No comments about Portraits of Recovery: Sixty Stories of Hope and Faith.

No comments about Voices of Alcoholism: The Healing Companion: Stories for Courage, Comfort and Strength (Voices Of series).

5 comments about Whiskey's Children.

1. Whiskey's Children is a great book, period. While it chronicled the casual horrors and quiet heartbreak of a family damaged by alcohol better than any book I've read, it also tells a universal story of human frailty and persistance. It is shocking, depressing...and funny. Read it for any reason, and then read 'A Bar on Every Corner' by the same author.



2. An unusal accounting of a whole bunch of ingested liquor. Happily with a happy ending. Sadly, though, a between-the-lines documentary of a beat poet who coulda been a contendah. Then again, he's still here now, and b.p. can be thought of as re-manifest in such pubs as McSweeney's where Mr. Erdmann (via Mr. Kearney) might consider submitting manuscript.



3. Jack Erdmann's story of his long struggle back from the strangling grip that alcoholism held on his life, as well as over members of his family for four generations, is a tour de force. This book is not just for alcoholics, or for drinkers who feel that they "don't have a problem," it is for everyone who is willing to accompany Erdmann on a harrowing journey.

   For those readers with alcoholics in the family, they--we--find ourselves nodding with recognition, and ultimately uplifted by the knowledge that there's a way up from the bottom. They will find assistance from now-sober alcoholics "with kind eyes, offering hot cups of bad coffee," in the words of Anne Lamott, a recovering alcoholic herself, who wrote the foreword.

   You want an "easy, feel-good" book--well, there are plenty of THOSE. You want one that will change your life, or that of someone whom you love, or that will give breathtaking insights into the lives of the alcoholics you know, "Whiskey's Children" is the best effort I've found. There are pathos, self-degradation, guilt, self-loathing, and even a quiet humor in these pages.

   If Amazon offered more than five stars, Erdmann and his co-author Larry Kearney would have earned them many times over. Not just for writing, but from their phoenix-life resurrection from the ashes of an alcoholic life.

   This is a wonderful book.




4. Alcoholism is not an emotional disorder per se, but it does sometimes have emotional triggers. When my dad started drinking in beer joints, he was in his thirties and had buried two wives and five children. I suffered inconsqentially as a result of his stopping at the nearest joint from our house on the way back for Saturday movies on the town, and I would have to hide in the backseat of the car. Since we had to traverse many curves for the few miles to get home, I remember praying all the way there for God to let us live.
   
   You can tell the children whose dad drinks alcohol, because he carries a load of guilt and pain, thinking he caused the abuse he would later reap by, looking at families who walk by and look at the young ones' faces. It is devastating.
   
   This town has a long history going back to bootlegger days before prohibition of brewing their own 'spirits' openly and for a long time on the main street of town (which they do again in this modern, accepting age), and the men are proud to be drinkers. They look down on those who are not addicted to alcohol. They are the dummies. One local writer told me recently, "You think I am just a drunk." I replied, "If I did that, why would I ask you to show me how to drink?" which he refused to do as I have liver disease. He was his usual 'confused' self and asked "Why did you choose me?" My honest answer, "I trust you because I know you won't touch me" and I thought he might feel enough responsibility to not let any of the other drunks take advantage if I started acting silly. But he told me that he can't control his own drinking, so he ended up not even offering me a drink of water. Ever! Now, I know water is not going to cause this hemangioma to burst, but it seems that something else did. Probably the pain pills I have taken for a chronic nerve pain I have had since 1994. Feeling sorry for me yet, Arthur Hardaway.
   
   Jack Daniels' Whiskey from right here in Tennessee is internationally known and sought after; people come from all over the United States looking for Lynchburg, Tennessee, as if they were seeking the Holy Grail. I heard a bigoted preacher get all emotional about the difference in immersion vs. sprinkling. He said that sprinkling is like scattering a little dirt on top of a dead person instead of burying him in a grave. Since I am a Methodist, I told him that he 'hit below the belt.' He also proclaimed that only immersed Baptists will enter Heaven. For years, I thought it was Seventh Day Adventists who preached that. My sister Evelyn belonged to that group for awhile until they betrayed her.
   
   Jack Erdmann has written othre books because I have reviewed one or more. He was the son of a jazz musician and an ex-chorus dancer in St. Louis. His reminiscing starts in 1934 when, as an altar boy, he drank the communion wine. Then, like this local writer, he drank because of loneliness. He even thinks his son should be allowed to buy beer when he is old enough to 'serve his country' in war but not yet old enough to vote. How dumb can you be!
   
   Co-writer Larry Kearney, a poet who settled in San Francisco (where Jack lives), was born in Brooklyn in 1943. Both are recovering alcoholics.



5. Think of all the good things you wish for your children -- health, happiness, safety and love must surely be on the list -- and then realize, if you are an alcoholic, what you may in truth pass on: fear, grief, rage, an inability to love or be loved, and the terminal disease of alcoholism itself. Mr. Erdmann explores his heritage of alcoholism, passed down from his grandfather to his father to him, and the legacy he gave his children. Burdens too big and confusing for their small trembling shoulders, fear, confusion -- so so sad, and so so common. If you are or think you are an alcoholic, do yourself and the people you love a favor and read this. And even if you don't want to quit drinking, find an AA meeting, shut your mouth and open your ears; give your children a chance, even if you never got one.

No comments about Alcoholics Anonymous (Russian Edition).

5 comments about Turning Point: A History of Early A.A.'s Spiritual Roots and Successes.

1. I've watched Dick work with alcoholics, bring people to Christ, study the Word of God, and teach the 12 Steps and Big Book in their historical context. I've also seen and personally helped him gather many of his research materials, particularly those from James and Eleanor Newton. This monumental work, not the last or the latest or even the last to come, is still his finest and most comprehensive history of A.A.'s biblical roots. There is nothing like it, and it is very helpful to Christians looking at, into, or out of Alcoholics Anonymous and toward the Bible



2. I have worked in the substance abuse field for over 15 years, as a therapist, but I am also a recovering alcoholic and sponsor many men in a 12-Step program. When I first read this book I couldn't believe my eyes. It opened them to a fresh perspective on maintaining my sobriety. Since then, I require all my sponsee's to read this book. Dick B. has captured a time in history that was long forgotten and the truth of which was lost in the desk drawers, churches, and other places of the 12-Step Pioneers. The amazing part of this book is the fact that by reading it, one can read the history and methods used to sustain a 75%-93% success rate, and attain a simular outcome for themselves and when working with others. It truly deserves to be a part of everyones recovery- it will bring anyone who reads it to a deeper and more peaceful state of sobriety. I can't state the following with more adamant, that, the program of recovery is a program of action- so get into action and read this book, and then put into practice the original program that had such an amazing success with hopeless drunks. You will be forever thankful you did this. Thanks Dick for saving my life and the lives of those who I work with.
   
   Sincerely,
   
   Rev. Stephen J. Murray, MCRC / NICD Director www.nicd.us



3. After several years of A.A. participation, Bible study, and associating with Dick B., I'm now reviewing all of his 30 published titles. Often for a second time. The reason is that my own mind is now clearer and more receptive and better at understanding the detailed histories Dick B. writes. Take a look at Turning Point. And then take a look at several of the other historical books on the recovery store shelves. What's distinctive about Turning Point? Here are a few observations: (1) It covers ALL A.A.'s spiritual roots Dick had investigated and found by the time Dick wrote it. (2) Instead of omitting history, literature, and people of controversy, Dick reported whatever he found--Bible, Christian, Roman Catholic, Methodist, Oxford Group, medical, psychological, New Thought, Unity, atheist, secular, universal--all. (3) Dick's work was not based just on what he had "heard" from some oldtimer; it was based on what he had seen, read, collected, and received from folks like the children of Dr. Bob and Anne, Henrietta Seiberling, T. Henry Williams, Rev. Sam Shoemaker, and a host of eye-witness reporters like Parks Shipley, Grace Snyder, Garth Lean, Michel Hutchinson, Ken Belden, Howard Blake, Willard Hunter, Jim Houck, Julia Harris, Jim and Ellie Newton, and more. (4) This book was not the end of the trail; it marked the point Dick had reached in the 1990's and invited much more research--which actually did follow. (5) Like most of Dick's books, it contained a huge, reliable bibliography. (6) It included historical gems that had been stored away at Stepping Stones, attics, private holdings, and universities. (7) It had not been edited, censored, shortened, or peer-reviewed though it was endorsed by several heavy-hitters in the field. (8) It was written by an "insider"--an active, recovered, AA who had sponsored dozens of people and taken them through the Twelve Steps. Dick observes the anonymity tradition but openly reports, anonymously, his own deep involvement in the trenches of alcoholism, addiction, and A.A.
   To sum up, this book is tops. It should be at the top of your A.A. history shelf, your 12 Step recovery shelf, your Christian roots shelf, and your Bible reference shelf. I highly commend it for these and other reasons.



4. 1. The Twelve Steps do not work as a program of recovery from drug or alcohol problems.
   o The A.A. failure rate ranges from 95% to 100%. Sometimes, the A.A. success rate is actually less than zero, which means that A.A. indoctrination is positively harmful to people, and prevents recovery. Some tests have shown that even receiving no treatment at all for alcoholism is much better than receiving A.A. treatment:
   o One of the most enthusiastic boosters of Alcoholics Anonymous, Professor George Vaillant of Harvard University, who is also a member of the Board of Trustees of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. (AAWS), showed by his own 8 years of testing of A.A. that A.A. was worse than useless -- that it didn't help the alcoholics any more than no treatment at all, and it had the highest death rate of any treatment program tested -- a death rate that Professor Vaillant himself described as "appalling". While trying to prove that A.A. treatment works, Professor Vaillant actually proved that A.A. kills. After 8 years of A.A. treatment, the score with Dr. Vaillant's first 100 alcoholic patients was: 5 sober, 29 dead, and 66 still drinking.
   (Nevertheless, Vaillant is still a Trustee of Alcoholics Anonymous, and he still wants to send all alcoholics to A.A. anyway, to "get an attitude change by confessing their sins to a high-status healer." That is cult religion, not a treatment program for alcoholism.)
   o The A.A. dropout rate is terrible. Most people who come to A.A. looking for help in quitting drinking are appalled by the narrow-minded atmosphere of fundamentalist religion and faith-healing. The A.A. meeting room has a revolving door. The therapists, judges, and parole officers (many of whom are themselves hidden members of A.A. or N.A.) continually send new people to A.A., but those newcomers vote with their feet once they see what A.A. really is. Even A.A.'s own triennial surveys, conducted by the A.A. headquarters (the GSO), say that:
   81% of the newcomers are gone within 30 days,
   90% are gone in 3 months, and
   95% are gone at the end of a year.
   That automatically gives A.A. a failure rate of at least 95%. But the GSO does not count all of those people who only attend a few meetings before quitting -- they don't qualify as "members". (That amounts to "cherry-picking".) If we included them, then the numbers would be much worse.
   
   
   First there is the propaganda technique of "everybody's doing it": "AA or a similar Twelve-Step program is an integral part of almost all successful recoveries".
   That is a complete falsehood. The vast majority of the successful people recover without A.A. or any "support group". It's what "everybody" is doing.
   Then they use the propaganda techniques of use of the passive voice and vague suggestions: "It is widely believed that not including a Twelve-Step program in a treatment plan can put a recovering addict on the road to relapse."
   It is widely believed by whom? And what do those unnamed people know? What are their qualifications? Are they doctors? Medical school professors? Or salesmen for a 12-Step treatment center? Why should we care what some unnamed invisible fools allegedly believe, anyway?
   The authors also use the propaganda technique of fear-mongering: you will be "on the road to relapse" -- you will probably die -- unless you practice Bill Wilson's Twelve Step cult religion.
   And then the fluff-headed Pollyanna attitude is outrageous: Just going to the wonderful A.A. meetings is supposedly all that is needed to fix some alcoholics.
   But since A.A. has a zero-percent success rate above and beyond the normal rate of spontaneous remission, that cannot possibly be true.



5. Dick B. was researching and writing books on the history of A.A. long before I met and knew him. He was methodically examining and reporting each of the diverse roots of A.A.--the Bible, Rev. Samuel M. Shoemaker, the Oxford Group, Anne Smith's Journal, Quiet Time and meditation, and the books early AAs Read. But there came a time when he felt it should all be pulled together along with a great deal of historical add-ons he had found and gathered from Stepping Stones, A.A.'s GSO office, Hartford Seminary, Princeton, the Wilson House, Dr. Bob's Home, and individual survivors. There was a big hole in the history. And this monumental history by Dick has done much to fill what one Roman Catholic priest called the A.A. historical "lacuna" or gap. It's an admirable, useful, readable, and valuable A.A. history reference book. I consider it tops.

2 comments about Alcoholism the Biochemical Connection: A Breakthrough Seven-Week Self-Treatment Program.

1. I found this book facinating! It not only explains why some people crave alcohol but it also gives a roadmap out of the horrible maze of addiction. It is facinating and gives real help to those people that haven't found their solution to their problem.



2. If you have a problem with alcohol and has been unsuccessful with conventional programs or know someone who has. DON'T GIVE UP BEFORE YOUR READ THIS BOOK. IT COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE OR THE LIFE OF A LOVE ONE. This program can help millions who suffer from alcoholism. It explains why so many alcoholics are unsuccessful at abstaining from alcohol. It contradicts the general perception of alcohol abuse and that alcoholics can't be helped until they want to. It proves (if you will) that alcoholism is indeed a disease and not only mental but mostly physical. I found answers and reasons for why alcoholics behave the way they do and how it is genetic and hereditary. This book is based on scientific and medical research and the findings are absolutely amazing. It also shows that like any other physical disease or illness, if after diagnosing the problem, there is not a physical treatment to prepare the damage, recovery is almost impossible. The program described is extraordinary to say the least. Frankly it disturbed me that our government has had this evidence for over 40 years that this program can triple the success rate of recovering alcoholics as well as make it easier and less painful for persons trying to get help. Reading this book could probably greatly increase the amount of people who seek help.

No comments about Children From Alcoholic Families (Family Matters).

5 comments about Journey on the Roads Less Traveled.

1. This is a great book for anyone who is married or thinking about marriage. It outlines how marriage should be according to God. It takes you through a personal journey of the author, which really makes you think about yourself. This is a very inspiring book that brings hope and healing to the reader. I would encourage anyone who would like to have a closer relationship with the Lord to read this book.



2. Angie Lewis has taken the road less traveled and is an excellent tour-guide as well as trail blazer. She has taken the road to change, which is something so many of us have never been able to do. If you have any interest in loving yourself or wish to be loved as God loves you, then you must read and follow this clearly marked road map which she has explored and drawn for you. I myself have just recently learned to love myself with God's help, now loving others is my goal. Thank you, Angie for enriching all of the lives you touch. Since ready Angie's book, acts of kindness have become a way of life, in sharing The Lord's love for me.



3. If you are looking for a book that jumps right into the "heart of the matter" concerning the transformation a Christian should experience when becoming serious about putting his or her faith into practice, you can't go wrong by purchasing "Journey on the Roads Less Traveled." Angie Lewis must have an angel helping her find the words to write, because so many times while I was reading this book - I imagine others experience the same - I said to myself, "That is exactly what I needed to hear!" This is an extremely powerful book!
   
   When we try and create our own version of joy and contentment, we often become trapped in our own selfish perceptions of what happiness is. We rely on our own limited abilities to keep up our emotional high. Lewis challenges her readers to find and rely on the One source that can lead to more happiness and joy than we ever imagined for ourselves.
   
   What is truly captivating about Angie's book is that she talks about her own selfishness, pride, and life mistakes on such a personal level that I kept asking myself if I could have that kind of courage while writing a non-fiction novel.
   
   Mrs. Lewis also offers some of the best advice, in this book and her other books, on how to maintain a joyful marriage I have ever read. When I read her advice concerning marriage, I can't help but think of her having her own television show giving advice to couples in front of a live studio audience.
   
   "Journey on the Roads Less Traveled" challenges us to make our faith first and foremost in our lives. Careers, homes, family, and relationships are enhanced and experienced on a whole new level when we experience them as we live under the umbrella of God's will for our lives. God's gifts to us should be used to give Him back the glory He rightly deserves.
   
   Forgiveness is another main theme Angie Lewis provides her readers with. If we are not willing to truly forgive the people who have upset us, then we are limiting our ability to experience the kind of love Jesus came to teach us about 2,000 years ago.
   
   I could write for days about how much I loved this book. But I just might give away so much of the "guts" inside that purchasing the book would be unnecessary, so I will close by saying this: If you want to purchase a book that can truly change your life, inspire your faith, or make you ponder how joyful your life can truly become, this is a book that can do just that!
   
   See ya next review!



4. Review: A Journey On the Roads Less Traveled
   by Angie Lewis
   
   Rated: 5 Stars
   Angie Lewis' book A Journey On A Roads Less Traveled should be in every AA meeting hall. As I read Angie's book, I wished that my sister had been able to find the strength to break through her addiction before that addiction took her life.
   I found Angie's words of wisdom to be not only for those who find themselves addicted to alcohol or drugs, but for each and every one of us. We all are battling some sort of demons in our lives--be it love of money or things we can possess. We are all selfish to some point and our loved ones often suffer. I myself, found Angie's book calming, placing a comforting balm upon my heart.
   I highly recommend A Journey On Roads Less Traveled. All the roads she described will ultimately lead the reader to road that leads to salvation through Jesus Christ.
   
   Review by Nancy Lee Shrader
   IS IT NOW? The End of Days!
   The Curse of Mayweather House
   IS HE MESSIAH? Messianic Prophecies Revealed!



5. Journey on the Road Less Traveled is a phenomenal book!! I must admit however that it has taken me quite a few weeks to read, but not because I did not love it, because I LOVED IT SO MUCH that I found myself reading and re-reading chapters. I absolutely 100% believe that has saved my marriage and helped me find "real love"! I would recommend this book to anyone who is seeking spiritual guidance their marriage, when it seems as all else has failed and you need "somewhere" to turn, this book is the answer! It has been my handbook these past few weeks and I know that it will be forever. I sought this book out to rescue my marriage, yet it has also helped me understand my own feelings, the importance of faith and taught me the act of forgiveness.
   
   Angie explains how important it is to have a relationship with God and the how critical it is to submit ourselves to Him and everything else in our life will just fall into place and we can be the person that God intended us to be! Once we understand what God's purpose for us in this world, then we can apply it to our marriage and all other aspects of our life.
   
   I lived in my emotions and my feelings and could not understand why I was so unhappy, this book shows you how to take control of your feelings by having faith in God and gave me clarity on how to take a look at my own actions first before I try to change or control the actions of another person. Thanks to Angie, I am truly less emotionally stressed which in turn has allowed me to become a much more loving person!!

No comments about The Baby King Must Die!: Every Negative Thing You Have Always Wanted to Know about Addicts and Addiction But Were Too Afraid.

5 comments about Buzz: The Science and Lore of Alcohol and Caffeine.

1. I found this book very informative. It contains good maerial about the effects of caffein and alchahol on the body. this book also outlines the structer and effects these heve on the body. Ifound this very useful in writing my research papaer on the effects of caffein on the heart. it is a good book



2. Although I know somewhat more than the average person about both substances, This book gave me new information presented in an interesting style. I would recommend it highly both to the casual reader and to educational programs for medical and substance abuse communities.

   And, the guy has a sense of humor!!




3. "Buzz" by Stephen Braun is one of the best science books I've read in a while. Mr. Braun destroyes popular myths about society's most popular drugs, and he replaces those myths with facts and evidence. Often those facts are just as interesting as the myths!

   The book is witty and full of insight and advice about caffeine and alcohol. A must read for people curious about the two most popular drugs on the planet.




4. Science journalist Stephen Braun explores the science and lore of alcohol and caffeine in this slim but informative little volume. Recent progress in understanding brain chemistry has given scientists a different perspective on the workings of these two of mankind's oldest chemical friends.
   Alcohol is a small molecule which is soluble in both fat and water and consequently its physiological effects are manifold. Rather than the simple depressant it was once presumed to be, it is in fact a "pharmacy in a bottle" which can mimic cocaine, amphetamines, opium and valium. Given that the brain contains 40 or so neurotransmitters, it is fair to say that the full effects of alcohol are still far from being understood; broadly, however, it can reduce anxiety and stimulate the reward centres of the brain. Its effects on sexual desire and sleep are contradictory. It raises desire, yet in large quantities impedes performance. The stimulating effect is in part psychological: research volunteers who believed they had consumed alcohol but hadn't, became more aroused than those who had but thought they hadn't. It promotes sleepiness, yet worsens the quality of sleep and interferes with the sleep cycle. The effects vary with gender. In one survey 68% of women, but only 45% of men, replied that alcohol enhances sex. The oft-observed fact of women becoming intoxicated faster then men on a given dose is apparently due not to differences in blood volume (otherwise why would small men not also become drunk faster?) but rather to a difference in the effectiveness of alcohol dehydrogenase (an enzyme which can exist in 17 different varieties in the same person), a difference which fades with age. The other major effect of alcohol is that in moderate quantities it appears to reduce the risk of heart disease, a benefit which is lost, but accompanied by many detriments to health, with increasing consumption.
   The genetics of sensitivity to alcohol are also fascinating. Alcoholism in humans appears to be environmental in origin, although it does have a weak genetic component. In mice, the story really gets interesting. Certain physiological responses to alcohol can be bred into or out of mice. Members of one strain sleep for a long time after consuming alcohol, but others sleep only briefly. Or the metabolism of one strain speeds up following a drink, but that of another slows down. Such differences also exist in people: some actually become drowsy on small doses, but more alert on larger ones, the opposite of the majority response. The key point is that the effects of alcohol are complicated and occasion a great diversity of responses. For an individual the only way to fully gauge the effects is by (hopefully judicious) experimentation.
   Caffeine, metabolically speaking, is another kettle of fish. Although it also has a wide range of effects it specifically targets receptors of the neurotransmitter adenosine (also, incidentally, affected by alcohol). Thus the average dose is much smaller: a regular cup of coffee contains about 100 milligrams, versus 14,200 of alcohol in a standard drink. Like most psychoactive substances, caffeine is a plant product (found in over 100 plant species), and may well have evolved as a natural pesticide designed to disrupt the neurological function of its predators. Of special interest to smokers is that smoking causes caffeine to be metabolized faster than normal, an effect which stops when smoking does. Thus, without having changed his caffeine consumption, the newly resolved non-smoker will find himself with about twice as much caffeine in the bloodstream as usual. Adding being wired to nicotine withdrawal is probably unpleasant for most, so the implication is that smokers should cut coffee consumption before kicking the weed. The effects of coffee as a stimulant are indirect and due to interference with a natural feedback system whereby the more neurons fire the more adenosine they produce, which inhibits firing. Caffeine binds to adenosine receptors, thereby blocking adenosine, but without producing this inhibition. The effect is like putting a block of wood under the brake pedal of a car. The effects on mental acuity are unclear. Caffeine users may feel sharper and smarter, but their measurable performance is not greatly improved. On the other hand caffeine may affect more complex mental processes than those tested, or perhaps it is simply the sensation of intellectual enthusiasm which makes the difference to the work of creative masters, such as Bach and Balzac, who were mighty coffee drinkers and swore by its powers.
   By regulating the amount of neurochemical receptors available the body can acquire tolerance to drugs. In the case of heroin, habituated users may consume 10,000 times as much as novices, far beyond the range of tolerance shown by consumers of coffee or booze. Yet caffeine users also develop a tolerance; to the point that caffeine may actually produce little noticeable effect in those used to it. This suggests that people keep drinking primarily to avoid withdrawal. It also offers a possible explanation of why many postoperative surgical patients suffer from headaches: it's not the anaesthetic, but simply that they've been without a cup of coffee for a full day before recovery.
   Americans are drinking perhaps a little less coffee than they used to. But caffeine intake is propped up by soft drinks, about 80% of which are caffeinated, with caffeine which, naturally enough, is extracted and sold by the purveyors of decaf coffee. There is also a lot of caffeine in both prescription and over-the-counter medications, which are also consumed in large quantities.
   "Buzz" is well-written in an easy and pleasing style. Given the imposing scope of its subject matter, however, it is necessarily somewhat limited. It would certainly be interesting to read more in greater depth, especially with regard to the neurobiochemistry. A discussion of the negative social consequences of alcohol, which is deeply implicated in suicide, homicide and other violence might also have merited a few pages. Overall, however, this is an enjoyable and informative read.



5. "Buzz" blasts a lot of long-held myths about two of our favorite drugs. The history - and the resulting culture around them - of booze and the most common pick-me-upper is engrossing and madly entertaining. I wish, really, there had been a little more of that. But the book tilts ultimately (somewhat gently, thankfully) into the relatively deep biochemistry behind our reactions to and devotions to caffeine and alcohol, too. A lot, but not quite all, of that is cast in beautiful lay context that really connects the science to the personal.