Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 20
 Excellent for those that are just starting or long term May 13, 2000
35 out of 35 found this review helpful
As I recovering alcoholic for 14 years, this has always been a helpful tool for staying in touch with the simplicity of every day soberiety. I highly recommend it for newcomers and people interested in stopping alcohol use.
common sense advice for complicated people March 10, 2000
22 out of 23 found this review helpful
I love this little book of wisdom and I feel very lucky that a friend gave me a copy. It's almost too bad it's branded AA because I think anyone could benefit from the wisdom here about living a joyful and a peaceful life.
A wonderful introduction to AA and recovery August 25, 2001
Katherine Kirk (Santa Rosa, CA USA)
28 out of 31 found this review helpful
I am a counselor working with recovering alcoholics, and I highly recommend this book to anyone who has a problem with drinking or just wants to learn more about how AA works. It is easy to read and upbeat. There are words of wisdom on each page, and suggestions which are easy to apply. A lot of the advice could work for anyone whether they are a recovering alcoholic or not. We can all learn to get active with healthy activities, use the serenity prayer, and practice gratitude. The 12 steps are not covered in this book, but you can learn a lot about other ideas which form the foundation of the recovery movement. The book is written in short chapters on each topic, which makes it easy to read exactly the part you want to learn more about. Although it was written in the mid-70s, the information here can easily be applied to today's lifestyles.
This should be the 2nd book you acquire... May 17, 2006
sfseeker (San Francisco, CA United States)
23 out of 26 found this review helpful
...right after "Alcoholics Anonymous" aka "The Big Book". First, as a recovering alcoholic myself, I must comment on some of the previous statements here that border on reckless endangerment:
"unfortunately--reinforces the stereotype of vulnerabilty (sic) and fragility inherent in recovery".
Maybe it's a "stereotype" (?) because it's TRUE. We are fragile. We are vulnerable. Just like anyone else would feel if they were dying. Especially in the first days, sometimes hours, of "living sober". That's why newcomers to A.A. are encouraged to attend "90 in 90"- ninety meetings in the ninety days- when the craving is likely to be the strongest. Why try to stop drinking on your own (which almost never works) when there's free, caring, help and support readily available? I hope I don't sound condescending or anything; it took me a LONG time to figure out what was practically staring me in the face. And it didn't have to be that way.
"nor is sobriety so rigidly intolerant that mouthwash should be avoided like the plague" - "intolerant"?! - A.A. is the most tolerant group of people I know of; this has nothing to do with "intolerance", it's about precaution/necessity, given the physiology inherent in all alcoholics. ETOH (alcohol) is to be avoided COMPLETELY, even in seemingly harmless amounts. Our bodies just don't process it like normal people's do. And I'm honest enough to admit- not proudly- that I once drank an entire bottle of Scope- that's the kind of power alcohol can have over a desperate, and yes, insane, drunk in the throes of withdrawal. (Tom's of Maine & Tea Tree Therapy make alcohol-free mouthwash- there are a couple of others I can't remember offhand- they're not hard to find.) Has anyone ever witnessed someone with the shakes drinking vanilla extract to get the alcohol in it? Well, I have, and it ain't pretty.
Lastly is my favorite: "sobriety entails fundamental strength of character". That is so patently false it's almost laughable. What's NOT funny about it is that we're talking about a DISEASE here. It has absolutely nothing to do with any sort of weakness. Do cancer sufferers die because they're not "strong enough"?!? Hardly.
Here's one of A.A.'s many sayings: K.I.S.S.
K.= Keep
I.= It
S.= Simple
S.= Stupid (or Silly, or - my favorite - Sweetheart)
It's not a difficult program if one just follows the suggestions, or at least most of them. OK, at least some of them. Nobody I know of has ever failed at this by being "too dumb" to get it. But I do know of many people who've failed by being "too smart".
I highly recommended this book to any alcoholic, or "alcoholic-in-training". (And has been said already- there's good stuff in here for "normies" too!)
And to the alcoholic reading this who is still suffering- I understand your predicament all too well. All you need for A.A. "membership" is the desire to stop drinking. That's it. Period. The phone number for A.A. is listed in every directory in the country, and nearly every directory in the world. The phone can be your best friend right this minute- instead of the bottle- (which is your current best friend; one whose ultimate goal is to kill you.)
Helps for anyone May 15, 2006
Douglas S. Wood (Monona, WI)
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
I rejected much of the AA model, but I still found this short book to be extremely helpful in my early days of recovery. Just a lot of practical common sense ideas to help keep you sober for another day.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 20
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