5 comments about Staying Sober: A Guide for Relapse Prevention.

1. This is an excellent foundation to understanding the complex causes of relapse and their early indentification. It gives good information on indentification of relapse warning signs and constructive ways to abort another sprial into relapse. This book is written to supplament your 12 step program and is most useful when coupled with a relapse prevention support group that is not AA. If you can find or found a relapse group this book will be invaluable and rated 5 stars. Only relapse prone alcholic's need read this.



2. This book offers easily understood explanations of addiction and the relapse process. The book was offered to me through an out-patient rehabilitation program and has been an invaluable tool on countless occasions since. The book offers examples that you can apply to your own experiences. By fully understanding the cycle of addiction can the addict most successfully break the cycle. I strongly recommend this book to anyone suffering from the disease of addiction, the sober family coping with a drug addicted member, or those offering education on the subject.



3. you were very easy for a computer novice (me) to order, pay, confirm, and deliver. thank you so much. look forward to more business with you. rosie



4. Excellent, ease to comprehend book on the prevention of relapse from addictions. Author is well known in the field and this is a must for clinicians library. However it is easy to read for anyone.



5. Great book for the newly abstinent. Describes the difference between not drinking and being sober. Provides a clear framework to identify signs of coming relapse and develop a plan to avoid it. I know this will be useful as I regain a fulfilling sober life.

5 comments about One Day at a Time in Al-Anon.

1. This book is very helpful giving quick guidance for the day. I see myself continually reading it for many years.



2. a great book to read a page of everyday. or read the 22 pages on detachment all at once.



3. I find this meditation book a little harsh, although there are some strong insights. I prefer the other Al-Anon mediation books: Courage to Change: 1 Day at a Time in Al-Anon II or Hope for Today. Both of these newer books provide similar insights with a much kinder voice. If you are dealing with active addiction in your life, these books will help, even if you decide not to attend Al-Anon. Remember the three C's: "I didn't cause it; I can't control it; I can't cure it." (Paths to Recovery: Al-Anon's Steps, Traditions and Concepts, p. 14)



4. I agree with the reviewer who found this book a little harsh. The advice is "old school" al-anon -- focused on the wife of an AA member. It's all about becoming more agreeable, not arguing with him, not complaining when he spends all his time in AA. If you are an adult child of an alcoholic, there is precious little advice for you here. You might want to check out HOPE FOR TODAY or COURAGE TO CHANGE.



5. This is an excellent daily guide to living a peaceful life. The daily readings inspire deep reflection and contemplation. They are thoughtful as well as instructive. For those who live with inner and/or outer turmoil, the readings are like an oasis of hopefulness, serenity and stillness that can be used as a helpful spiritual guide for each day.

5 comments about Paths to Recovery: Al-Anon's Steps, Traditions and Concepts.

1. This is the basic text of the Al-Anon program, and in it you will a new freedom and a new happiness in your life. If you were raised in a home affected by alcoholism, or in a home affected by depression or co-dependency, where you were unable to form healthy boundries, then this book will help you So Much.
   
   I love what someone said in it when they commented on the 2nd Step "Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity." Someone wrote, "Restore me to sanity? How about introduce me to it!" The book is filled with other such gems. Get it today...
   
   Michael Z, author of The Wisdom of the Rooms "A Year of Weekly Reflections"



2. If you are working the steps, this book is a great guide. It offers Insight on the steps, members Experience, Strength and Hope, and some guiding questions.



3. You want recovery? Work the Steps and Traditions. This is the book that will help you do it if you have been affected by someone else's drinking, thinking and/or behavior. As one other reviewer has already stated, if I could have only one Al-Anon book, this would be it. This book is truly a blessing.



4. I'm an AA. My former wife was an Al-Anon though she is now deceased. I've devoted 19 years to researching the spiritual roots of Alcoholics Anonymous, the Twelve Steps, and the early program. Making Known the Biblical History and Roots of Alcoholics Anonymous: A Sixteen-Year Research, Writing, Publishing, and Fact Dissemination Project. One of the first books I was given by an A.A. oldtimer was Lois Remembers. And I hustled out and bought two Al-Anon books. I believe all of us in the recovery movement should have the perspective of both A.A. and of Al-Anon. My former wife and her sister (both married to alcoholics) believed they never could have made it without Al-Anon. And whether we recover, reconcile, or just make amends, we need to know this family program. I also think Al-Anons and AAs need to know how much the two programs were alike at the beginning. Early A.A. in Akron dealt with families--fathers, mothers, children.Real Twelve Step Fellowship History. They all attended. Dr. Bob's wife Anne Ripley Smith dealt with the wives, and actually counseled Lois Wilson with some frequency.Anne Smith's Journal, 1933-1939: A.A.'s Principles of Success. Henrietta Seiberling was prominent in early A.A. development, and so was Clarace Williams, wife of T. Henry Williams, at whose whom the family meetings were held.Henrietta B. Seiberling: Ohio's Lady with a Cause, Third Edition. Anne Smith started a woman's group a year after A.A. was founded. And Lois herself wrote that Al-Anon people should never forget the important role that Anne played. In one sense, we are all in this together. For those of us who are believers, God is the One with whom we relate and seek to establish a relationship.By the Power of God: A Guide To Early A.A. Groups and Forming Similar Groups Today . And the Biblical principles of early A.A. were applied alike to women and family members. The Good Book and the Big Book: A.A.'s Roots in the Bible (Bridge Builders Edition), and The Good Book-Big Book Guidebook. Excellent reading. Important!



5. My only issue was that it smelled a little old and there was a dead bug in it but I aired it out and it was fine in a day or so. I guess it's the nature of an old used book.

5 comments about This Charming Man: A Novel.

1. Like others, one of Marian fans, I can't say how disappointed I am with this book, as if it's not really written by her. I can cope with one horrible character in a novel, but the whole lot, those women, I just can't feel any empathy, they simply get on my nerves, far too many unbearable characters for me to read on, and the awful writing style of Lola. I did not finish the book afterall.
   
   I gave it a two stars simply for the thickness of this book.



2. after reading many reviews here felt must put own point of vue. TCM great addition to Keyes' oeuvre but, yes, admit that Paddy de C character mostly unconvincing, confrontation scene embarrassing and insufficent for anguish suffered by 4, also whole book too long. BUT, LOVED Lola text-speak, inspite of Bridget Jones' derivation, v. funny!! Look forward to next work.



3. I really liked this book. Can't say it was perfect, but pretty good. It was so hard to put down and really what more can be said than that. It really got me inside the heads of four semi-different women and what kept them in their relationships with this one charmingly-wretched man. And, it was a roller-coaster of funny, exciting, sexy (yes, even with the abuse attached), scary, heart-breaking emotions.
   Yes, there are some annoying things about the short hand retelling from Lola, but I still loved her part of the story. I just felt it left me hanging with Alicia "Leechy" too much.
   This book kept me awake thinking of these fictional-? characters after I'd already put the book down. Not always light-hearted, but not depressive either.
   A little chic-lit like, but with much more substance.



4. The first chapter of this book was incredibly annoying...since when did pronouns and indefinite articles disappear from speech. I suffered through this chapter in the hopes that the second chapter would improve, but it's not happening yet.
   
   If I manage to finish this book, maybe I'll change my mind about this review.



5. BUY THIS BOOK! Just finished this book, am very sad. did not want it to end. she must do a sequel and not take so long. excellant job of bringing all those characters together. usually hate jumping from story to story, but aside from her abilty to make you love her characters, she brought in the suspense with the evil man. i say this is her best book yet. and i have loved them all. her editors need to let her write longer books, this is the longest yet (i beilieve) but really want to know more about Dee Rossini, and how do you live with a cross dresser? struggling with that bit. plus would have liked to see the "charming man" get a little more of what he gave out.

5 comments about Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions.

1. As always it is good to have these books for our Monday Night Group. I was having trouble ordering them locally so went to Amazon and had them available and priced well. I like the size. They are easier to store in our file cabinet. We give these books to new members of our group.



2. This book has a wealth of knowledge in it based on recovery from chemical dependecy and alcoholism. Its detailed view of the twelve steps and twelve traditions can be applied to any problem that anyone faces in there journey thru life. I would recommend this book to anyone looking to find the road to recovery from any life altering addiction or chemical dependency.



3. This is a must own book for anyone who is in recovery - one day at a time from alcoholism. Every house should own this as part of your library and reading a bit of it daily. Your healthy sobriety depends on it.
   
   Sobriety seems very difficult at times, but it passes when you have your structure in place.
   
   It is soooo worth it!
   
   Merna
   
   Pocket of Pearls: A 30-day pocket workbook to start hearing a softer voice inside of you!



4. Part of working the program is literature - the twelve steps and traditions book is wonderful - practical and very helpful. I listen to a step workshop on CD that you can get from glennkaudio.com named Lila R. - her workshop is based from this book.



5. Like many serious AAs, I was handed a copy of this book, along with the 24 hour book and the Big Book, when I entered a 30 day treatment program. Then, like most AAs, I was pointed to the Big Book, and not much else. I was told not to read the Bible, not to read religious literature, and in fact not to read anything but the Big Book God and Alcoholism: Our Growing Opportunity in the 21st Century. For a while I followed directions, but I was working with newcomers, and I needed to know how to take them through the Twelve Steps. So I turned to this Twelve and Twelve for more help. But I didn't get it. Compare Twelve Steps for You: Take the Twelve Steps with the Big Book, A.A. History, and the Good Book at Your Side.Many in A.A. just won't read this book. Many, like myself, read it but find it represents the third of three A.A. stages--the first being the original Christian Fellowship program in Akron that produced a documented 75% success rate When Early AAs Were Cured and Why, Third Edition; the second being the program with the Twelve Steps and instructions for taking them, that Bill Wilson produced in 1939Real Twelve Step Fellowship History. Then, after a dozen years of deep depression, Bill started writing again. In this book, he enlisted the editorial assistance of two Jesuit priests, Father John C. Ford and Father Ed Dowling. Ford was dedicated to getting rid of any appearance of Oxford Group influence. Roman Catholic expressions for sin were inserted. But the most difficult pill was Bill's statement that you could make your AA group your "higher power." Compare The Golden Text of A.A.: God, the Pioneers, and Real Spirituality (Why It Worked-- A.A. History Series). Unfortunately, some AAs and recovery people were soon off to the races with higher powers that could be door knobs, light bulbs, Somebody, the Big Dipper, and other absurd names for a deity. Finally, many years later, I am able to swallow this latecomer book as an essay, not a doctrinal requirement. It has some good writing. And I still refer to it to get Bill's good remarks about such steps as the First Step. If, however, you are persuaded of the importance of the Bible as the source of A.A.'s basic ideas, then this book is not one that will help your progress The Good Book and the Big Book: A.A.'s Roots in the Bible (Bridge Builders Edition)

5 comments about Drinking: A Love Story.

1. I'm not going to go on and on about how I analyzed this book and pretend like I'm an expert, but I will say that I loved it. I read it for a health and behavior class intended for exercise science majors. It is an excellent book for females to read and I know many females will be able to relate and feel comfort in Knapp's words, whether or not the reader herself is an alcoholic.



2. I loved this book. I reread it every once in a while because it's so intelligent and beautifully written. It gets a alot of attention as a memoir of addiction (and it's the best one I've ever read), but it stand on it's own as an exquisite piece of writing and a memoir - time spent with a brilliant and nuanced mind, a sophisticated and sensitive person. I wish wish wish I could spend more.



3. What a fantastic book. Not just about alcoholism but the human struggle to live in our own skin, face our problems, our losses and move forward. Also a moving story about an amazingly honest woman. I'm not an alcoholic, but I use the stuff many times to not deal with things, and this book helped me to see that there is something more noble in steering clear of that kind of behavior and seeking more authentic experience. She's done a wonderful job of letting us in on her struggle, and somehow illuminating our own. I was terribly sad to find out that she had passed away some years ago, but she certainly left behind a great gift of inspiration. Her father's quote is a wonderful gem: "Insight is almost always a rearrangement of fact." Her insights bear this out. I wish I had the guts to buy this book for all my girlfriends.



4. "Drinking: A Love Story" - even the title is compelling. And the first line - "It happened this way: I fell in love and then, because the love was ruining everything I cared about, I had to fall out." And the love to which she is referring is, of course, with alcohol.
   
   And she's right...although I never thought about alcoholism that way before. There are many similarities between this love and the love for someone who seems perfect at first but turns out to be life changing in the most destructive ways.
   
   "I loved the way drink made me feel, and I loved its special power of deflection; its ability to shift my focus away from my own awareness of self and onto something else, something less painful than my own feeling. I loved the sounds of drink: the slide of a cork as it eased out of a wine bottle, the distinct glug-glug of booze pouring into a glass, the clatter of ice cubes in a tumbler. I loved the rituals, the camaraderie of drinking with others, the warming, melting feelings of ease and courage it gave me."
   
   Seductive, isn't it?
   
   Caroline Knapp is painfully honest as she tells her story, seemingly holding nothing back as she tells the reader about her theories on her own alcoholism, about the factors in her life, physical, emotional and circumstantial that may have contributed to this deadly love. While I am very fortunate to not share that love, I sympathized with her many times as she described her life.
   
   "Growing up, I never heard my parents say "I love you," not to us and not to each other. I never heard them fight either. That's something else."
   
   I must have read that line a dozen times in disbelief. While she never describes any physical abuse, the idea that a child grows up not hearing "I love you" several times a day from their parent just breaks my heart.
   
   I once worked with a man who was a recovering alcoholic, and I remember him asking me if I was able to have just one drink at a sitting. I told him I was, that sometimes that drink would go unfinished. He shook his head and told me that he couldn't imagine taking a first sip of a drink and then not ending up blacking out at the end of an evening. So this section resonated with me.
   
   "My mother didn't drink that way. Neither did my sister. They'd have a glass of wine at dinner - a single glass - and if you tried to pour more, they'd cover the glass with a hand and say, "No, thanks. I've had enough". Enough? That's a foreign word to an alcoholic, absolutely unknown. There is never enough, no such thing."
   
   That thought is chilling to me - that once the drinking starts - it never stops.
   
   The description of the elaborate planning that goes into being a "high functioning alcoholic" (as Knapp describes herself) seemed exhausting to me. Visiting different liquor stores each day, making up parties and events to explain the volume of the purchases, hiding booze in closets and plants. Though much of Knapp's story comes through in the carefully strengthening voice of someone who has lived through a nightmare and is carefully rebuilding, sometimes she is able to look at her past life with humor.
   
   "Recycling is a problem to the active alcoholic: you have to see all those bottles, heaped together in the recycling bin, and that can be a disconcerting image. Luckily, I did most of my solitary, alcoholic drinking in communities that didn't then recycle, so I'd pile the bottles into a heavy plastic garbage bag and lug them out to the curb or heave them into a Dumpster, hoping no one nearby heard all the glass clinking and rattling as I went along."
   
   Caroline Knapp's story is a compelling one, a look at the destruction that the love of drink can have on a life, on several lives as she talks to people she meets in AA, on a country as she gives chilling statistics and facts. And it's a story that doesn't have a happy ending.
   
   As the book comes to a close, she is still sober, but she is the first to admit that the odds are against her and that it is a daily, hourly fight to stay that way.
   
   "I once heard a woman say that as an alcoholic, a part of her will always be deeply attracted to alcohol, which seemed a very simple way of putting it, and very true. The attraction - the pull, the hunger, the yearning - doesn't die when you say goodbye to the drink, any more than the pull toward a bad lover dies when you finally walk out the door."
   
   Because, of course, while closed, that door is still there, and can be opened once again.



5. After reading this book, I googled Caroline Knapp only to discover, to my great disappointment, that she died recently of lung cancer at the youthful age of 42. So sad. Drinking is fantastic. She cleverly weaves through her life as a privileged young adult to parents of means and into the life of an alcoholic. Most impressive is Knapp's ability to weave personal stories out of chronological order and placed more precisely according to her path toward recovering, alongside factual information about alcohol abuse in general. She holds herself no victim and accepts personal accountability while also endearing the reader to sympathize very well. I think I drink too much wine now.

5 comments about The Tender Bar.

1. I loved this book! It is always entertaining, at times heartbreakingly poignant, and very difficult to put down.
   
   This book beautifully marries form and content. The book is J.R. Moehringer's autobiographical memoir, spanning from his elementary school years into young adulthood. Much of the book revolves around the hours Moehringer spent in a neighborhood bar on Long Island, trading stories and having friendly but impassioned arguments with the other barroom regulars. As you read the book, you almost feel like you're in the bar listening to the conversation. Each chapter is really a barroom story in itself; you can almost hear Moehringer, lubricated by a few drinks, sharing yet another anecdote from his life history.
   
   Some of the stories Moehringer recounts seem too good to be true. Perhaps, like any good barroom raconteur, Moehringer embellishes a little for dramatic or comic effect. At first I wondered if the stories really were factual. By the end, I decided that I enjoyed the book even more for not being sure.
   
   I don't drink much, have rarely been in bars, and have spent little time on Long Island. Nonetheless, I had no trouble inhabiting Moehringer's world.
   
   I highly recommend this excellent memoir!



2. Journalist J.R. Moehringer has written a rollicking coming-of-age memoir set on Long Island and centering around a small town version of the TV bar Cheers. The story opens with the author at about age six being raised by his mother and grandmother at his grandparents' house, his golden-voiced and leaden-souled father having disappeared into thin air. Before long he finds that his best childhood friends and father figures are a bunch of bartenders and drunks at the most popular bar in town, Dickens. Once he reaches drinking age, it's hard for J.R. not to become an alcoholic. One of the bartenders is his uncle and the bar's policy is that relatives drink free (but must pay for any drinks they give to others).
   
   Obviously, the young protagonist becomes a successful writer. How he reaches that stage provides two great stories--that of the struggling student and journalist, and that of the rollicking young alcoholic. That you are reading the book removes some of the suspense about the outcome, but Moehringer and a cast of Dickensian characters at both Dickens and his grandparents' house makes the journey very entertaining. If you like Frank McCourt's various memoirs, particularly Angela's Ashes, or if your childhood included alcoholic caretakers (parents or otherwise), you'll love "The Tender Bar".



3. J.R. Moehringer's "The Tender Bar" chronicles the infatuation a young boy develops for a neighborhood bar, the men that frequent it, and the education it provided. And in doing so, he elicits laughter, compassion, and admiration. To wit, a few underline-worthy excerpts: "The two critical tests of a man's mettle, Sheryl believed, were women and liquor. How you reacted to each, how you managed each, went a long way to determining your manliness quotient" (p.130). And J.R.'s reflection on confidence, "I wondered if self-confidence could be acquired, or if, like fathers and flawless skin, it was just something you were born with" (p.163). Or the distinction between a leer and a look: "Women don't like being leered at, but they love being looked at with delight" (p.258). And, lastly, J.R.'s realization that "the secret of being a good man...was [to] follow the example of one very good woman" (p.346). In short, this is J.R.'s story and it is, if nothing else, a memorable and impressionable one.



4. I'm not much for memoirs, but I picked up The Tender Bar on the recommendation of the clerk at a local San Francisco bookstore, and I'm glad I did.
   
   The Tender Bar, by J.R. Moehringer, chronicles the early life of, well... J.R. Moehringer, who grew up in Long Island, New York, alongside his mother, grandparents, several cousins, aunts and his Uncle Charlie, a bartender at the local pub, Publicans. His father, a popular radio disc jockey, was absent much of Moehringer's life, and his absence is the central storyline of The Tender Bar.
   
   With no father figure in his life, Moehringer becomes attached to the bar, Publicans, as well as the many real-life characters that frequent the pub. Each chapter in the book is about one of those characters, and the memoir moves (though slow, at times) chronologically as Moehringer encounters and befriends more and more people.
   
   Though Moehringer details the years he and his mother spend living in Arizona, as well as his collegiate career at Yale, most of the book takes place in and out of the Long Island bar. Due to the fact that most of the events occur in the bar, most of the chapters involve the characters drinking themselves silly, leading to amusing events and/or interesting conversations on work, life, women, the New York Mets and a host of other topics.
   
   For the most part, it's an easy, fun, well-written read that will make you laugh throughout the book. There are some slow parts, and a lot of places in the book where the author is trying to be deep and serious, which can seem forced and unnecessary. But I liked The Tender Bar, and would recommend it as a good "vacation book," especially if you're on some tropical beach (as I was -- in Barbados -- while reading Moehringer's tale).



5. The author skillfully tells his story while carefully drawing the reader into his private life. The book is written with honesty and humor and without being overly emotional or dramatic. Although the author tells of his hardships and struggles,he does so in such a way that you see his life as colorful and rich rather than tragic. The story shows that love and nurturing can occur in non-conventional ways and from people you would not normally consider caretakers. This is a story of love and caring and the strength of the human spirit. I highly recommend this book.

5 comments about The Alcoholic.

1. An interesting story story...that's important for all kinds of media, tv shows, movies, books and certainly comic books. This black and white (and grey) comic book entitled "The Alcoholic" definitely fits the bill, a plot about yes, an alcoholic who grew up getting drunk and struggling to live a life of love and being a good person.
   
   Just by the title, you know it's a comic book intended for mature readers. I like the format, easy to read and the type of format you cannot stop reading or looking at the artwork. The artwork is beautiful, simple black and white that lets you, the reader, imagine the rest.
   
   It's not a superhero comic, it's a real life comic --- based quite loosely on the author's life, and you can tell too, bacause the story of "The Alcoholic" isn't pretty, it isn't happy...it is what it is - life at a true form. You do get a very relateable feeling reading, and for me, I couldn't wait to find out what happened next.
   
   "The Alcoholic" isn't a fable, but it is sort of in a miniscule way of how life teaches us all a lesson. How life is so much easier to see what is right and what is wrong when viewed from the outside and we're looking in (at someone else's life). That's "The Alcoholic," you feel the guy's struggles...and his want, need for something more, to be better.
   
   It's a great story with great artwork, admirable comic book. If you aren't into comic books, this isn't one of those you'd think of immediately, but once you start reading, it's quite unforgettable.



2. Here's my husbands review-he's been a comic book reader for over 30 years.
   
   The Alcoholic-
   
   I approached this graphic novel with some trepidation. At first glance the art looked utterly abysmal. But I must admit it grew on me, and by the end of this book I found myself very interested in the life of the title character. This is a reading experience that is a little out of the ordinary and maybe that is why I liked it.
   
   3.5 stars.



3. This is an expertly drawn, sad story that unfortunately has very little arc or development. Ultimately, it feels like spending a weekend with your substance-abusing friend who complains a lot but never seems to either hit rock bottom (and change) or have some sort of maturing ephiphany (and change). However, if you don't mind just going along for an interesting -- if depressing -- ride, check it out.



4. Reading more like a diary for the author (Jonathan Ames), this graphic novel is well drawn by artist Dean Haspiel but becomes a quagmire of things we've all seen and heard before ...especially if you've ever attended or read about attending any sort of addictive behavior meeting (be it AA or Sex Addicts Anonymous, etc.).
   
   The title character is named -- not surprisingly -- James A. (Mr. Ames? Is that you?). He's been on a rough road since his early teens when he explored his sexuality and tackled his first binge-drinking weekend; many more weekends (and weekdays) are sure to follow. Now he finds himself half-buried in sand under a boardwalk, hiding from the police. From here, he dictates his life to the reader, flashing back and, eventually, forward.
   
   Everything from sex, drugs, drinking, and 9/11 is covered, as is family, death, disease (AIDS) and obsession. No doubt is left for the reader as to the challenging lifestyle James A. has found himself in. And, to boot, he's a struggling writer (another not-so-subtle allusion to actual author Jonathan Ames).
   
   The sometimes tedious nature of the novel is obviously when author Ames tries to show his own life through the eyes of James A. Although life can often be stranger than fiction, it can also be uninteresting.
   
   Regardless of the nature of how the book came to be, though, the story does hold together pretty well. It flowed nicely and the depictions were well-wrought. Up until the end, that is. Not giving anything away, I will say that it felt very abrupt, as if the author ran out of time or had a page number in mind that he didn't want to surpass. I realize that alcoholism is a lifetime addiction/disease (I'm sure that's what Jonathan Ames was trying to show us), but everyone knows this. So ending it there seemed too much a cliche.



5. Fine artwork by Daniel Haspiel makes Johnathan Ames semi-auto-biographical graphic novel far more engaging than it ought to be. Standard "self-destructive artist" fare; as is typical for the genre, in lieu of an actual plot, lies a string of mediocre, self-indulgent vignettes that exist primarily to show just how f***ed-up the protagonist is.
   
   There are some under-baked attempts to bring some heart and clarity to the main character's plight, but frankly, Johnathan A. just isn't all that interesting. Finally, the story itself lacks any pay-off, other than getting high doesn't pay, making this graphic novel more of a substance abuse tract, than an insightful read.
   
   Not terrible, but not very memorable, either. Will appeal primarily to those who can relate to the lifestyle; all others should look for it in the bargain bin of your local comic shop.

5 comments about Dry: A Memoir.

1. This book is much better than Running with Scissors, Augusten Burroughs' prequel to this book. Thankfully there weren't any graphic sex scenes but there seemed to be a realness about what he was saying. I enjoyed it.
   I'm not saying it was my favorite book ever, but it wasn't bad.



2. I read Running with Scissors and found it shocking, almost embarrassing and worried that people would be reading over my shoulder on the metro. But it was great and left me feeling shocked that someone could be raised that way and still turn out relatively normal. Dry was extremely witty, scary, sad, exciting, anger provoking, thought provoking, startling, comforting, and truly enjoyable to read. I found myself impatient for my subway ride home and not caring who might be reading over my shoulder. At the end of the read I decided to go purchase the rest of Augusten's memoirs because I just love his brand of humor and wit and sense of irony and sarcasm. He's, umm, dare I say it, addicting.



3. Augusten Burroughs never ceases to amaze. This is by far my favorite book of his. The writing is terrific, the story is captivating. I couldn't put it down. The characters are so real, and even if alcohol isn't you thing, you can identify something in your life that has taken over and relate.
   
   One of my favorite lines comes from a passage where he is describing an ex boyfriend of his. He says,
   
   "He's like this incredibly beautiful Van Gogh painting with slashes all through it. True, it's a Van Gogh. But look at those slashes."
   
   That line made me identify with someone in my own life and helped me realize that sometimes we have to let people go because no matter how much we love them, we cannot make them whole. It actually helped me set aside someone I had been unable to leave behind.
   
   This book is a terrific read. Go out and pick it up. Don't get it from the library- bo buy it. You'll end up buying it anyway.



4. I know that "Running with Scissors" is the Burroughs memoir that everyone is supposed to read first, but "Dry" was my introduction to the author. I enjoyed this book very much, and find his writing-style very easy to follow. His ability with dialogue is great, and I found myself caring about characters I orginially dismissed as nothings.
   
   The book is very enjoyable, and it will do strange things to you. I, personally, found myself craving a tall glass of scotch when reading Burroughs describe his love of drinking. Then, I found myself wanting to NEVER drink again when reading his description of his addiction and the aftermath of it all, from blackouts to burned bridges.
   
   It's a really enjoyable read, and it has one of the most touching endings I've read in a long time. I recommend it.



5. Dry is funny, in the spirit of Magical Thinking with a darker twist that's more reminiscent of Wolf at the Table. It's a book about getting sober, but--as is often the case with Augusten Burroughs--it's also much more than that. Entertaining start to finish and if you like Augusten Burroughs, you'll likely read this book in just a few sittings. It made a plane ride go by VERY quickly for me.

5 comments about The Easy Way to Stop Drinking.

1. 
   This is an amazing book! I read it in one sitting
   and was mesmerized. I have known many AAers and it
   seems like they are waiting for the ax to fall. This
   is such a freeing way of escape from devastation. My
   only problem with the book is how withdrawal is treated
   so lightly. Yes, most people will just sweat and feel
   slight shakes, but others can experience Grand Mal seizures.
   My father did and ended up in the ICU for four days and the hospital
   for a week. I feel it's important to consult a doctor before instantly quitting. The principles are excellent and I enjoy the way he writes.
   I had three sips of a last drink and gagged through each of them.
   Poison. Yuck!



2. Sorry, I read this book, and I just don't get why there are so many good reviews about it. It seemed to me to be chapter after chapter after chapter of fluff. Not a good read if you ask me. I've read better books on this topic that have some real solutions. Don't waste your time with this one.



3. I had a drinking problem for many years and have tried rehab, AA, and other self-help kinds of treatments to get alcohol out of my life. This is the book that actually worked. I was very skeptical at first, since I thought the title must be some kind of gimmick. I was expecting something like eat three bananas and chant for a half an hour a day kind of thing.
   
   What the book does contain is not any kind of gimmick, but an incredibly thorough discussion about alcohol....what it does to you, and more importantly what it does not do to you. After learning the true nature of alcohol, I just don't want to drink any more. There isn't even any willpower involved.
   
   Like a previous reviewer, I am amazed that this book/method is not in wider circulation. Perhaps the multibillion alcohol industry and the multibillion rehab from alcohol industry don't want people to know.
   
   If you want to get rid of alcohol, please try this book. All you have to lose is a few bucks (probably less than you spend in a few days on booze)



4. I bought this book for my husband, and he was very pleased with it. He even re-read certain parts of it. I can't wait to read it myself.



5. I don't know what you would have called me before. I wouldn't say an alcoholic, but definitely a problem binge drinker. I have never liked the taste of alcohol, but definitely loved the effects that I believed it had on me socially (I don't drink alone, it was my crutch for social situations). However, I have been partying on the weekends for about ten years now (including college), and over those years I have said more times than I can imagine that "Will never drink again". Only to come upon the next weekend and conveniently have forgotten about my promise to myself. Carr's book is not written eloquently. Some things he says makes me raise my eyebrows skeptically. But bottom-line he is right, I would never have picked up the book if drinking while partying was working for me. Inside all of the stuff he says is a lot of truth and upon finishing the book (which is an easy read), I walked away from alcohol forever. And he's right on another point, it was totally easy too. He broke alcohol down so much, that it was no longer in a pedestal in my mind and he exposed it for what it truly is and what it truly does for you. A friend of mine read it also after me and stopped drinking too. We both still go out socially, but don't drink anymore. It's been over a month since I read the book, and I can honestly say I haven't gone a month without drinking on the weekends in two years.