Good For Those With Occassional Drinking
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I bought this book in the hope that I could curb or either stop drinking.
Basically, my situation is that I started drinking from the age of 15. I used to just drink on the weekends and found that as I have gotten older, the drinking has increased.
I went from getting vey drunk on the weekends; this gradually changed as I went to university where I found that I drank most nights. I am now 28 years old and drink almost every other night. The problem that I have is that when I drink, I drink until I cannot physically drink anymore. I drink because I like the way I can temporarily escape my normal life.
I bought this book because of some of the reviews that I felt related to my personal situation.
I think that [without giving away what is told in the book] this book is great for those that think they may just be starting to escalate into an alcohol fuelled oblivion. However, for me, I found that after going to AA and other organisations that this still couldn't 'magically' help me allieviate my drink demonds.
I found with this book that with enough constant 're-reading' of this book and 'self-evaluation' for those that drink now and again, it could really help you, no end.
For me however, I believe I am beyond that point and I think no matter how much reading; for those that have a deep set dependence of alcohol, this is an eye opener, but it may not be enough to make you get to the 'sober' person you want to be.
I wanted so much for this to be my 'saviour' but realised that perhaps those with a serious alcohol dependancy may need to do something more than just read this book. What? You are asking me, but I don't know exactly what to suggest. The book say's it is not about willpower, but I think to some extent it is, when all you want is the next glass of wine..
I'm sorry if this review is'nt glowing but I am simply saying that for me [who can't wait for a cold glass of wine, even though I know I will turn into a demon] found that it did not help me the way I really hoped it would.
I hope so much that if you are looking to change your ways that this will help you. For me,personally, I feel that I need to be locked up and go for it cold turkey as I am exasperated. Perhaps it is willpower, I'm not sure, but I wish you the best.
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Wow. Like being given a magic lamp...
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This book validated my belief that a) different approaches work for different people and b) you have to really WANT to give up a certain behavior in order to do so. Allen Carr pretty much guarantees and promises that his Easy Way will work, IF you follow the instructions very carefully. Wow, I thought. This is like, "First rule of Fight Club", or somebody bestowing me with magical powers! I immediately gathered that the instructions were going to involve not drinking, and that the method would indeed work. This was exciting, but it made me think: "So, it will work. Do I really want this or not?" The answer is simple. If you've gone to the bother of ordering the book you probably have some issue with alcohol. Perhaps like me, AA (which I realize helps many) only convinced you that you were a "normal drinker" after all, and you didn't make any change. Perhaps in the past you'd decided you just wanted to cut down -- in which case you would have done it on your own, been satisfied with that, and you wouldn't have bought the book. You don't have to stop drinking. But ask yourself: If alcohol's not addictive and interfering with your life, why did you need to buy this book?
I had great hope in the book as soon I started reading it because Carr's reputation preceded him, he insisted it would work, and I wanted it to. I read it in 2 days. Like a thriller, I couldn't wait to get to the end and have the "key" to freedom. I found myself looking forward to not drinking. Frankly, he could have said "paint your hand purple and go and stand in the sun and you will stop drinking overnight" and it might have worked. What was important is that the author puts you off alcohol by showing you what deep, deep down you really know -- and he makes you believe in yourself (as opposed to the higher power advocated by AA).
Thankfully, what's on the pages makes good sense. Carr's prose is enthusiastic, adamant, and sometimes exhausting to read. The last section reiterates almost word-for-word earlier chapters (not sure if he did this for emphasis or it's editorial oversight!) He uses some great images and fables to illustrate the addictive nature of alcohol and the benefits of life without it, even holidays and special occasions, which have always been the stumbling block for me. OK, at times the allegories are a tad juvenile, but he doesn't over intellectualize and his approach, while holistic and actually kind of "green", is refreshingly free of preachy new age jargon.
I've drunk for 25 years. Not usually heavily, but regularly and enough to bother my conscience, do the usual stupid things, and get me ill or hungover. I found myself tring to quit or cut down numerous times in the last 10 years. I've envied people who didn't drink for as long. I wished I could be one of them. The feeling after reading this book is one of liberation.
Don't assume it will or won't work for you based on reader reviews. But if you think you're ready to change your life, do read it and decided for yourself!
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Retread?
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If you've read Allen Carr's "Easy Way to Stop Drinking", you'll already be familiar with the ideas in this book. The title is very misleading. This book doesn't tell you how to control your drinking. It suggests that you "control alcohol" by stopping drinking completely! It is difficult to believe that Allen Carr agreed to this title. It may have been issued after his death by an industry that wanted to tap the large market composed of people who dream of being able to control their drinking. Allen Carr himself makes it clear that, in his view, all drinking (controlled or otherwise) is pointless and that 'controlled' drinking is not an option.
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Never doubt your decision
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I read this book with little hope, after many years of heavy drinking and feeling desperately unable to stop or control it. It really did have the magic effect - light a switch being flicked in my brain. I stopped drinking totally for over two years. But it's not a permanent cure, as it promises to be - I got complacent I suppose, I started remembering how good a glass of wine tastes (he's wrong in his assertion that alcohol tastes foul, it really doesn't) and I thought I could be in control now - I'd have just one or two and stop. I did, and agian the next weekend - great. But it escalated as before and I ended up even worse than I had been. At the end of the book Allen gives several "rules" - the one I really remember is "Never doubt your decision [not to drink]". Stick to that, and you'll be ok. But don't believe what he says about being able to have one drink and then stop, it doesn't work.
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The best book I have read on alcohol so far
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I say so far as I have only read a few but I would be happy to read more if I got as much out of them as this. Its an excellent read and leads you through the myths and traditions of alcohol and breaks them down. It really opens your eyes to how ridiculous drinking is and such a waste of precious senses and self belief. I love his views about everyone being a problem drinker - just in a different place on the slippery slope. And I love the idea that alcohol is a con - promises so much but delivers nothing except illness and damage. If it falls down in one place for me its taste. One of the primary points of the book is that alcohol tastes bad and I'm sure in its raw state it does. But most alcoholic drinks taste delicious to me and every time I read "foul tasting" it just jarred with my real experience. But I have new hope and this book has given me much of that.
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