Author: Allison McKim
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
ISBN: 0813587654
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 246
Book Description
After decades of the American “war on drugs” and relentless prison expansion, political officials are finally challenging mass incarceration. Many point to an apparently promising solution to reduce the prison population: addiction treatment. In Addicted to Rehab, Bard College sociologist Allison McKim gives an in-depth and innovative ethnographic account of two such rehab programs for women, one located in the criminal justice system and one located in the private healthcare system—two very different ways of defining and treating addiction. McKim’s book shows how addiction rehab reflects the race, class, and gender politics of the punitive turn. As a result, addiction has become a racialized category that has reorganized the link between punishment and welfare provision. While reformers hope that treatment will offer an alternative to punishment and help women, McKim argues that the framework of addiction further stigmatizes criminalized women and undermines our capacity to challenge gendered subordination. Her study ultimately reveals a two-tiered system, bifurcated by race and class.
Addicted to Rehab
Author: Allison McKim
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
ISBN: 0813587654
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 246
Book Description
After decades of the American “war on drugs” and relentless prison expansion, political officials are finally challenging mass incarceration. Many point to an apparently promising solution to reduce the prison population: addiction treatment. In Addicted to Rehab, Bard College sociologist Allison McKim gives an in-depth and innovative ethnographic account of two such rehab programs for women, one located in the criminal justice system and one located in the private healthcare system—two very different ways of defining and treating addiction. McKim’s book shows how addiction rehab reflects the race, class, and gender politics of the punitive turn. As a result, addiction has become a racialized category that has reorganized the link between punishment and welfare provision. While reformers hope that treatment will offer an alternative to punishment and help women, McKim argues that the framework of addiction further stigmatizes criminalized women and undermines our capacity to challenge gendered subordination. Her study ultimately reveals a two-tiered system, bifurcated by race and class.
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
ISBN: 0813587654
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 246
Book Description
After decades of the American “war on drugs” and relentless prison expansion, political officials are finally challenging mass incarceration. Many point to an apparently promising solution to reduce the prison population: addiction treatment. In Addicted to Rehab, Bard College sociologist Allison McKim gives an in-depth and innovative ethnographic account of two such rehab programs for women, one located in the criminal justice system and one located in the private healthcare system—two very different ways of defining and treating addiction. McKim’s book shows how addiction rehab reflects the race, class, and gender politics of the punitive turn. As a result, addiction has become a racialized category that has reorganized the link between punishment and welfare provision. While reformers hope that treatment will offer an alternative to punishment and help women, McKim argues that the framework of addiction further stigmatizes criminalized women and undermines our capacity to challenge gendered subordination. Her study ultimately reveals a two-tiered system, bifurcated by race and class.
Better Than New
Author: Nicole Curtis
Publisher: Artisan
ISBN: 1579657311
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 241
Book Description
A New York Times and USA Today Bestseller For the first time, Nicole Curtis, the star of the megahit HGTV and DIY Network show Rehab Addict, reveals her private struggles, her personal victories, and the inspiring lessons we can all learn from them. Nicole Curtis is the tough, soulful, charismatic dynamo who for the past twenty years has worked tirelessly to restore historical houses, often revitalizing neighborhoods in the process. And also, in the process, drawing millions of fans to her television show, Rehab Addict, where they follow each step of the hard work and singular vision that transform the seemingly lost cause of a run-down building into a beautifully restored home. But there is so much more to this self-taught expert and working mom. With hersignature irresistible honesty and energy, Curtis writes about a project that every reader will find compelling: how she rehabbed herself. Better Than New reveals what’s not seen on TV—Curtis’s personal battles and her personal triumphs, her complicated relationships, her life as a single mother, the story of how she got started remodeling houses, and the consuming ins and outs of producing a megahit television show while keeping up with two kids, two rescue dogs, and countless tasks on her home renovation punch lists. Followers of the show will get an inside look at some of her most famous restorations, including the Dollar house, the Minnehaha house, the Campbell Street project, and the Ransom Gillis mansion. Part inspirational memoir and part self-help guide, Better Than New is a journey ineight chapters—each pinned to the story of a house that Curtis has remodeled, each delivering a hard-fought lesson about life—that takes readers to the place we all want to be: home.
Publisher: Artisan
ISBN: 1579657311
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 241
Book Description
A New York Times and USA Today Bestseller For the first time, Nicole Curtis, the star of the megahit HGTV and DIY Network show Rehab Addict, reveals her private struggles, her personal victories, and the inspiring lessons we can all learn from them. Nicole Curtis is the tough, soulful, charismatic dynamo who for the past twenty years has worked tirelessly to restore historical houses, often revitalizing neighborhoods in the process. And also, in the process, drawing millions of fans to her television show, Rehab Addict, where they follow each step of the hard work and singular vision that transform the seemingly lost cause of a run-down building into a beautifully restored home. But there is so much more to this self-taught expert and working mom. With hersignature irresistible honesty and energy, Curtis writes about a project that every reader will find compelling: how she rehabbed herself. Better Than New reveals what’s not seen on TV—Curtis’s personal battles and her personal triumphs, her complicated relationships, her life as a single mother, the story of how she got started remodeling houses, and the consuming ins and outs of producing a megahit television show while keeping up with two kids, two rescue dogs, and countless tasks on her home renovation punch lists. Followers of the show will get an inside look at some of her most famous restorations, including the Dollar house, the Minnehaha house, the Campbell Street project, and the Ransom Gillis mansion. Part inspirational memoir and part self-help guide, Better Than New is a journey ineight chapters—each pinned to the story of a house that Curtis has remodeled, each delivering a hard-fought lesson about life—that takes readers to the place we all want to be: home.
Inside Rehab
Author: Anne M. Fletcher
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0143124366
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 449
Book Description
An essential guide to finding the right recovery program from the New York Times–bestselling author of Sober for Good Drawing on extensive research, including visits to fifteen addiction treatment programs and interviews with more than two hundred clients and professionals in the field, trusted health and medical writer Anne M. Fletcher offers indispensable advice for people seeking quality care for themselves or a loved one. She reveals the ways in which our addiction treatment industry is broken, highlights what is working, and shares insights about how the experience could be more effective. Fletcher sheds light on the science-based practices that should form the basis of treatment, spotlights programs and professionals using those practices, and provides a much-needed guide to different types of treatment and finding quality care when it’s needed.
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0143124366
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 449
Book Description
An essential guide to finding the right recovery program from the New York Times–bestselling author of Sober for Good Drawing on extensive research, including visits to fifteen addiction treatment programs and interviews with more than two hundred clients and professionals in the field, trusted health and medical writer Anne M. Fletcher offers indispensable advice for people seeking quality care for themselves or a loved one. She reveals the ways in which our addiction treatment industry is broken, highlights what is working, and shares insights about how the experience could be more effective. Fletcher sheds light on the science-based practices that should form the basis of treatment, spotlights programs and professionals using those practices, and provides a much-needed guide to different types of treatment and finding quality care when it’s needed.
Hooked
Author: Lonny Shavelson
Publisher: The New Press
ISBN: 1565847792
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 322
Book Description
Shavelson is a physician and journalist who followed five addicts through various drug rehabilitation programs in California. Their stories, often told in their own words and punctuated by bandw photos Shavelson took as the five traversed the system and the streets, highlight the links between drug addiction, mental illness, and trauma, including child abuse. Shavelson argues for an integrated approach to drug treatment that addresses the fundamental causes of drug abuse, not just its outward symptoms and behaviors. c. Book News Inc.
Publisher: The New Press
ISBN: 1565847792
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 322
Book Description
Shavelson is a physician and journalist who followed five addicts through various drug rehabilitation programs in California. Their stories, often told in their own words and punctuated by bandw photos Shavelson took as the five traversed the system and the streets, highlight the links between drug addiction, mental illness, and trauma, including child abuse. Shavelson argues for an integrated approach to drug treatment that addresses the fundamental causes of drug abuse, not just its outward symptoms and behaviors. c. Book News Inc.
The Alcoholism and Addiction Cure
Author: Chris Prentiss
Publisher: SCB Distributors
ISBN: 0943015618
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 394
Book Description
The Alcoholism and Addiction Cure contains the powerful three-step program to total recovery that is the basis of the miraculous success of the Passages Addiction Cure Center in Malibu, California. You’ll learn the three steps to permanent sobriety; the four causes of dependency; how your thoughts, emotions, and beliefs are key factors in your recovery; and how to create your own personalized treatment program with the help of health professionals where you live-one that gets to the real, underlying causes of dependency. "Freedom from dependency starts with understanding that alcohol, drugs, and addictive behaviors are not the real problems," say Pax and Chris Prentiss, cofounders of Passages. "Alcohol, street drugs, nicotine, prescription medications, food bingeing, gambling, and the like are merely the substances or behaviors you or your loved ones are using to cope with the real problems-anything from deep emotional pain, ill health, or depression to hypoglycemia, a sluggish thyroid, or brain-wave pattern imbalances. Once the underlying problems are discovered and cured, the need for drugs, alcohol, or addictive behavior will disappear-along with the craving." Chris Prentiss should know. His son Pax was addicted to heroin, cocaine, and alcohol for ten years. They sought help everywhere, but Pax relapsed again and again. In desperation, they finally created their own holistic, hand-tailored program that was a complete break from all other programs and that combined several effective therapies. It saved Pax's life. Together, father and son founded Passages to help others find their own freedom. For decades, we've been hearing that alcoholism and addiction are incurable diseases, but The Alcoholism and Addiction Cure proves that this is a dangerous myth and that the label of "alcoholic" or "addict" destroys the promise of full recovery. Visionaries and innovators, Pax and Chris Prentiss bring new hope to people everywhere who are dependent on drugs, alcohol, or addictive behaviors. This groundbreaking approach will show you how to end relapse, end addictive behavior, and end your suffering.
Publisher: SCB Distributors
ISBN: 0943015618
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 394
Book Description
The Alcoholism and Addiction Cure contains the powerful three-step program to total recovery that is the basis of the miraculous success of the Passages Addiction Cure Center in Malibu, California. You’ll learn the three steps to permanent sobriety; the four causes of dependency; how your thoughts, emotions, and beliefs are key factors in your recovery; and how to create your own personalized treatment program with the help of health professionals where you live-one that gets to the real, underlying causes of dependency. "Freedom from dependency starts with understanding that alcohol, drugs, and addictive behaviors are not the real problems," say Pax and Chris Prentiss, cofounders of Passages. "Alcohol, street drugs, nicotine, prescription medications, food bingeing, gambling, and the like are merely the substances or behaviors you or your loved ones are using to cope with the real problems-anything from deep emotional pain, ill health, or depression to hypoglycemia, a sluggish thyroid, or brain-wave pattern imbalances. Once the underlying problems are discovered and cured, the need for drugs, alcohol, or addictive behavior will disappear-along with the craving." Chris Prentiss should know. His son Pax was addicted to heroin, cocaine, and alcohol for ten years. They sought help everywhere, but Pax relapsed again and again. In desperation, they finally created their own holistic, hand-tailored program that was a complete break from all other programs and that combined several effective therapies. It saved Pax's life. Together, father and son founded Passages to help others find their own freedom. For decades, we've been hearing that alcoholism and addiction are incurable diseases, but The Alcoholism and Addiction Cure proves that this is a dangerous myth and that the label of "alcoholic" or "addict" destroys the promise of full recovery. Visionaries and innovators, Pax and Chris Prentiss bring new hope to people everywhere who are dependent on drugs, alcohol, or addictive behaviors. This groundbreaking approach will show you how to end relapse, end addictive behavior, and end your suffering.
Diet Rehab
Author: Mike Dow
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101552239
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 319
Book Description
The co-host of TLC's hit series, Freaky Eaters, reveals the ultimate diet plan to kick the junk-food habit in just four weeks- without the pain of withdrawal. In March 2010, The Scripps Research Institute released a study showing how rats on a junk-food diet had just as difficult a time-if not more so-giving up excess fat and sugar as the rats who were struggling to recover from cocaine dependence. The results showed that certain foods actually alter the brain's chemistry, making our consumption of these foods less like an indulgence and more like an addiction. Our brains require two key neurotransmitters to maintain proper mood and function, serotonin and dopamine. We get a rush of the two when we eat junk food, but the converse is also true: If we stop eating them cold turkey, we go through serotonin and dopamine withdrawal. This is what causes so many dieters to ultimately fail. In order to successfully lose weight, explains Dr. Mike Dow, dieters should be sensitive both to their emotional and physical needs. Dr. Dow, a psychologist who specializes in addictive behavior and eating disorders, introduces a four-week program for breaking the hold that food has over the body, mind, and spirit by gradually decreasing the amount of "bad" foods while increasing activities and foods that boost serotonin and dopamine levels. Sensible and uniquely effective, Diet Rehab eliminates the withdrawal pains of most diet plans, and provides the structure for a sustainable, healthy, and happy lifestyle.
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101552239
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 319
Book Description
The co-host of TLC's hit series, Freaky Eaters, reveals the ultimate diet plan to kick the junk-food habit in just four weeks- without the pain of withdrawal. In March 2010, The Scripps Research Institute released a study showing how rats on a junk-food diet had just as difficult a time-if not more so-giving up excess fat and sugar as the rats who were struggling to recover from cocaine dependence. The results showed that certain foods actually alter the brain's chemistry, making our consumption of these foods less like an indulgence and more like an addiction. Our brains require two key neurotransmitters to maintain proper mood and function, serotonin and dopamine. We get a rush of the two when we eat junk food, but the converse is also true: If we stop eating them cold turkey, we go through serotonin and dopamine withdrawal. This is what causes so many dieters to ultimately fail. In order to successfully lose weight, explains Dr. Mike Dow, dieters should be sensitive both to their emotional and physical needs. Dr. Dow, a psychologist who specializes in addictive behavior and eating disorders, introduces a four-week program for breaking the hold that food has over the body, mind, and spirit by gradually decreasing the amount of "bad" foods while increasing activities and foods that boost serotonin and dopamine levels. Sensible and uniquely effective, Diet Rehab eliminates the withdrawal pains of most diet plans, and provides the structure for a sustainable, healthy, and happy lifestyle.
Addiction Inbox
Author: Dirk Hanson
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781481015028
Category : Drug addiction
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
What do we mean when we talk about addiction? This anthology of articles is designed to bring multiple perspectives to bear on that question, a pursuit made possible by the recent explosion of research on the scientific underpinnings of drug and alcohol addiction. In this collection of posts from the well-respected science blog, Addiction Inbox, you'll meet some of the researchers, and some of the new research. You'll learn about the new synthetic stimulant drugs now flooding American grey markets. And you'll hear about some of the best recent books on addiction and recovery. The articles cover health studies about drugs, addiction and alcoholism, including the most recent scientific and medical findings-plus interviews and book reviews. The Research section includes posts on a wide-ranging and controversial group of subjects, all related by an approach that highlights the underlying science and evidence-based medicine pertinent to the subject. Is shoplifting the opiate of the masses? Does menthol really matter? Can ketamine and other party drugs cause permanent bladder damage? For answers, the author looks to neuroscientists and addiction researchers, an approach that led to his earlier book, The Chemical Carousel: What Science Tells Us About Beating Addiction.
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781481015028
Category : Drug addiction
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
What do we mean when we talk about addiction? This anthology of articles is designed to bring multiple perspectives to bear on that question, a pursuit made possible by the recent explosion of research on the scientific underpinnings of drug and alcohol addiction. In this collection of posts from the well-respected science blog, Addiction Inbox, you'll meet some of the researchers, and some of the new research. You'll learn about the new synthetic stimulant drugs now flooding American grey markets. And you'll hear about some of the best recent books on addiction and recovery. The articles cover health studies about drugs, addiction and alcoholism, including the most recent scientific and medical findings-plus interviews and book reviews. The Research section includes posts on a wide-ranging and controversial group of subjects, all related by an approach that highlights the underlying science and evidence-based medicine pertinent to the subject. Is shoplifting the opiate of the masses? Does menthol really matter? Can ketamine and other party drugs cause permanent bladder damage? For answers, the author looks to neuroscientists and addiction researchers, an approach that led to his earlier book, The Chemical Carousel: What Science Tells Us About Beating Addiction.
The Biology of Desire
Author: Marc Lewis
Publisher: PublicAffairs
ISBN: 1610394380
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 175
Book Description
Through the vivid, true stories of five people who journeyed into and out of addiction, a renowned neuroscientist explains why the "disease model" of addiction is wrong and illuminates the path to recovery. The psychiatric establishment and rehab industry in the Western world have branded addiction a brain disease. But in The Biology of Desire, cognitive neuroscientist and former addict Marc Lewis makes a convincing case that addiction is not a disease, and shows why the disease model has become an obstacle to healing. Lewis reveals addiction as an unintended consequence of the brain doing what it's supposed to do-seek pleasure and relief-in a world that's not cooperating. As a result, most treatment based on the disease model fails. Lewis shows how treatment can be retooled to achieve lasting recovery. This is enlightening and optimistic reading for anyone who has wrestled with addiction either personally or professionally.
Publisher: PublicAffairs
ISBN: 1610394380
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 175
Book Description
Through the vivid, true stories of five people who journeyed into and out of addiction, a renowned neuroscientist explains why the "disease model" of addiction is wrong and illuminates the path to recovery. The psychiatric establishment and rehab industry in the Western world have branded addiction a brain disease. But in The Biology of Desire, cognitive neuroscientist and former addict Marc Lewis makes a convincing case that addiction is not a disease, and shows why the disease model has become an obstacle to healing. Lewis reveals addiction as an unintended consequence of the brain doing what it's supposed to do-seek pleasure and relief-in a world that's not cooperating. As a result, most treatment based on the disease model fails. Lewis shows how treatment can be retooled to achieve lasting recovery. This is enlightening and optimistic reading for anyone who has wrestled with addiction either personally or professionally.
Memoirs of an Addicted Brain
Author: Marc Lewis
Publisher: Doubleday Canada
ISBN: 0385669267
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 322
Book Description
A gripping, ultimately triumphant memoir that's also the most comprehensive and comprehensible study of the neuroscience of addiction written for the general public. FROM THE INTRODUCTION: "We are prone to a cycle of craving what we don't have, finding it, using it up or losing it, and then craving it all the more. This cycle is at the root of all addictions, addictions to drugs, sex, love, cigarettes, soap operas, wealth, and wisdom itself. But why should this be so? Why are we desperate for what we don't have, or can't have, often at great cost to what we do have, thereby risking our peace and contentment, our safety, and even our lives?" The answer, says Dr. Marc Lewis, lies in the structure and function of the human brain. Marc Lewis is a distinguished neuroscientist. And, for many years, he was a drug addict himself, dependent on a series of dangerous substances, from LSD to heroin. His narrative moves back and forth between the often dark, compellingly recounted story of his relationship with drugs and a revelatory analysis of what was going on in his brain. He shows how drugs speak to the brain - which is designed to seek rewards and soothe pain - in its own language. He shows in detail the neural mechanics of a variety of powerful drugs and of the onset of addiction, itself a distortion of normal perception. Dr. Lewis freed himself from addiction and ended up studying it. At the age of 30 he traded in his pharmaceutical supplies for the life of a graduate student, eventually becoming a professor of developmental psychology, and then of neuroscience - his field for the last 12 years. This is the story of his journey, seen from the inside out.
Publisher: Doubleday Canada
ISBN: 0385669267
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 322
Book Description
A gripping, ultimately triumphant memoir that's also the most comprehensive and comprehensible study of the neuroscience of addiction written for the general public. FROM THE INTRODUCTION: "We are prone to a cycle of craving what we don't have, finding it, using it up or losing it, and then craving it all the more. This cycle is at the root of all addictions, addictions to drugs, sex, love, cigarettes, soap operas, wealth, and wisdom itself. But why should this be so? Why are we desperate for what we don't have, or can't have, often at great cost to what we do have, thereby risking our peace and contentment, our safety, and even our lives?" The answer, says Dr. Marc Lewis, lies in the structure and function of the human brain. Marc Lewis is a distinguished neuroscientist. And, for many years, he was a drug addict himself, dependent on a series of dangerous substances, from LSD to heroin. His narrative moves back and forth between the often dark, compellingly recounted story of his relationship with drugs and a revelatory analysis of what was going on in his brain. He shows how drugs speak to the brain - which is designed to seek rewards and soothe pain - in its own language. He shows in detail the neural mechanics of a variety of powerful drugs and of the onset of addiction, itself a distortion of normal perception. Dr. Lewis freed himself from addiction and ended up studying it. At the age of 30 he traded in his pharmaceutical supplies for the life of a graduate student, eventually becoming a professor of developmental psychology, and then of neuroscience - his field for the last 12 years. This is the story of his journey, seen from the inside out.
The Sober Truth
Author: Lance Dodes
Publisher: Beacon Press
ISBN: 0807033162
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 225
Book Description
A powerful exposé of Alcoholics Anonymous, 12-step programs, and the rehab industry—and how a failed addiction treatment model came to dominate America. “A humane, science-based, global view of addiction . . . an essential, bracing critique of the rehab industry and its ideological foundations that we have much to learn from.” —Gabor Maté M.D., author of In The Realm of Hungry Ghosts Alcoholics Anonymous has become so infused in our society that it is practically synonymous with addiction recovery. Yet the evidence shows that AA has only a 5–10 percent success rate—hardly better than no treatment at all. Despite this, doctors, employers, and judges regularly refer addicted people to treatment programs and rehab facilities based on the 12-step model. In The Sober Truth, acclaimed addiction specialist Dr. Lance Dodes exposes the deeply flawed science that the 12-step industry has used to support its programs. Dr. Dodes analyzes dozens of studies to reveal a startling pattern of errors, misjudgments, and biases. He also pores over the research to highlight the best peer-reviewed studies available and discovers that they reach a grim consensus on the program’s overall success. But The Sober Truth is more than a book about addiction. It is also a book about science and how and why AA and rehab became so popular, despite the discouraging data. Drawing from thirty-five years of clinical practice and firsthand accounts submitted by addicts, Dr. Dodes explores the entire story of AA’s rise—from its origins in early fundamentalist religious and mystical beliefs to its present-day place of privilege in politics and media. A powerful response to the monopoly of the 12-step program and the myth that they are a universal solution to addiction, The Sober Truth offers new and actionable information for addicts, their families, and medical providers, and lays out better ways to understand addiction for those seeking a more effective and compassionate approach to this treatable problem.
Publisher: Beacon Press
ISBN: 0807033162
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 225
Book Description
A powerful exposé of Alcoholics Anonymous, 12-step programs, and the rehab industry—and how a failed addiction treatment model came to dominate America. “A humane, science-based, global view of addiction . . . an essential, bracing critique of the rehab industry and its ideological foundations that we have much to learn from.” —Gabor Maté M.D., author of In The Realm of Hungry Ghosts Alcoholics Anonymous has become so infused in our society that it is practically synonymous with addiction recovery. Yet the evidence shows that AA has only a 5–10 percent success rate—hardly better than no treatment at all. Despite this, doctors, employers, and judges regularly refer addicted people to treatment programs and rehab facilities based on the 12-step model. In The Sober Truth, acclaimed addiction specialist Dr. Lance Dodes exposes the deeply flawed science that the 12-step industry has used to support its programs. Dr. Dodes analyzes dozens of studies to reveal a startling pattern of errors, misjudgments, and biases. He also pores over the research to highlight the best peer-reviewed studies available and discovers that they reach a grim consensus on the program’s overall success. But The Sober Truth is more than a book about addiction. It is also a book about science and how and why AA and rehab became so popular, despite the discouraging data. Drawing from thirty-five years of clinical practice and firsthand accounts submitted by addicts, Dr. Dodes explores the entire story of AA’s rise—from its origins in early fundamentalist religious and mystical beliefs to its present-day place of privilege in politics and media. A powerful response to the monopoly of the 12-step program and the myth that they are a universal solution to addiction, The Sober Truth offers new and actionable information for addicts, their families, and medical providers, and lays out better ways to understand addiction for those seeking a more effective and compassionate approach to this treatable problem.