Cool, Hip, and Sober: 88 Ways to Beat Booze and Drugs [Hardcover]

Bill Manville (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 5, 2003 | ISBN-10: 0765303140 | ISBN-13: 978-0765303141 | Edition: First Edition

In a refreshingly clear-headed and informed approach to addiction, noted writer and radio host Bill Manville sums up what he's learned in more than forty years of research . . . twenty as a demon-driven drunk and twenty in recovery.

From his popular show "Addictions and Answers," broadcast from KVML in Sonora, California, Manville has compiled a list of 88 questions and answers from, as he says, "a ton of plain and fancy drunks and dopers and their friends and families." As well, he offers valuable advice and information from his guests: noted psychiatrists, psychologists, rehab counselors, MDs, academics, and more.

Here, in first-person detail, are responses to the issues faced by alcoholics, addicts, and their loved ones, such as:

· How to intervene with a substance-abusing friend
· How alcoholics can protect themselves from relapses
· Evaluating therapies, both individual and group
· How alcohol affects sex
· Definitions of "social drinker," "heavy drinker," and alcoholic
· The many faces of denial
· Is alcoholism inherited?
· How to choose the right rehab
· Is there an addictive personality?
· What role does spirituality play in recovery?

A brave and transformational look at the treatment of chemical dependency, Cool, Hip, and Sober is a captivating, insightful and essential handbook for overcoming denial and achieving a peaceful, long-term recovery.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Bill Manville knows about battling booze--getting drunk, staying drunk, getting sober, relapsing, and, finally, staying sober for more than 20 years. Host of a talk show, Addictions & Answers, Manville writes in Q&A format, addressing his questioners' concerns about alcohol and drug abuse and recovery. Many are in denial about their alcoholism--despite waking up with strangers and losing jobs and relationships or think that life won't be any fun without a drink in both hands. Manville pulls no punches setting them straight. Despite his been-there-done-that, witty, sometimes confrontational style, he remains caring and positive. His advice is based on his own experience as a lush ("you hate the glass in your hand, pray to God not to drink it, and lift it to your lips and gulp it down anyway") and a devotee of Alcoholics Anonymous and residential treatment programs. He often brings in experts to supplement his advice. The section on formal interventions is worth the price of the book by itself. Highly recommended both for people who think that their alcohol or drug habit might be a problem and for their family and friends. --Joan Price

Review

"An inspiring read!"
-Helen Gurley Brown, Editor in Chief, Cosmopolitan magazine

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Forge Books; First Edition edition (December 5, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765303140
• ISBN-13: 978-0765303141
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,164,539 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Bill Manville, author of Writing to Get Published and Cool, Hip and Sober, is a former Village Voice Columnist, a Contributing Editor for Helen Gurley Brown at Cosmo, the author of six books published by major New York houses -- one a Book-of-the Month club selection -- and is now a columnist for the New York Daily News.

Bill also teaches "Writing to Get Published," an online class limited to eight students. For more information, ask Bill himself: [e-mail]

Here's what Michael Korda, Editor in Chief, Simon & Schuster, says about Bill: "...the work I know best is your novel Goodbye, which I edited. What first attracted me was the dazzling prose; I was equally impressed by plot and characterization. A considerable literary accomplishment but also a Book of the Month choice, bringing an impressive price at paperback auction. What may also interest your students, I've heard you in discussion with writers like Joe Heller, Patricia Bosworth, Lois Gould and Gay Talese, and remember thinking more than once, Bill ought to be teaching it too."

PS: This is an offer I make all my students, past or present: If you have a question about writing or publishing -- one that can be put into an email no longer than 25 words - send it along. I'll answer based on my years of experience with New York agents, editors and publishers, getting my own books into print. Send it to: [e-mail]

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Masterful, readable and real addiction advice, November 24, 2003

By 

Lynn Telford-Sahl (Modesto, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Cool, Hip, and Sober: 88 Ways to Beat Booze and Drugs (Hardcover)

As an addiction counselor, I've read many self-help books about addiction. Cool, hip & sober is my favorite so far because of the question and answer format, the down to earth approach of the author and the believable, heart felt stories and examples of the pain and suffering of the addict and everyone around them, as well as the tough, but doable triumphs of recovery.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Does not read like a self-help book, November 27, 2003

By 

Lee Elvgren (Valley Springs, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cool, Hip, and Sober: 88 Ways to Beat Booze and Drugs (Hardcover)

My family has a long history of addiction and I've been exposed to a lifetime of books, programs, literature and advice on the topic.

Cool, Hip and Sober is the ONLY "Self-Help" book I have ever read,(on any topic) that I didn't have to make myself read.

Before any form of knowledge or experience can be helpful, it must be transmitted. Bill Manville's, Cool, Hip and Sober flows into the reader's conscious without resistence and therein lies the beauty of this book.

You will want to read this book!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars cool,hip and amazingly readable- riveting!, April 15, 2006

By 

kooky Kid "Bookfiend1818" (east coast) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cool, Hip, and Sober: 88 Ways to Beat Booze and Drugs (Paperback)

I have had this book for awhile having read it once and then put it on the shelf. I picked it up today and reread almost half of it when I had planned to do something else.As a sucker for anything that clearly tells the tale of our human nature- the stories here do just that. Garnered from the sober author's radio call in show, (he's sort of the sober dear Abby) the problem drinkers or persons who are not sure if what they are wrestling with is an alcoholic situation get straight answers.The authors experience was extreme- and he is an advocate for rehab and then a 12 step program. However, the stories and information here are useful to any tangental situation - they cut right to the chase. Another thing that is super refreshing is that the author really loves and embraces his sobriety and is "cool, hip and sober" For all those pub crawlers who have given up on their creativity and their dreams , it is nice to hear someone affirm that sober life is technicolor and the alternative dreary black and white. I love any text that tells the truth and this book is just filled with "stories".