Customer Reviews

Sober...and Staying That Way : The Missing Link in The Cure for Alcoholism

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Have been in recovery via AA for almost 4 years. I try to keep an open mind and read anything to do with alcoholism. This book included. I find it to be helpful in the nutritional (or malnutritional) aspects of the disease. Alcoholism is a deadly disease. No matter what you do, if you believe you or someone has a problem get some help. A sick mind, and alcoholism is a disease, cannot cure itself! And, contrary to popular belief--all AA groups are not the same!!! AA is not a religious organization--it is 100% spiritual in nature. There is a vast difference between religion and spirituality. I am fortunate to have found my way of arresting my alcoholism in AA--however, AA has no monopoly on treatment. Get some kind of help. I truly have my doubts that this "cure" in this book will provide a large number of people with lasting, true sobriety. AA has done this, and done it well since 1935. Am I biased--perhaps. But I did try everyway I knew how to quit drinking. This included 2 years of being "dry" by exercise and healthy eating. When the "pats on the back" and my "feeling good" wore off, I went back to drinking. Would be interesting to have a survey done in a few years as a follow up on those who try the program offered in this book. I truly hope this is done, as all research is needed and necessary about this still much misunderstood disease. This book struck me as a rehash of other, older and better researched books. The "meat" of this book can be found in 2 other books--"Under the Influence--A Guide to the Myths and Realities of Alcoholism" by James R. Milam & Katherine Ketcham and "Nature's Road to Recovery" by Beth M Ley Jacobs. Both contain the same, and more, of what this book contain. These I would give 5 stars! Also try "Chalk Talks on Alcoholism" by Father Joseph Martin. Excellent also, not just for the alcoholic, but for those who are effected by alcoholism.

These 2 tapes are quick and easy to listen to and a good eye opener in some of the many things that are going on in today's world about alcoholism.

I have gone to and continue to go to AA meetings. I continue to go even though I felt that something is not quite right in them. I believe in and support the AA system and process, but, there are some holes in that program.

Susan Powter points some of these things out. She also gives a respectful nod to the AA way of life. She makes a point that any system that remains closed to change for the last 60 years, with evolution in our sciences and society dramatically changing, will become a little antiquated.

She also discusses the large millions and billions of dollars that the liquor market is made of and how that marketing message gets through to you so you can doubt your own sanity about not drinking!

She mentions medical fact about the metabolic changes in your body that take place in alcoholic and non-alcoholic people.

She is a little light in the psychological contributions to the disease, however, that is a separate road which is huge. Should you wish to tackle that component; a - go to AA meetings and work the steps with a sponsor, b - seek guidance from a trained counselor, and c - read more on the psycological, vitamin, nutrition, and spiritual aspects of the disease.

The 2 tapes are not the whole alcoholic picture, then again, there is no such single resource out there.

Alcoholism doesn't run in my family, it gallops. I was getting drunk to console myself the day my mother died of acute alcohol poisoning. After many years of the usual hell you can hear about at any AA meeting, I started making the efforts, mostly at gunpoint. Solution is the only thing that matters in this game, and there was none for me. I'd get close, but always fail, and not know why. At the end, and about to lose my second wife, I was hung over and researching in the library. My experience with herbalism led me to tracking information about nutritional cures, which led me to SOBER AND STAYING THAT WAY. It drew from the same books that had already started the glimmer of understanding. I took it home, devoured it, did everything she said, and my life took a 180. If you always feel vaguely uncomfortable in your body, this book will help. The biochemical environment for sobriety is no joke. Powter is dead on about the alcohol lobby, and the world it forces an alcoholic to exist in. Like her, I was not sold on the AA concept of powerlessness. Bottom line: Do what she says. All of it. Notice how much better you feel, and how much easier it is to resist. The book is not new information, but rather the first digestable thing I've seen that assembles the information properly. As a martial arts teacher told me- many people know the moves, but they don't know the SIGNIFICANCE of them. This book is about the significance, and dignity, and blowing away all the blame and shame. I owe the woman, big time. And if you DON'T buy it- here's a hint- stay off the cigs, donuts, and coffee when you're sitting there like a sad sack at the next AA meeting. That alone will do more than anything you hear there.

Susan's voice and mannerisms are annoying. So what? She has little formal education and sometimes mispronounces words. Who cares? She charges for the information rather than giving it away. Not important.

She can do research; she has passion; she is motivated to communicate what she learns; she does not pussyfoot around. And she saved my life.

Although recovered now, I was an active alcoholic for most of my adult life, taking my first drink at age 22 and quickly becoming addicted. For the next 25 years, with brief sober periods, my evenings and weekends were spent drinking.

Like many alcoholics I was able to keep a good job, moving up the management ranks--but could not manage the rest of my life.

I went to AA several times but never felt part of it. I was embarrassed, and the prospect of publicly confessing my sins before strangers and loved ones was anathema to me. AA is a decent organization. (It worked for my dad.) Still, the 12-step process only works for twelve percent of the people who try it; did you know that? I was one of the eighty-eight percent for whom it did not work.

By December of 1997 I was a late-stage alcoholic, certain that there was no way I would ever get sober, and that I probably had less than a year to live. In truth, this was OK with me.

Then I found Susan Powter's book. The first night I managed to read a couple of chapters before passing out. The second night I started the book again, read it from beginning to end in one sitting, poured out my entire supply of alcohol, and have not wanted a drink since. I bought the audiotape and listened to it during my daily commute for a month, to ensure that the information was burned into my brain.

I created a concise, 2-page summary of what I learned, both in Susan's book and through additional research, and have shared the information with many people...who have shared it with their own loved ones. All this from Susan's book!

Susan Powters premise is simple. However, if you listen to her words, her personal story, you'll understand that even the simplest of tasks can seem overwhelming, but they are not impossible. She shares her experiences with AA and exposes that program's complete lack of growth since its inception. She feels that alternative therapies do exist and are working, but that their availability is limited due to the AA-based rehab business.

I found her nutritional advice helpful and her story inspirational. She does simplify the process, but I believe this is one of the best things about it. A complicated plan is likely to keep many from even attempting to try. There is no cure offered in this book. It is a collection of nutritional and physiological tips intended to help the reader overcome the body's physical and mental need for alcohol.

Twelve-steppers beware, this book is not for you. It is not about how to live the rest of your life in a constant, day-to-day struggle with alcohol. It is about how to recover and move on to a blissfully normal existence.

Susan's contention that it is not necessary for someone to hit rock bottom in order to get help is right on target. So often people are made to feel that if they have not surrendered completely to the disease, they can never get recover. Nothing could be further from the truth. Would we ever tell a cancer patient to submit to the cancer before they can get better? Would we ever tell them they are powerless to fight? Of course not and that is what Susan wants the reader to discover about themselves. YOU are the most powerful person in YOUR life. You have to fight for your life and no one can do it but you. Susan's message will inspire and encourage those struggling with addiction.

This book has changed my life. Susan Powter may not be everybody's cup of tea - indeed I would never have thought this kind of book would work for me. Having found AA depressing, one-to-one counselling a waste of good money and the NHS old-fashioned, negative and next to useless I was fairly sure that my alcoholism was going to kill me in the not too distant future. I bought this book nearly 3 months ago and not only have I not drunk a drop of alcohol since (and I was a litre of spirits a day girl)! I have easily been able to control any cravings I've had. I realise I'm not out of the woods yet but the book is a constant inspiration. Powter's basic message being that alcoholics are suffering from malnutrition - cure the malnutrition first and you have a good chance of curing - yes, curing (not fighting) the alcoholism. The dietary and nutritional advice is sketchy but she gives plenty of alternative reading to supplement that. Even if you can't bear slightly hysterical "in your face" type self-help books, if you have a drink problem it could work for you!

I've known for a few years now that my drinking was not normal. I never left a drink unfinished, never sat down to have ONE drink. However, I'm very turned off by the AA, Big Book thumping clones. Those who make it work for them (God bless 'em), often seem to transfer their alcohol addiction to coffee or cigarettes or religion or 12-step programs. I've wanted to stop, wanted to admit that there's a problem, but I don't think I need to apologize to everyone I've ever known and add "...and I'm an alcohol" to the end of every introduction. Susan seems to have adopted much of the Rational Recovery concept and has added a wealth of nutritional and physiological information. After listening to the description of how my body processes alcohol, I actually don't want to drink. It scared me, it made me rethink, and so far it's working. The only downside to this audio book seems to be a bit of Catholic bashing (not that I'm even Catholic, it's just unnecessary) and a little too much "I'm successful," "I have money," "I'm famous," "I'm rich," "I'm independent," "I'm wealthy." However, I'm grateful that she's given an easy to understand lesson on the physical reaction to alcohol and I do reccommend this book to anyone struggling to find a way to conquer that voice inside you that says "wouldn't a drink be great right now."

All I can tell you is what happened in my family. My husband doesn't drink anymore. I don't drink anymore. We owe it not to AA, but to Susan. Bless you, Susan. This program works! Oh, by the way, my husband is a wealthy, athletic, very much man's man. I would have been the last person in the world to believe that anything Susan Powter wrote would penetrate his world. I believe he listened to the tapes out of curiosity when he borrowed my car and I am sure it was harder on him to admit that he listened to Susan Powter tapes than to admit he was alcoholic. You have a powerful ally out here Susan. It's my husband.

Susan Powter is a blessing to us. I picked up her book because I've read all of her books and she is so articulate. I myself am not a drinker but nutrition conscious and I have many alcoholics in my large family. I really believed that alcoholism was a character defect. Not anymore!! She explains how our body chemistry reacts to glucose when ingested wheather it is alcohol or a piece of pie. Obesity, alcoholism, coffee addition, drug addiction are all connected and Susan spells this all out to us!! Not that this plan will make all alcoholics recover. For goodness sakes, it could be used along with the support of AA. I wish she wouldn't slam the organization so much because these are all positive steps to a healthier life!!

I put this book in my alcoholic husband's hands and expected a miracle! And he has stopped drinking and is eating healthier food than ever before. It has changed our habits dramatically. Ignorance of how alcohol affects the body can only cause problems; everyone must read this book and become more aware.