5 comments about Twenty-Four Hours a Day (Hazelden Education Materials).

1. Can't start my day w/o this one...have used it for going on 20 years...AA now has their own meditations book;but, I never switched from this one. After all these years, it still hits home and has been a foundation of my recovery...



2. MUCH OF THIS BOOK IS TAKEN DIRECTLY FROM THE BIG BOOK OF AA / 12 STEPS, 12 TRADITIONS, THE BIBLE AND MANY OTHER INSPIRATIONAL WRITINGS.
   RECOVERY IS ABOUT A CHANGE IN BOTH PHILOSOPHY AND LIFESTYLE.
   THIS BOOK WILL DEFINATELY HELP YOU MAKE THE JOURNEY.



3. Desparation is the mainstay attitude of recovering alcoholics. This little book, when faithfully used each morning, can set an alcoholic's mind on positive thinking and productive action. Well worth the price



4. A great book to suppliment the "Big Book". Inspirational and motivational to keep things in perspective. Well worth the small investment to take care of the "big investment".....your sanity.



5. This is a wonderful tool to use in learning to live "One Day at a Time". I have purchased this book for Amazon many times and have received a great product in a timely fashion.

5 comments about The Addictive Personality: Understanding the Addictive Process and Compulsive Behavior.

1. I would definately recommend this book for anyone that wants information without having to read hundreds and hundreds of pages. Very imformative.



2. This author has explained addiction from the beginning to the end and didn't leave anything out. It provided me the tools to understand the addict in my life like nothing else ever has, including Alanon. I am now able to sit next to the addict in my life and say I understand and mean it. I am no longer sitting on the outside wishing I could make sense of the craziness addiction creates in the life of the addict and those of us who love them. As the author explains, "addiction doesn't make sense" so stop trying to find logic in it. Instead the author gives the rest of us a view from the addicts perspective and it helped heal the awful pain the addict has caused in my life. This is a must read for anyone who knows an addict, loves an addict, is an addict or lives in society because addiction surrounds and effects us all.



3. I was first exposed to Nakken's work in a Hazelden pamphlet from the late 1980s. I used that material & the papers of Harry Tiebout to present 1 lecture each month titled 'The Addictive Personality.' I did the lecture for about 3 years & then quit my job at a treatment center in order to go to grad school. What I learned there, & during the years since, has convinced me that there is no such thing (read single entity) as the 'addictive personality.' In fact, persons with many different personality structures become addicts. Over 20 years of research indicates the closest correlation exists with antisocial personality. Early versions of the DSM classified alcoholism along with neuroses & personality disorders, but that changed in 1986 with DSM3. Nakken's work continues interesting & somewhat entertaining, but is useless in explaining addiction. It neglects other causative factors, & may in fact contribute to learned helplessness by convincing a person that their personality (an enduring structure very difficult to change) caused their addiction!



4. This book is extremely helpful in understanding addicts for those who try to help them. It may even help you understand yourself.



5. As someone who struggles with Alcohol addiction I gained valuable insights from this book. As it should, the book addresses addiction in the context of a whole personality/pattern of addiction, not simply addiction to one particular substance such as alcohol. A must read if you struggle with addiction.

1 comments about Relapse Prevention Counseling Workbook: Managing High-Risk Situations.

1. Gave as a gift to a coworker who was promoted. He love it because easy to follow exercise for the population he is working with.

5 comments about Addict In The Family: Stories of Loss, Hope, and Recovery..

1. Hopeless confusion are the two words that come to mind when I think of the time I learned my two daughters were heroin addicts. I wish I had this book then. It gives very good descriptions and examples of the things you will feel, the questions you will have, and the hope that is there behind all the despair. You'll still try to cure them, but it won't take so long to realize that you can only cure yourself. This book is also for those of you who dismiss the worthless, lying, thieving drug addicts and alcolholics out there as a waste of effort, as I once did. Read this book, and feel the pain and agony of the loving codependents of those addicts, and pray you are not next.



2. This is one of the best books I have read in regards to how addiction affects the family. It has some stories as examples, but gets to the point. I am a counselor and a family member of an addict. I found this book right on with my experiences dealing with my younger sister who is an addict. It has a nice balance of education and ways to deal with an addict. We as family members have to stop enabling the addict or we are just helping them stay sick. This book makes this point very clear. Well written and easy to read. This book is a source of comfort like the author states in her introduction. She did a great job putting together information and she is so right when she states there are few books out there for family memebers. I would love to see one on how siblings are affected by the addict and the parents that focus on the addict. I thought this was so well written I bought and sent copies to all my siblings and mother. We all have participated or are still participating in enabling behaviors, which although intentions are good, it is not helpful, it is destructive.



3. This book is analagous to a well-stocked pantry filled with provisions as well as the implements needed to put these resources to good use. The essence of the author's message appears to be based on the 12-Step prototype. If "Addict in the Family" contains any weakness at all, it might be the author's tendency to do it all by "The Book," including peppering the account with various references to 12-step doctrines, adages and buzzwords. A reader who is already familiar with the steps might find this format to be slightly repetitious and fairly predictable.
   
   Through the author's story of her daughter's addiction as well as accounts given to her by other parents and loved ones of addicts, we are able to contemplate, if not feel, the pernicious grip that addiction has on everyone in the addict's circle. What follows are examples of every- day situations family members face as a result of their loved ones' addictions. We are given examples of strategies and responses that are helpful in managing or deflecting the often irrational behavior of the addict.
   
   There is a dash of irony in the lessons that are imparted along the way: It seems that it is not only the addicted person who is prone to be obsessive or compulsive, but that his loved ones often become addicted, in a sense, to the substance abuser's addiction. Addicts tend to fall into the habit of concealing their ignoble behavior beneath a convincing enough topping of lies, subterfuge and denial. It appears that we family members, in the beginning, at least, are willing - even eager - to believe the fantastic multi-layered cake of deception towering in front of us. As we continue to gain strength from the author's wisdom, we come to recognize how the loved ones, along with the addicted, are being poisoned by the unsavory byproducts of addiction. We read as the similarities and ironies continue to emerge: The addict is ashamed; so are we. The addict is angry; and so are we. The addicted one is depressed, sad and despondent, and we are, too.
   
   This book offers suggestions to the family and loved ones of the addict, and these methods require us to exchange our toxic coating of negativity and denial, for one that nourishes us - physically, mentally, spiritually and economically - without distorting our reality. The author recalls a time when her daughter, upon being asked of her whereabouts that evening, began to concoct one of her characteristically tall tales. Although her mother knew her daughter was lying, she refused to challenge the veracity of the daughter's statement. Instead the mother allowed her daughter to finish, while she responded impassively, empowering herself and disarming her daughter in the process.
   
   Setting rules and limits for the addict is another mechanism suggested in the book as a way to safeguard our overall wellbeing. Asking the addict to move out should his behavior become too disruptive or disturbing - and carrying out the order - is one more example of disengaging from our addicted love ones. There are many other inspiring stories included in the book along with helpful advice, hope and encouragement from those who have been where we, the families of an addict, are now.
   
   At the end of the book, there are pages with listings of substance abuse facilities, mental health treatment centers, dual diagnosis rehabs, detox centers, and services for the families of the chemically addicted. It is a very comprehensive list for those who are looking for help in dealing with an addiction, whether it be a loved one's or their own.
   
   
   



4. This is a very helpful book for any person with an addict in the family. This book confirmed many of the same things I am going through with my son who is addicted to painkillers and heroin. In addition to helping me cope and help me understand my son's own addiction, it has revealed to me the importance of getting myself well. Addiction effects the entire family in a very damaging and far reaching way. I have a long way to go but I am learning to detach myself in order to move forward and be there for my son when he finally decides that recovery is the best and only course of action. This will be probably one of the toughest challenges I will face in my life. This book has given me hope and let me know that I am not alone in this lifelong struggle.



5. A good introduction to the perils of addiction and the biological and chemical processes that grip users. An important message to anyone touched by the horrors of addiction.

4 comments about Loosening the Grip: A Handbook of Alcohol Information.

1. Loosening the Grip is comprehensive in its coverage of a broad range of aspects of alcohol use as well as alcoholism. It reviews historical perspectives, etiology of disease, medical aspects and special populations, and in its 6th edition, has remained abreast of scientific and cultural changes in the field of alcoholism treatment. It has a reader friendly appearance, using cartoons metaphorically to emphasize points. Very useful all-around info on the subject.



2. Working in the field of alcohol abuse and prevetion for over ten years, I consider this a valuable reference in my library. Kinney and Leaton explain concepts in easy to understand terms while not skimping on necessary details. There are often comic drawings in the margins which humorously go to the heart of the topic; instead of belittling the topics, these drawings serve to bring the topics to life. Currently working as a trainer, I find myself often going back to this book for reminders and clarifications.



3. I am studying in Hawaii and you need to learn this global criterior and I hope this book helps me. If anybody out there has been to the school for this or has their certificate from here and has any other suggestions please e-mail me with them. thanx sandimckinlay@onebox.com



4. Just received this edition of the book, and the update does not fix the issues I have listed here. I have 9 years of experience working with addicted clients, and accuracy is everything! This book is not accurate, but rather outdated. This book attributes stages of change theory to Bill Miller (it was James Prochaska), has material on co-dependency which is an outdated concept if you actually understand where the addiction field is today, and most glaringly, lacks appropriate citations in the body of the text. I replaced it with Dr. Yalisove's text "Introduction to Alcohol Research" last semester, and am very pleased with that text. While Loosening the Grip is a classic, is is outdated, filled with material that I had to skip over due to the inaccuracy of the text. The book deserves an update, but does not deserve the place it has currently in many classrooms.

5 comments about Love First: A New Approach to Intervention for Alcoholism and Drug Addiction (A Hazelden Guidebook) (Hezelden Guidebook).

1. I found this to be one of the best books to help a person struggling with a loved ones addiction. I have read many, many books, but this book has to be one that I recommend to everyone with this type of problem in their life.



2. This book really opened my eyes to drug and alcohol addiction. With great care the authors help the reader understand what addiction truly is, and then arm the reader with pertinent information and tools to help the reader rethink how to approach a loved one who has an addiction. Great book.



3. This good book of course stresses love. And if it were an ideal world, we would all just love the afflicted alcoholic/addict -- but in this imperfect world, we are all just human. And us family members get so angry when we are so chronically made to feel crazy by them. They are under the influence, but we go through their stuff, stark raving sober. I got that phrase from the book that has given me and my patients literally hundreds of ways to cope on a daily basis----and get better---- when we live with their addiction, whether or not we are in a position to accomplish an intervention. That book, "Getting Them Sober", is endorsed by Dear Abby and Dr. Norman Vincent Peale and Melody Beattie (who says it is "the best book for the still-drinking alcoholic". It has changed my patients' lives overnight.Getting Them Sober: You Can Help! (Getting Them Sober)



4. The subject of alcoholism was approached so lovingly in this book that it brought tears to my eyes. What a wonderful way to encourage the alcoholic to seek treatment. I could relate to so many instances when I had tried to get my partner, who I love dearly, into rehab, without success. I would highly recommend this book to anyone seeking information and answers on this very misunderstood disease.



5. This book gives great insite into the problem of dealing with alchol.
   It helped me a great deal.Hazelden is known to be one of the best resorces on the subject

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

1. While I was in Inpatient Rehab I was given this book to read. It is like a bible to me now. Everything you need to know about staying clean and sober is in this book. Along with AA, sponsors, numbers, support groups, this book gives you some soild tools to stay sober. I highly suggest it!



2. 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.



3. 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.



4. 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



5. 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 comments about Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How Many Thousands of Men and Women Have Recovered from Alcoholism.

1. I'm a recovering alcoholic. This book saved my life.
   
   If you think you MIGHT have a drinking problem, buy this book and read the first 164 pages. If you identify with what you're reading, then you might want to consider hitting a few meetings.
   
   You have to get beyond the prose of the author. It's very 1930's. Since he knew it would be saving a lot of lives, he wanted it to sound really important.
   
   Many like me read this book, and found that in many cases, it seemed like the book someone stole a story out of our own experiences.



2. I don't really understand the lengths I've seen people go to to discredit this book or the 12 steps in general. I am not a member of AA but I have a family member who was saved literally from the brink of death by NA. The changes in her and in her life have been nothing short of miraculous. If it was a 'cult' that brought about this change in her then I say Thank God for the 12-step cult, for it is truly a force of good.



3. I was 21 when I got sober. At the time, I thought the book was outdated and could never help me. Somebody suggested that I go to a meeting to study this book, I drug my heels all the way there--but, five years later I'm still sober and that book study meeting is my homegroup.
   
   This book has worked for millions of alcoholics. It's not the only way to get sober, but it's what's worked for me--for that, I'm greatful.



4. The AA program has saved thousands of people from a life of hopeless addiction. This book lays out the whole program of AA. If you follow it, you will get better. Not only will you be able to stop drinking but your life will improve dramatically. It works if you work it!



5. If you have/have had a problem with alcohol, this is the book to read. The AA program has "worked" for millions of people, since 1935, when other tried means did not. For the guy who said the chapter, "To the Wives," is a sexist piece of trash: Use your brains, buddy. It describes the alcoholic, whether male or female, and how their ("politically correct") significant others can cope. I'm a female recovering alcholic and didn't have trouble relating to the chapter nor saw it as offensive. AA saved my life and I will forever be grateful. And the text, "Alcoholics Anonymous," proved invaluable in my recovery journey. -- Debbie S., Andover, KS

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

1. Pathways to Recovery is an excellent book for recovery from living with an Alcoholic or just help with having healthy relationships.



2. 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"



3. 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.



4. 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.



5. 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 comments about Seven Weeks to Sobriety: The Proven Program to Fight Alcoholism through Nutrition.

1. We were given this book for a family member by our M.D., it worked and is still working 12 years later. Excellent reference book for general health as well as substance abuse. Success where AA failed, several times. I highly recommend this book.



2. I can personally attest to the validity of the nutritional approach described in Seven Weeks to Sobriety. Five years ago I attended the outpatient Health Recovery Center operated by Joan Mathews Larson in Minneapolis, MN after about twenty-five years of almost daily alcohol use. During the five years since then I have never had a drink, except for one brief relapse from which I quickly recovered when my wife was critically ill with a rare neurological disease, shortly before she died.
   
   The nutritional program at the center is virtually the same as described in the book except that during the first week or so patients receive three or four intravenous injections with large amounts of vitamin C and other nutrients to jumpstart the program and speed the detoxification process for serious cases. The balance of the program consists of occasional lab work in the mornings and weekly check-ins with a nurse. Afternoons and evenings consist mostly of educational sessions and discussion groups; fine tuning of the nutrients with a nutritional counselor, and occasional meetings with a therapist.
   
   My recommendation to anyone wanting to use this approach at home is to purchase the book and buy the supplements directly from the Health Recovery Center, to ensure high quality. The cost of the supplements for the first six weeks is about $600. At the end of the six weeks it is highly recommended that a scaled down set of nutrients be continued for at least three to six months to continue the repair process. It may also be helpful, but not necessary, that you see a nutritionist to help tailor a meal plan to your liking and possibly see a therapist, if you feel you need additional support. An alternative, of course, is to attend the program in Minneapolis at a cost of about $16,000. In either case, the keys to success are taking the nutrients and controlling your blood sugar through a low carbohydrate diet (e.g., 75 grams per day). Also, avoiding caffeine and, if at all possible, stopping or reducing smoking.



3. 
   On March 01, 2008 I quit five addictions that had held me for years and gave this program and honest shot. Almost daily I drank 8 to 12 (or more) beers, played 40 to 60 dollars of KENO, smoked 1 of pack of cigarettes, took 20mg of Prozac and drank 2 pots of coffee. Switching from ALL of the above to Dr. Joan Mathews Larson's nutrient programs outlined in Seven Weeks to Sobriety: The Proven Program to Fight Alcoholism through Nutrition. My urges for any of the above addictions have been "zero" to none. It has been nothing short of unbelievable for me. I am so thankful and recommend this book and program to anyone that struggles with drinking and thinks that it can not be licked. randy@springstead.net



4. This is a very powerful breakthrough book in the field of addictionology. First book to examine the physical realities behind alcoholism and the first real effort to treat alcoholism through orthomolecular therapy - recognizing the reality that indeed alcoholism is a physically based disease with real science to back it up. Larson's book is not just theory, but practical and successful. Her success rates back up her insights. The entire field must read this book if there is going to be any advancement in the treatment of alcoholism.



5. You can spend the next couple of hours reading all the various opinions written on this book (most all of them extremely positive), or you can scroll to the top of this page, buy the book, and begin living again.
   Don't wait any longer; this book will change your life. It has certainly changed mine.