Health, families, relationships, career failures etc.that can be too much to even try to start over.īut too much preaching that AA is the only way seems unrealistic. The purpose of the book is to encourage those (women in particular) to recognize the problem before they descend into a place they may never be able to recover from. If you aren’t religious, just that aspect can be enough to keep a newcomer away.Įspecially if they aren’t even sure they are an alcoholic. However, the 12 steps of AA and the spiritual focus was emphasized too much, in my opinion.ĪA worked for me, but there is a lot of “God Squad” members. There were many facts and research offered. Sometimes over many years, sometimes months. I’ve been sober almost 4 years, and thought I could offer some perspective (being such an expert.not!)Īnyway there were some good insights into how alcoholism can creep up on a person. Read this for a book club who are “Sober Curious”. Part of me appreciates the black and white approach to alcoholism, but I also think the book is targeting an audience that might not be completely suitable for the message. I think I would like to get coffee with the author and know her as a person, but would take her advice with a grain of salt. These cases still seem extreme to me, a social drinker looking for different ways to consider my alcohol use in pursuit of health and moderation. However, the majority of women in the book (including the author) grew up with alcoholics, started drinking in their early teens or earlier, and had a lot of predispositions to the disease. She kind of has a scared-straight approach, detailing stories of women who got sober young before their drinking led to huge consequences (but still significant ones). She is skeptical of anti-depressants and what she calls 'PhD approaches' to addiction. The author is adamant that no other addiction program besides the 12 steps of Al-Anon will work and that moderation is not an option for alcoholics (which makes total sense). Maybe this is the author's intention- lure women in who think 'I just need to make a few changes' who then, through reading this book, can recognize that they do indeed struggle with addiction and need to get sober. Instead I got some straight-talk, no-bullshit admonitions to start a 12-step program immediately, even if I don't think I have a drinking problem. I was looking for some analysis of the societal pressure surrounding women and alcohol and the unique issues women face with alcohol use. I was looking for what the subtitle promises: strategies for making mindful choices in a drinking culture. I was looking for the book version of this article (. So many conflicting thoughts about this book.

Raising the Bottom by Lisa Boucher