes of hundreds of thousands. Her work opened the floodgates of self-identification for Claudia Black, Melody Beattie, Patricia Evans and Pia Mellody, all of whom picked up the torch she inherited from Bill Wilson and Jimmy Kannon... and carried it to millions in the much larger Co-Dependents Anonymous 12 Step framework, as well as to those in "ACA." In a mere 118 pages, Woititz handed down a platform for recovery, as well as self-recognition. Her other work since then has put wheels under that platform, of course.
   
   In 2006, the first- and second-wave veterans of ACA published another book by the same title currently available on from ACA itself. Building hugely upon Woititz's work, the new ACA "big red book" not only expands upon the original thesis and identifications, it takes them into territory Woititz and the psychophilosophers of her time were as yet far from. The new book is now, as the old book was then, breaking new ground in lay language similar to what we're hearing in professional language these days from Bruce Perry, John Preston, Neil Bockian and Glen Gabbard.
   
   The ACA "book study" meeting I attend in the Victoria-era, university town of Redlands, California, began with Woititz, and has since moved on to the new book. I'm glad we did it that way. The new book is a very, -very- stiff dose of personal reality. I recommend it, but it occurs to me that it is -such- a stiff dose of reality that working up to it with the original of this same title makes a lot of practical - and emotional - sense. Recovery, after all, is not an event so much as a -process-.



3. This book is a must have for those who are in a relationship with ACOA's. Without this reading it is nearly impossible to understand the complexities experienced by your ACOA growing up and how those experiences are potrayed in adult hood. After reading this you will realise there is hope.



4. I can remember very clearly that day in '75 when my dad came home from the grocery store with an enormous green jug of some kind of liquid and I, being only ten years old, innocently asked him, "What's that dad?" He just kind of smiled a me and said, "Oh, that? That's joy juice, Johnny."
   
   I just kind of laughed it off.
   
   By the time I was fifteen years old I began to notice how quickly that "Joy Juice" seemed to disappear. My dad would buy maybe three or four of them aweek and not only were they in the refridgerator but I also found them in his closet.
   
   By the time I was twently, I realized that that stuff my dad called "Joy Juice" did not really give him any kind of joy at all. In fact, the more of it he drank, the meaner he got...at least that was my perception. Maybe I noticed it more than my other siblings because for some reason I bore the brunt of his anger. I felt as though I was the source of all his disappointment and anger. I often felt guilty abut my dad's drinking. If only I stayed in college then my dad wouldn't have drank so much...if only I loved him more than he wouldn't need to drink...if only...if only...if only...I even thought that if I ended my own life, my dad's would be so much better.
   
   After a botched suicide attempt, I was literally thrown into the world of healing and recovery. A lot of the books that I read at that time came to me rather than me coming to them. Such is the case with this book.
   
   My eyes well up with tears when I think of this devastatingly beautiful book. It was the first book that told me what my condition really was; I was an adult child of an alcoholic. Those words were not a soothing balm. They sting just as much now as they did when I first read them.
   
   I remember thinking, but my dad can't be an alcoholic. My uncle was, that was for sure. They found Uncle Ralph dead in a South Carolina gutter. He never knew how to handle his life, but my dad was a brilliant man and an incredible English teacher who had won more than his fair share of awards. He was witty and charming and people loved him but my dad had more than a few demons wandering around in his psyche and when those demons got the better of him he was dark and lonely, insecure and afraid. He was running from something but I never quite knew what it was.
   
   This book made me so angry that I could only read a paragraph at a time at first. I often felt while reading it the urge to scream while still on other days I often found myself running to the bathroom and throwing up due to the stress I was feeling about confronting my own demons regarding my dad's alcoholism.
   
   But even though I was learning about my dad's illness - and that is exactly what alcoholism is, I was, at age 25, going to the bars with my best friend and getting drunk at least 4 nights out of seven and one night, I guess they call this a "moment of clarity" I looked at my friend(whose mother was also an alcoholic) after drinking my third Stoli's on the rocks and I said, "Hey, do you think we're becoming alcoholics like our parents?" He looked at me and just smiled, "Well, if we're not than we are kinduv wasting our money." And I looked at him and I just remember feeling partially frozen and partially horrified and I looked at that glass of vodka and back at my friend and said, "If that's the case, then I don't want to do this anymore." And I walked out of that bar feeling alone, scared, and yet willing to have my life completely change.
   
   I finally got through this book and then I read it again and again. I finally got the urge to attend an Al-Anon meeting and I stood up and said those words that often change lives, "My name is John and I'm the child of an alcoholic..." And the weight that came off my shoulders that evening was so incredible.
   
   Who knew I had wings? That was all I needed to say. That was all I ever needed to say.
   
   Last month my dad was admitted into the ER. His drinking had finally caught up with him. He had permanently damaged his central nervous system and has thrown his balance completely off. I sat with him at his bedside as he told the doctor that he only drank "a glass or two". At almost 81 years old, he's still lying. But his lies are more and more transparent. The doctor knew he was dealing with an alcoholic but I knew that this man laying in that bed was a brilliant teacher, a witty and charming man, a man who had his demons, a man who once completely terrified me and had me convinced me that I wasn't "good enough", a man suffering from the dis-ease of alcoholism and I just held his hand.
   
   I love this book but I am more than an adult child of an alcoholic just as the alcoholic is more than an alcoholic. We are all children of Love, of Life, of Light Itself. We all have wings and if we are willing to go through the darkness, we will find light...not by analyzing the darkness...but by admitting to ourselves that we are good enough to heal our lives and bring forth who we already are within.
   
   Peace and Blessings,
   john, "the Light Coach"



5. In her study of adults who as children were reared in homes where one or both of the parents were an alcoholic, Woititz discovered 13 characteristics of adult children of alcoholics. When I read the list, I thought: "Hey, 12 out of 13 ain't bad." Only later did I discover that had I been telling myself the truth, I'd have scored a perfect 100%. And all this with both of my parents total abstainers from alcohol. How come? In her introduction, Woititz acknowledges that after her study was completed, they discovered that the same characteristics (and solutions) also apply to children reared in homes where, for example, there was an individual with a disability, nonchemical addictions (i.e., work, sex, religion), or some other kind of obsession that demanded everyone else in the family fit in and around and aid that obsession. Although my parents have long since passed away, I still find the book helpful in understanding some of my behaviors that even I find bewildering. And in hope that it may benefit others who haven't yet come to see the forces that helped mold them into the person they are today, I've made this book a gift.

5 comments about Courageous Souls: Do We Plan Our Life Challenges Before Birth?.

1. Courageous Souls: Do We Plan Our Life Challenges Before Birth?Best book I have ever read on the subject of Pre Birth Planning. So well written and easy to relate to. It has brought great healing to my life and I continue to explore all possibilities. It has certainly given me a better understanding to life and knowing that everyone is on a journey to better their soul. A must read for anyone on a spiritual path to healing.



2. Wonderful reference book for anyone researching reincarnation. Answers many question as well as raising them.



3. Everything always makes sense when you can see the big picture. This book provides a glimpse into why events we perceive as "bad" happen, through a varied collection of individual cases.
   
   Our lives in this "reality" are just learning experiences, to expand our awareness of ourselves, we agreed to before we arrived on the planet.



4. I absolutely love this book! I knew that we had pre-planned our lives before reading it, but it explains it so well with people's stories to show you examples. I really hope I can get my friend to read it as I think it will help her to understand the reasons for some of her challenges in her childhood and now. EXCELLENT BOOK!



5. If there is ever one word to describe this book, its powerful. What a concept...that suffering is never meaningless, but a vehicle of purposeful intent and that we, as eternal souls, planned to use certain challenges to foster growth not only for our own souls but for the sake of our soul group and the universe at large. Putting it into a context like this, suffering has a whole different meaning.
   
   According to the book, those around us also plan our lives intertwined with ours and all decisions are made out of love, no exception. I now think about my own challenges and those who have played a key role in my own personal growth and look upon them with gratitude and not judgment, including the "villains" in my story, because they fostered the most growth out of me. I am only now beginning to see the perfection of life. Aside from clarity, this book will bring healing and infinite comfort to those going through extreme suffering in their lives by learning there are no victims in this world.
   
   Part of me picked up this book to find comfort for my own inner wounds. I cried when I read the words "Only the courageous plan fear" for I knew, that was what I intended to heal and have been working on it for years, having them dissipate one by one.
   
   It has been a long time since I closed a book and felt warm, comforted and knowledgeable. The author takes you by the hand and guides you through this information with compassion, grace and great wisdom. I just cannot fully express how wonderful this book is. It is absolute perfection and if I could, I'd give it more stars. If there is ever a book I'd recommend, it would be this one!

5 comments about The Alcoholism and Addiction Cure: A Holistic Approach to Total Recovery.

1. Beware of words like "total" and "cure"
   
   Alcoholism and drug addiction are diseases much like heart disease, lifestyle related. Anyone who makes high risk alcohol and drug choices can develop this disease. Some people have an increased biological risk.
   People can recover from these illnesses and live relatively normal lives. Some addicts and alcoholics, just like people with heart disease, don't follow their treatment and get sick again.
   
   Just like I am skeptical of books about weight loss, easy heart condition fixes and cancer cures, so I would also beware of a book that promises total recovery or a cure for a disease. These are the words of book sellers, marketing and profiteering, not science.



2. Great Book! A lot of really good information to help understand addictions, which in turn helps understand how to plot a course to overcome addictions. A lot of resources suggestions included.



3. this book was unimpressive to me. just a waste of money as very little in it is of much use.



4. The story that the son, Pax, wrote about his addiction and recovery was great. It rang brutally true. I was into the book and ready to see how they could translate their $50,000/month Malibu treatment plan to the masses. The answer? They can't. They recommend hiring a western medical doctor, a clinical pyschologist, a massage therapist, a nutrionist, an acupuncturist, a hypnotist, and a doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine as the minimum "holistic treatment team". They recommend going to clinical pyschologist at least 3 times/week. During a question/answer part of the book, it was asked "What if I can't afford all of this?" The answer? Ask to be treated for free. Tell them that they'd be part of a "Passages model team".
   
   Okay...
   
   My HMO pays for 10 counseling sessions per year with a social worker. And the copay for that is $40 per visit. Somehow I don't think I'm going to be able to assemble this psychological dream team without a load of cash and a lot of free time.
   
   Oh, and what should you do if your dream team doesn't live in your small town? MOVE to a big city (just for a month).
   
   I'm not a big fan of AA and their dogmatic religiosity, but at least they're free and close by!



5. It's not a disease but it can be cured? What's to cure then? only illnesses or diseases need cures. well normal conditions don't require a "cure." And if they are "cured" why can't they drink normally? If there is no disease, no alcoholism, why don't they serve wine at dinner? Once the "core issues" are cleared up and gone around day 15 of the $70,000 plus a month program they should be able to toast with a cocktail like normal folks can on occasion. I just don't see how a non-disease would require a cure and if there is no condition after 30 days why can't the residents drink normally like people who have never struggled with addiction? Isn't that what a "cure" is? A return to normal? If someone was completely cured of their peanut allergy wouldn't that mean they could eat a PBJ? If they can't drink safely doesn't that mean they are not cured of the disease they never had? And if they can't relapse why does Passages send residents home with sober companions and readmit them after they pick up a drink or drug again (what other places call a relapse)? Bit of a contradiction it seems.

5 comments about Alcoholics Anonymous - Big Book 4th Edition.

1. 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.



2. This is appears to be a bootleg copy of the book, Alcoholics Anonymous published by AAWS.
   
   This is not the REAL book that Alcoholics Anonymous uses in it's program of recovery.
   
   Please make your purchase from the legitimate publisher, AAWS or AA that is also listed on this site.



3. I am a member of A.A. and wanted to purchase a copy of the Big Book. I always shop at Amazon.com due to the great pricing and service. I just wish that Amazon would have shown me the actual product. A.A. publishes multiple sizes and covers of the Big Book and this was the only one I saw on Amazon. Unfortunately, I noticed at my next meeting that the one I was getting from Amazon was the smallest and cheapest made big book and I paid 3 times what it was worth. I kept it, but was rather annoyed with the outcome. The book is a MUST for any suffering alcoholic, or anyone who knows\lives with one. It is informative, well-written, and full of knowledge and hope. I recommend it for almost anyone.



4. Every recovering Alcoholic should have a copy of this book in your home. It will be your backbone and needed structure while you take one day at a time.
   
   You can learn from others who have walked this path before you!
   
   Merna
   
   Pocket of Pearls: A 30-day pocket workbook to start hearing a softer voice inside of you!



5. What can be added to a book that has been around since 1939 and is still read after a quadrillion people have read it? By following the stories of the various people who have recovered from alcoholism, the "main idea" will certainly hit you. What idea? When it dawns, you'll know.
   
   If the dawn has come already, you will find strength and hope in all of your relationships.

5 comments about A Million Little Pieces.

1. I just finished this book, and I while I had heard about the controversy surrounding this book before reading it, and taking everything written with a grain of salt, this book is still incredible!!! Even if the arrest and some of the deaths in the book were not completely accurate, the descriptions of what he and other people addicted to drugs must go through HAS to be real, and thus, his book is still an amazing literary accomplishment. It truly is one of the best books I've read in a long time. It inspired me and is a book that I will probably think about for quite a while, especially those times when it feels like my life sucks. It could be worse! ;-) So, to everyone that thinks that this book is not worth a read because of all the controversy... open your world to just experience the emotions of the story and learn a little more about what "humanity" is... We all need each other and although we can only truly depend on ourself in life, without people caring about us, and people to care about, life could be very difficult. This book made me doubly appreciate the good things that I still have. This book is now one of my favorite books! Excellent read!



2. I wrote a review years ago after I read this book.
   Still today, regardless of all the notoriety, I give thanks to James for writing this book. Unless someone has walked in the shoes of very early sobriety and recovery from drug addiction as well as alcohol abuse there can be no understanding of how powerful this book is.
   Bottom line: it saved my life and my MIND. Without this book God only knows if I would be here today 3 years later, clean and sober, to write about it.



3. This book I read before I saw him on Oprah about the validity of his book. His writing style is amazing and will draw you into this 'story' of his life. It was very believable down to the smallest of details, while keeping your attention. It was hard to put down!
   
   He definitely has a talent for writing captivating 'stories'.
   
   Merna
   
   Pocket of Pearls: A 30-day pocket workbook to start hearing a softer voice inside of you!



4. Regardless of how I feel about the whole controversy surrounding this book, it turned out to be a good story and I'll rate it for what it is...A work of fiction, based on a true story.
   As a story is wasn't bad - not bad at all, especially after the first couple hundred pages.
   
   For me, the beginning was so redundant that I came close to giving up on it. The first 200 pages could have easily been summed up like this...My name is James Frey and I'm a total mess. I'm 23 years old. I've been an alcoholic for the last ten years. I'm a drug Addict, and a Criminal. I'm currently in a treatment facility. I hate myself and deserve whatever physical and or mental pain and agony that comes my way. In fact, I'm such a crazy alcoholic, such a tough drug addict, such a hardened criminal, I'll take any pain you got - bring it on!
   
   The rest of the novel is a compelling story about the author's time spent in a treatment facility for drug and alcohol addiction. It is a story worth the cost of the book and the time spent reading it.
   
   As far as the hullabaloo - I knew all along that many of the facts presented in this memoir were not true; the author himself has admitted to lying. Therefore, I didn't experience that surprising feeling of betrayal when you believe something to be true, only to find out otherwise. However, when schools, universities, colleges, newspapers, etc. are so intense about not tolerating plagiarism, why do publishers, editors and most of all readers accept any lack of honesty and integrity when it come to labeling literature? Why sort literature by genre at all if we aren't going to have some standards set that we can trust? Yes, I guess it (labeling this book a memoir) really does bug me.



5. Although later found out to be a fictional piece, this book was still worth the read. This book kept me reading.

5 comments about The Chris Farley Show: A Biography in Three Acts.

1. I could not put this book down! I have always been a fan of Chris Farley and after reading this I fell in love with him all over again. I cried, laughed, and was mad as hell. It really made me realize that we sometimes forget that celeberties are real people just like you and me! I pray that someone will read this and change some destructive things in their lives to LIVE!



2. I bought this for my dh's birthday and we've been fighting over who gets to read it. We're actually keeping two bookmarks in the book so we can read it simultaneously.
   
   It's really a sad story. But a very honest look at Farley's insecurities and his fatal struggle with drugs and alcohol. I find myself feeling sorry for him.
   
   The interview format makes it a pretty quick read.



3. The Chris Farley Show is basically his brother Tom and a bunch Chris' closest work, high school, and college friends talking about their experiences with Farley.
   
   The book is broken up into three "acts", the first is about Chris as a youth and how he became an aspiring comedian, the second is about making it to Second City and eventually SNL and then to his feature films and the last act is about Chris' demise.
   
   The book is almost overwhelmingly (70-80%) about Chris' addictions and demons. He was in and out of probably every rehab center in America but could never truly stay clean.
   
   I am a huge Chris Farley fan and love all of his work, he was truly a great talent and by all accounts a very generous and caring individual. He was also extremely insecure and riddled by almost every addiction known to man (overeating, alcoholism, drug use, obsessive compulsive disorder).
   
   Anywho, this was a quick read at 330 pages mainly because it's set up like reading a movie script. Each person opines about a given topic and then the next jumps in. There are a lot of celebrity memories in this book from SNL Alums including Chevy Chase, Tim Meadows, David Spade, Alec Baldwin and so forth.
   
   The best parts of The Chris Farley Show were when his friends would reminisce about the funny pranks that Farley use to pull as a kid, such as eating a box of white tic-tacs and then banging his mouth on a church pew and spitting the tic-tacs out like they were his teeth! or every time a pretty girl would walk by Chris would get down in the push-up position and start counting 198, 199, 200. It was the little things in this book that made it a good read.
   
   The Bottom Line: Everyone knows Chris' story but few knew the man and after reading this book you will have a bit more insight into how great of a person and talent we lost.
   
   Highly Recommended for even casual Farley fans



4. I tore through this book. Like the history of Saturday Night Live called "Live from New York" this is an oral biography of Chris Farley (interestingly, in this book the "Live from New York" book takes a pretty harsh hit from someone claiming he was misquoted in the SNL history). The oral format worked for me. As Tom wrote in the introduction, Chris Farley lived the type of life where all his friends had "Chris stories."
   
   This book, like its subject's life, is funny, revealing, touching, maddening and ultimately tragic. There is a period in Chris' life where he really had his stuff together he was on top of the world and I was unaware of that. I was not prepared to for the Chris Farley that was sober and on top of things and brightening the world around him. That high period in his life makes his ending all the more depressing. Especially since it really seemed he was going to keep his addictions down and go on to break out from the "fat guy falls down" comedy and truly make something great one day.
   
   What surprised me was the unanimous love for Chris by everyone that is interviewed. Surely they could have found someone out there that knew Chris that thought he was a jerk? Even at his most outrageous he could still find a way to make people love him. To me, that's another tragedy of his life. He was greatly loved and it seems he really didn't see it or, if he did see it, feel he deserved it.
   
   It's also impressive for the honesty of all those interviewed. Sure, they all loved Chris but they do not airbrush his faults. Even some of things that made him endearing could become a pain in the behind if a schtick was carried on too long. His drinking, his drug use, his rehab and the problems of and caused by his family are all addressed here. It's an honest book and in a biography, that is all that you can really hope for.



5. Who would have expected Chris Farley to be such a loving man? A devastating story that will seduce those who even hold just a passing interest in Farley's work. The question is, why did we have to wait so long for his story to be told?

5 comments about Codependent No More: How to Stop Controlling Others and Start Caring for Yourself.

1. Codependency is far more prevalent then one is aware. My many years in Al-Anon were very helpful but so many unanswered questions were found when I looked at my codependancy issues, that I was unaware of. Many thanks to Melody Beattie's books.



2. I was given some insight while reaing this book. I don't agree with everything in here, but no one is going to be completely satisfied with everything. I do not like the format or the"beatin around the bush" persay. I felt there was a lot of babbling and many tims when I thought I was getting somewhere she goes on to say...Later on in coming chapters...that is annoying. If I am on the subject now I want the meat and potatoes now, not later. She looses me a few times in each chapter with a lot of useless information I believe. The other thing is this book is reallygeared towards people who have relationships with people with many issues. I am in fact codependent, but I need a book for codependents who aren't enabling an alcoholic or sex addict, drug abuser, etc. etc. I didn't quite get that from this book. I will say it was a goo staring point and did put me in the right direction to finding out what many of my issues are and gave it a name so I may do further research on my own...mybe I'll write my own book on codependency.



3. My counselor suggested this book. So being the good "student" I went out right away and purchased it. I can tell you I would gladly pay a million dollars for what's in this book (if I had it). Although, it mainly deals with people coping with alcoholics/drug addicts, it spoke to me. Each night I couldn't wait to read it and almost immediately I was able to start applying some of the suggestions. It has made such a difference in the way I'm starting to think, about myself and everything around me. It's also helped to lift the heavy despair that has been keeping me from enjoying my current relationship. I'm here on Amazon to purchase the next book, Codependency and Beyond (I think that's the title). I'm even going to give it to my partner, so that she can finally see what I've tried so hard to explain. I can't say enough good things about this book. I'm planning on writing to the author to tell her just how much this has helped me...in fact, it saved my life.



4. I am the wife of an alcoholic and this book really helped me see my part in our marital problems. It will help you realize your own worth and how to set boundaries to protect yourself.



5. After 26 years of marriage, I recently found myself living with an alcoholic-and it is a FAMILY disease. This book clearly outlines how codependency manifestes itself in your life. This book not only describes symptoms but prescribes solutions and is the best read on the subject. If you need clarity, focus and are ready for recovery...start here!

5 comments about A Wolf at the Table: A Memoir of My Father.

1. I have been a fan of Mr. Burroughs since the publication of Running With Scissors. DRY is right up there with one of the most memorable and influential books I have read. His writing is solid, often terse, and always captivating and intense, bringing the emotions and events of his life right into the room with the reader.
   
   So I was looking forward to his latest book - A Wolf at the Table - and sadly, I did not even finish reading it. It is such a sorry retread of where Mr. Burroughs has already so brilliantly and realistically taken us in the past. The prose is tepid and the topic is rendered tedious and inert because Mr. Burroughs has already covered his childhood through many lens' this one being the least engaging. Or maybe just one too many of the same thing. The protagonist and antagonist presented here do not come to life on these pages, something Burroughs has not had happen in his previous memoirs. I really did not care about these people in WOLF, even though one of them, Augusten, has already so fully engaged me in his life, that I thought that anything he did or put to paper would be as unique, insightful, and compelling as always, I did not happen in WOLF. Both father and son stayed glued to the paper, inert and dull, terribly linear and formulaic.
   
   It seems to be time to tackle other topics or events in his life that are beyond bad parents - awful, cruel, evil parents. Mr. Burroughs has such a wonderful sense of how to convey emotions, experiences, and observations that it should not be such a stretch for him to move on and outward. His keen irony about life, his ability to evoke laughter from circumstances that are truly beyond laughter, his ability to grab hold of a reader and keep her in her seat until one of his books is finished - all these talents are something I look forward to. And hope to again.



2. I expected to connect with this author. After reading the 4 and 5 star reviews, I was eager to begin the journey into Augusten's past. Boy, what a disappointment! I thought I'd read a memoir replete with details making this so called "wolf" come alive! I desparately tried to create this monster, but simply couldn't with Borrough's lack of details and exaggerated accounts of his past. A sick man, indeed. An alcholic I won't deny, but Augusten mentions dad's debilating disease, his dad's own abuse he endured as a child. I think he could have been much worse! A killer, I doubt it. I think in the mind of a child, things can often be very much exaggerated and blurred. Details were spared in this memoir leaving the reader hanging, confused, and with no other choice but to assume things. Not really fair. I did cry while reading the epilogue, however. Coming to the realization that there are loving dads in this world that show affection and act on that affection is eye opening and can be depressing for someone never experiencing unconditional love of a parent.
   What truely shocked me was that for such an intelligent child with insight and terrific perspective, he chose to follow a similar path in life as the man he ultimately despised.
   That said, not a hair-raising book as cover depicts! Boo.



3. Although this is not my favorite Augusten Burroughs book, I enjoyed it from begining to end.
   It gave me new insight to Augusten that I didn't have when I read 'Running With Scissors' and 'Dry'.
   I hope that Augusten keeps on writing, because I will keep on reading his works.



4. It started slow but i'm glad I didn't give up on it, because it really grabbed about 1/3rd of the way in.



5. While his was definately a disfunctional family - I found Augusten to be a bit too whiney and overly dramatic. Wouldn't recommend the book at least in audio form where his deliverly left me unsympathic - just annoyed. I did however enjoy some of the music.