Addict Nation: An Intervention for America [Hardcover]

Jane Velez-Mitchell (Author), Sandra Mohr (Author)

Book Description

Release date: February 1, 2011

Americans are being lured into addiction. And what we're hooked on isn't necessarily illegal or even hard to come by. Prescription medications are making us high. Fast food is making us fat. The Internet keeps us constantly distracted with everything from gambling and porn to compulsive social networking. Television bombards us with glamorized violence. From billboards, to online pop ups, to commercials. . . we're seduced into buying more stuff we don't need while we drown in growing debt. Massive profits fill the pockets of a handful of 'pushers' at the expense of everyone else. Corporations, government, and the media are creating the illusion that the more we have, the better we are, and so we crave whatever they're selling and become addicted to their products in the process. Americans are being seduced into self-destructivebehavior on a mass scale. It's time to take our power back. In her trademark no-holds-barred style, Jane Velez-Mitchell asks, 'Do you really want to be a slave, existing just to make someone else rich and powerful?' If the answer is no, then read this book. Addict Nation is our blueprint for change, but first we must see what is really going on. This is an intervention!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Velez-Mitchell (iWant: My Journey from Addiction and Overconsumption to a Simpler, Honest Life) condemns addictions to crime, celebrity, food, technology, sex, and other things in the same no-holds-barred style of her popular television show. The author targets anyone dependent on or devoted to such disparate dysfunctions as obsessive cleanliness, sexual exploitation, prescription drugs, the need to overpopulate, and technology. Drawing from her own life, the author illuminates how the government, private sector, and media (she never slips into irony) justify, romanticize, and promote addictions-essentially becoming "pushers." Each chapter focuses on an addiction and begins with an anecdote either personal or popular before shifting into intervention mode. The woman knows her facts, and her text is stuffed with statistics and anecdotes, but a few of her ideas, and her condescending tone, may turn some readers off. "Gay is the new green" proclaims the openly lesbian author in a chapter on "breeders" (addicted to procreation), and she lays guilt on non-vegans. Velez-Mitchell's intentions are equally admirable and suspect; the authority she so boldly assumes comes not from a degree or years of casework but from personal history and TV.
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Review

Addict Nation is a great read; I couldn't put it down. In fact, I read it over and over, and I can't wait to read it again. I think I'm hooked. But in a good way. --Joy Behar, Host of The Joy Behar Show on HLN and Co-Host of ABC's The View

Addict Nation is the most comprehensive "Blueprint for Green Living" ever produced. I see it as number one and a must read for every woman, child and man. ----Jonathan Lake, Founder of GreenTV.com

JVM breaks it down so we can not only understand addiction, but we can beat it! ----Nancy Grace, Host and Star of Swift Justice with Nancy Grace

Jane Velez-Mitchell deserves an honorary psychology Ph.D. for her insights on the human psyche. ----Dr. Judy Kuriansky, Clinical Psychologist and Author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to a Healthy Relationship

Addict Nation
Jane Velez-Mitchell
Health Communications, Inc.
3201 S. W. 15th Street, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442
9780757315459, $24.95, www.hcibooks.com

Addiction runs deep in American culture, and it's not just drugs. "Addict Nation: An Intervention for America" is Jane Velez-Mitchell's call for America to fight its addictions, and she's not just talking illegal drugs. Everything from food to pornography to social networking she claims is taking control of our lives and its up to each American to shake the monkey off of their own backs. "Addict Nation" is a fascinating and very solidly recommended pick for anyone concerned about America's overall health.

(Midwest Book Review )

Addict Nation
Jane Velez-Mitchell & Sandra Mohr
Health Communications Inc.
3201 S.W. 15th St., Deerfield Beach, FL 33442-8190
0757315453, $24.95, www.hcibooks.com

ADDICT NATION: AN INTERVENTION FOR AMERICA analyzes how addictions have robbed Americans of their basic freedoms of choice, with freedoms coming through marketing and packaging designed to get us hooked on everything from drugs to shopping. ADDICT NATION comes from a recovering addict who asks if addiction is being marketed by big business - and how to resist its lure. Health and social issues collections alike will find this a thought-provoking 'must'.

(Midwest Book Review "California Bookwatch" )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 340 pages
• Publisher: HCI; 1 edition (February 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0757315453
• ISBN-13: 978-0757315459
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1.3 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #652,273 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating, pleasurable read February 4, 2011

By Christine CaliGirl

Format:Hardcover

Authors Velez-Mitchell and Mohr pull back the covers on America in a book replete with surprising revelations, thoughtful examination and useful solutions for a society mired in a panoply of diverse addictions. The first step in recovering from any addiction is to face the truth, which this book unflinchingly and entertainly presents.

With a decade and a half of sobriety under my belt, I didn't expect to learn as much as I did about other forms of addiction, some of which I'd not considered until now. Packed full of factual information and seasoned with insightful celebrity examples -- from Lindsay Lohan to Tiger Woods to "Octomom" -- I couldn't stop turning pages once I'd started. Even were I not a recovering addict I would still have taken great interest from a social standpoint. This is a book that should cross over from psychological and health studies to the realm of sociology.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This one I will read a second time! February 8, 2011

By Kayla Mayeux

Format:Hardcover

Wow! What a book. I had to read a chapter and sit with it a while before moving on. It was packed with information. Some of the chapters I related to and could feel myself evolving as I learned through them. I am certainly going to be a much more conscious consumer! Other addictions I could see my friends and their husbands lost in. The most frightening ones she talked about were the cultural ones that are literally putting our planet at risk. These addictions are so ubiquitous in our culture that we can't even see them. Jane says "it is like an undiagnosed fatal cancer growing inside of us." America certainly could use an intervention. I am going to start rereading it immediately.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Hot Topic December 7, 2012

By E. P. Brookshire VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Wow, addiction is so hot right now. I know because I never miss an episode of "Intervention"! JVM is an extremely smart lady and never pulls any punches with her opinions. I think this book almost as good as "Secrets Can be Murder" albeit on a different topic. It is definitely better than her "iWant" which got a tad bit preachy. She points out things that are so true. Her chapter on sex addiction was very insightful and made some great points that I haven't read elsewhere. I think she is an excellent role model for young women and especially gay women who need a strong female to emulate. She is an awesome interviewer and I will continue to read anything she writes. I disagree totally with the reviewer on here who said JVM doesn't feel anyone is accountable for their actions if they are an "addict". I did not read that anywhere in this book so I am not sure where they are getting this from. And yes, maybe someone who is obese might get a little offended by this wisp of a woman telling them to quit eating McDonald's but she is just speaking the truth. She can say it because she has overcome her own eating and alcohol addictions with great success.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Unrealistic expectations March 26, 2013

By Horseaddict

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Recovering addicts blame everyone else for the problems in the world today and Jane is no different with this puffery piece. She uses this book as a platform to promote her show (which is guilty of what she is complaining about) and her beliefs (we should all be vegans). For instance, she says that if we stop eating meat, we could use the grain to feed the world. She fails to understand that most grain is used by refinerys in fuel production. And most of the grain we ship to third world countries never makes it to the people. It is used by the government in power to buy weapons or sell for their own benefit. She complains that people have their heads in high tech devices, when her co author makes commercials for the internet. As a farmer, I used the "high tech" devices to predict weather, fix machinery, buy equipment, yet in her opinion, it is making us addicts. She tells us not to shop at Superstores or malls and buy our food from organic stores. Most of us can not afford $6.00 a half gallon organic milk that lasts 4 days, and Wal Mart is one stop shopping for most of use who pay $4.00 a gallon for gas. She even blames corporations for tricking us into buying their products. I call that good marketing which allows companies to compete and provide jobs for people. If you really want to read this book it is available for a penny plus shipping which is about the value of it. No librarys carry it which is understandable. Thank God I bought this thru Amazon at a greatly discounted price.

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Required Reading February 27, 2011

By Linda

Format:Hardcover

This is one of those books that should be on everybody's Top Ten list. I had already recognized many of the addictions (materialism, ills and pills, tech, even cleanliness) but I had only recently begun to think of procreation and war as addictions. The chapter on war is particularly devastating and it alone is worth the price of admission. The book is very skillfully and methodically put together: 1) Valez-Mitchell backs each addiction up with facts and figures about who "the pusher" is (who is making the money off each addiction, and 2) she insightfully links her analysis to the 12-step program (what are the compulsive behaviors, the denial patterns, etc.). No matter how evolved and enlightened you think you are, there is a lot here for you.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars fantastic March 4, 2011

By Florence Nightingale

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

wonderfully well written as are all of Jane's books. wonderful help tips for addicts and how to stop letting addictions control your life. a must read for anyone with any type of addiction.