Sober for Good: New Solutions for Drinking Problems -- Advice from Those Who Have Succeeded
Author: Anne M. Fletcher
List Price: $14.00
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ISBN: 0618219072
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Co (17 April, 2002)
Sales Rank: 9,038
Average Customer Rating: 4.3 out of 5
Customer Reviews
Rating: 5 out of 5
Excellent Overview of Workable Options for Sobriety
The evolution away from the inaccurate and counterproductive view of a "one size fits all" mentality for substance/alcohol abuse/dependency treatment has been underway for decades: long enough for individuals sober in alternative "non 12 step" programs to recount how they accomplished their stunning and uplifting successes in achieving genuine and lasting sobriety. Anne Fletcher interviews successfully sober individuals from a variety of programs, including those based on the religiously-oriented program of 12 steps (including AA), and in the process helps elucidate the various important components of a successful life in sobriety. Contrary to the "mainstream" notion that spirituality or belief in a "higher power" are necessary to achieve sobriety, Ms. Fletcher recounts numerous examples of successfully sober individuals who required neither. Powerful (and well established) "alternative" techniques for achieving sobriety and satisfaction, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, are presented. Anne Fletcher has provided an invaluable resource and reference for anyone looking for a way out of alcohol/substance abuse/dependency for themselves or someone they care about. Also, this book would provide tremendous insight and breadth in any training curriculum for substance abuse therapists.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Some Comments on Amazon's Editorial Review
Anne Fletcher's "Sober for Good" is an outstanding contribution to the literature on alcohol problems. It is written in such a way that the average lay person can undersyand all that the author and her more than 200 subjects are saying. She deals with the many controversies in the field in a balanced and judicious manner. Anyone who wants help with an alcohol problem would do well to consult this book first, as the multiple opportunities for assistance are all well outlined. I strongly disagree that the book has even the "appearance" of AA bashing; a mindset that views any comments on AA that are not gushingly superlative as "bashing" is deplorable. It is an honorable and even remarkable organization, but (as the book amply documents) it is not for everyone. As the author of the foreword to the book, I want to make it absolutely clear that I am not a co-author, as Amazon's listing of the book would indicate. Ann Fletcher is owed the entire credit for this excellent and timely contribution to our knowledge of this area.
Rating: 5 out of 5
The best, most reasonable book available on sobriety
Contrary to what some reviewers have written, this book does not "bash" AA. Among the hundreds of people Fletcher contacted about their drinking problems (and their subsequent successful years of sobriety), it is clear that AA worked spectacularly for many of them; for others, not so well. This is because--as this book demonstrates so powerfully--we are all different, and no single approach can work for us all.What this book does provide, however, is an enormous set of strategies and information for getting clean, from a great variety of "masters"--what Fletcher calls people who have successfully mastered their drinking problems. There is something for everyone with a drinking problem in this book, and lots of great words of wisdom and sympathy from those who have been there.
I recommend this book wholeheartedly to anyone who suspects they might have a drinking problem, or who has a loved one who does. It has everything you need to make an informed decision as to what to do about it, in an approach tailored to you.
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