Sober for Good: New Solutions for Drinking Problems -- Advice from Those Who Have Succeeded (Paperback)

~ Anne M. Fletcher M.S. R.D. (Author) "If your best friend turned to you for advice about a drinking problem, what would you say?..." (more)
Key Phrases: United States, Rational Recovery, Alcoholics Anonymous (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Anne M. Fletcher resolved her own drinking problem without Alcoholics Anonymous and was fascinated by other people who had found alternative methods to stop drinking. In the spirit of her first book, Thin for Life, for which she interviewed "masters" who had lost weight and kept it off, she decided to find people who formerly had drinking problems and learn how they got and stayed sober. She interviewed a range of ex-drinkers, from high-functioning people with mild or moderate alcohol problems to hardcore cases who had hit bottom. The amount of alcohol consumed ranged from three daily drinks to two daily quarts of vodka. Almost all these 222 "masters" had stayed sober for 5 years or more, averaging 13 years of sobriety.

Sober for Good presents their stories: when they started drinking, how much they drank, how it affected their lives, why they decided to stop, what they tried, what finally worked for them, and their perspective now. The stories are compelling on their own, and Fletcher organizes them according to common themes and strategies. She also includes helpful information about different programs available and relevant research studies.

This book takes some controversial stances. Fletcher chooses to use phrases like drinking problems and alcohol problems rather than alcoholic because she sees alcoholic as both outmoded and pejorative. Many of the masters found sobriety through AA, but more found alternative solutions, leading Fletcher to dispute the one-path solution. And although most of the masters abstain from alcohol completely, some have alcohol occasionally, challenging the accepted contention that abstinence is the only solution. Read what the masters say and judge for yourself. --Joan Price --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

Although Alcoholics Anonymous has long been the preferred (and often court-mandated) regimen for the treatment of alcoholism, its ideology isn't for everyone. As Fletcher (Thin for Life) points out, some people are put off by AA's religious tone, others by the concept of powerlessness over alcohol. And, she says, contrary to AA beliefs, many more never "hit bottom," but nonetheless choose to reconsider their relationship with drinking. Additionally, she suggests, with managed care drastically cutting coverage of inpatient treatment, people with alcohol problems need to know about outpatient alternatives to AA. Fletcher, a health and medical journalist, provides a compendium of such approaches, drawing on the voices of "masters" former problem drinkers who have resolved their problems with alcohol and been sober for at least five years. Programs such as Women for Sobriety, Rational Recovery and Moderation Management provide a variety of approaches, and the "masters" themselves offer a collection of strategies for getting and staying sober with support groups, chemical dependency counselors or a combination of treatments. Unfortunately, Fletcher draws a fuzzy line between "problem drinkers" and "alcoholics," a word she avoids because some find it "pejorative." Maintaining that the distress and dysfunction of most people with drinking problems is not as "severe" as that associated with a stereotypical drunk, she promises that, although AA proponents insist otherwise, "you can quit on your own," "you don't have to quit altogether" and "you don't have to call yourself an alcoholic." Though she sometimes appears to bash AA, Fletcher provides a useful overview of the varieties of recovery programs and practices.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (April 17, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618219072
• ISBN-13: 978-0618219070
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #113,846 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

57 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars October 2008 Update on my 2002 Rave, April 11, 2002

By	Jean Marie Taylor "sf book gal" (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sober for Good (Hardcover)

I wrote the review below in 2002. Since then I have passed it on as a loan or sold it for what I paid for it maybe 20 times. I've told dozens of women about it. It is still indispensible. I've studied many texts and read many popular books, but Fletcher's book still stands head and shoulders above the rest!

Sober for Good is a book filled with hope. It offers perspectives rarely seen in alcohol-related materials, and I sincerely hope that it gets wide distribution.

I'm a certified moderator (volunteer small group leader) for Women for Sobriety groups, and this book is a driving force in the sobriety of nearly all of the women I meet. Not everyone benefits from AA, and it's incredibly validating to see that other people similar to ourselves have gotten sober (and stayed sober!) using other methods.

The book is put together in a way that allows the reader to go to the parts that relate most to her/his situation, which is particularly important for people still grappling with addiction or newly sober.

You go, Anne. You have a big fan club in San Francisco!

70 of 79 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Some Comments on Amazon's Editorial Review, April 23, 2001

By	Frederick B. Glaser (Greenville, NC USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Sober for Good (Hardcover)

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.

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Overview, February 3, 2005

By	madhatter "madhatterlg" (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

As a long term sober member of AA, I approached this book skeptically thinking is would be just another in the 'bashing' series. But it's not. Fletcher does a very competent job surveying the various means of achieving sobriety. This book is a valauble tool for someone who is struggling with their drinking. It shows that there are a range of options for the person and that they have an opportunity to find which approach works for them.

It is also a strength of SOBER FOR GOOD that Fletcher shows how many people with long-term sobriety have migrated thru various programs thru different phases of their recovery. This would be a good book for one who has been sober for a while, but is feeling the need to expand beyond the limits of what their current program has to offer.

The one drawback in the book is the use of jargon in too many places. For example, use of the term 'master' to describe a person who has achieved sobriety smacks of the guru feeling of many other self-improvement books. A good editor would have made Fletcher find other terminology.

All in all, well worth the $12. I went ahead and bought 5 copies for use with my AA sponsees to let them know that if they don't feel comfortable with the work of the program, then it doesn't mean they're doomed to an early grave.