An Uncommon Drunk

For nearly thirty years, author Dr. Jeff Herten was a high-functioning alcoholic-one who drinks every day, yet continues to lead a productive, successful life. Now he shares his first-hand knowledge of how alcohol can destroy lives-as it nearly destroyed his. Alcohol is the single greatest social ill in the United States. It affects us not only emotionally but physically. Alcohol may lead to deadly cancers of the breast, colon, esophagus, and liver. It rots our bones, corrodes our stomach lining, erodes our memories, and suppresses our immune systems. "An Uncommon Drunk" explores the numerous facets of alcohol consumption in the United States, including the risks, the behaviors associated with alcohol, and the innocent victims of alcohol abuse. But it also offers hope for those wishing to become sober and recommends resources to help them turn their lives around. Frank and honest, "An Uncommon Drunk" is a must-read for every spouse, parent, child, employer, physician, and counselor whose life is touched by alcohol. It may be just the wake-up call you need.

The book offers a comprehensive look at Native American drinking using the Indians of Sioux City, Iowa and the Winnebago (Ho-Chunk) tribe of Nebraska as examples. It starts with an overview of the manner in which anthropologists and historians have described and interpreted heavy drinking in situations of culture contact and then moves to examine a number of issues relevant to contemporary Indians: How does alcohol figure in their life styles? How do people see themselves in terms of drinking and explain their life choices? How and why do individuals behave as they do when drunk? Is problem drinking best seen as a disease or a bad habit? Do Indian people carry genetic traits that put them at greater risk for alcoholism than other people? What approaches work best to prevent and treat problem drinking? As part of this examination, the spread of the Peyote religion among the Winnebago in the early 1900s is examined and lessons are drawn that can be applied to the present day. The data for this study were collected during a year-long ethnographic field study among the Indians of Sioux City and from later archival historical research. Data from recent genetic studies are integrated into the text. The theoretical approach underlying both the ethnographic and historical research is one that places the emphasis on achieving an "insider's view" of the behavioral patterns and culture. The question to answer is not "How does alcohol use look to middle-class, mainstream Americans?" but "How do the Indians themselves see and evaluate drinking?" A related theoretical assumption driving the inquiry is that a researcher should expect to find diversity within the population, that is, it is no longer assumed that a society is a homogenous collection of individuals all sharing one or two personality types. Instead, a society should be seen as an organization of diversity with problem drinkers constituting a variety of biopsychological types shaped by multiple sociocultural factors. For too long, researchers working with Native Americans have operated with unintended ethnocentrism coloring their results. This book joins those studies that aim for an insider's view of Native American drinking patterns and life styles and that reflect the true diversity to be found within their communities.

For over thirty years, author Dr. Jeff Herten was a high-functioning alcoholic-one who drinks every day, yet continues to lead a productive, successful life. Now he shares how alcohol can destroy lives-as it nearly destroyed his.Alcohol is the single greatest social ill in the U.S. Alcohol may lead to deadly cancers of the breast, colon, esophagus, and liver. It rots our bones, corrodes our stomach lining, erodes our memories, and suppresses our immune systems. The Sobering Truth explores the associated risks, behaviors and innocent victims of alcohol abuse and recommends resources to help turn their lives around.Frank and honest, The Sobering Truth is a must-read for every spouse, parent, child, employer, physician, and counselor whose life is touched by alcohol. It may be just the wake-up call you need.

A spirited look at the history of alcohol, from the dawn of civilization to the modern day Alcohol is a fundamental part of Western culture. We have been drinking as long as we have been human, and for better or worse, alcohol has shaped our civilization. Drink investigates the history of this Jekyll and Hyde of fluids, tracing mankind's love/hate relationship with alcohol from ancient Egypt to the present day. Drink further documents the contribution of alcohol to the birth and growth of the United States, taking in the War of Independence, the Pennsylvania Whiskey revolt, the slave trade, and the failed experiment of national Prohibition. Finally, it provides a history of the world's most famous drinks-and the world's most famous drinkers. Packed with trivia and colorful characters, Drink amounts to an intoxicating history of the world.

Exposes the secret history of drink and drugs, from creative stimulant to addictive poison.

Nearly every negative consequence associated with alcohol is the result of drinking too much. In today's culture, drinking to excess is glamorized as a fun, harmless, and required rite of passage. Particularly for college students, it's a social norm created by peer pressure emphasizing that you're not cool unless you drink--a lot. However, a dangerous learning curve exists that has the propensity to go from bad to worse if we don't consider what's at stake. If we can educate people to drink better and live healthier then all of those disastrous experiences go away. The Drinker's Manifesto is an honest, approachable conversation at eye-level with college-age novice drinkers, binge-drinkers, and non-drinkers about what a healthier relationship with alcohol looks like. Started by a group of friends sharing their stories about their experiences with alcohol, Better Drinking Culture (BDC) has grown into a social impact grassroots movement that is shifting our culture's relationship with alcohol in a healthier and more positive direction--a lifestyle free from pain, harm, and regret. Because hangovers suck. This book is an easily digestible, practical guide to mindful drinking and moderation. Divided into three main parts, it includes perspectives on how alcohol affects our health and relationships, teaches the basics about how to make informed choices about choosing to drink, and encourages personal accountability in taking care of ourselves, our loved ones, and where we live, work, and play. BDC believes that alcohol should be a choice--not an expectation. Regardless of where you are in your journey with alcohol, this is an invitation to anyone who reads it to put their health, safety, and well-being first. Should one choose to drink or be in the company of friends who do, The Drinker's Manifesto empowers people to make better decisions because life is too short to forget or regret what happened last night. The current generation has the influence to set a better example for the next one. No longer can we avoid the uncomfortable discourse that something needs to change about our drinking culture. The Drinker's Manifesto is that conversation--one that calls out the absurdity of a culture that glamorizes over-consumption and instead replaces it with ownership in answering for ourselves. For students, parents, universities, communities, public health, and the alcohol industry, The Drinker's Manifesto is a call to challenge our culture and inspire change.

Finally someone has gone straight to the real experts: hundreds of men and women who have resolved a drinking problem. The best-selling author Anne M. Fletcher asked them a simple question: how did you do it? The result is the first completely unbiased guide for problem drinkers, one that shatters long-held assumptions about alcohol recovery. Myth: AA is the only way to get sober. Reality: More than half the people Fletcher surveyed recovered without AA. Myth: You can't get sober on your own. Reality: Many people got sober by themselves. Myth: One drink inevitably leads right back to the bottle. Reality: A small number of people find they can have an occasional drink. Myth: There's nothing you can do for someone with a drinking problem until he or she is ready. Reality: Family and friends can make a big difference if they know how to help. Weaving together the success stories of ordinary people and the latest scientific research on the subject, Fletcher uncovers a vital truth: no single path to sobriety is right for every individual. There are many ways to get sober - and stay sober. SOBER FOR GOOD is for anyone who has ever struggled not to drink, coped with someone who has a drinking problem, or secretly wondered, "Do I drink too much?"

Accessible and wry, at times comic, and often mournful, Daniel Anderson's poetry is relentlessly attentive to the splendors of the natural world. But the poems collected here—previously published in such leading literary journals as Poetry, The Kenyon Review, The Southern Review, The Yale Review, New England Review, and Southwest Review—are not relegated simply to the realm of pastoral meditation. They give voice to the sorrowful and sometimes unfortunate things we say and think. They chronicle, with both precision and care, the many ways in which jubilation and lament frequently reverse themselves. Above all else, each poem crystallizes in its wake a freshly minted moment, one that articulates an experience that reaches beyond the poet's own time and place. Sunflowers drenched in early evening sun; icy blue, explosive waves along the rocky shores of Maine; September cotton "like strange anachronistic snow" in Tennessee—Anderson forges these images into deep ruminations on love, shame, delight, loss, and estrangement.

With an easy three-step plan, Mindful Drinking: How To Break Up With Alcohol is here to help the 64% of Brits who want to drink less, and cultivate a new, healthy and more mindful relationship with alcohol. You CAN drink less, without giving up! Journalist Rosamund Dean combines scientific expertise with practical advice in a game-changing three step guide: The Problem, The Incentive, and The Plan. By following this guide you will be able to experience the benefits of drinking less - drinking less will improve your mood, your skin, your sex-drive and your body as well as reduce stress and anxiety. Whether you are sober-curious, or just want to cut down - Mindful Drinking: How To Break Up With Alcohol shows not only why you should, but also how you can, in a way that will change your life forever. What readers have been saying about Mindful Drinking: How to Break Up With Alcohol: 'Brilliant book; realistic and creating real positive change' 'Would highly recommend for anyone who is concerned about the amount they drink, but doesn't want to completely stop.' 'A brilliantly straightforward and realistic approach to cutting down sensibly.' 'Really broke a cycle for me of just drinking every weekend.'

The New York Times-bestselling guide to botany and booze celebrates its 10th anniversary with an updated edition─now including a guide to planting your very own cocktail garden to go with more than fifty drink recipes. This fascinating, go-to text about the plants that make our drinks is the ideal gift book for every cocktail aficionado, the perfect drinks book for every plant-lover. Sake began with a grain of rice. Scotch emerged from barley, tequila from agave, rum from sugarcane, bourbon from corn. Thirsty yet? In The Drunken Botanist, Amy Stewart explores the dizzying array of herbs, flowers, trees, fruits, and fungi that humans have, through ingenuity, inspiration, and sheer desperation, contrived to transform into alcohol over the centuries. Of all the extraordinary and obscure plants that have been fermented and distilled, a few are dangerous, some are downright bizarre, and one is as ancient as dinosaurs—but each represents a unique cultural contribution to our global drinking traditions and our history. This charming concoction of biology, chemistry, history, etymology, and mixology—with delightful drawings, tasty cocktail recipes, and fun factoids throughout—will make you the most popular guest at any cocktail party. “A book that makes familiar drinks seem new again . . . Through this horticultural lens, a mixed drink becomes a cornucopia of plants.”—NPR's Morning Edition “Amy Stewart has a way of making gardening seem exciting, even a little dangerous.” —The New York Times