Sobering Consent

A RAW, FUNNY, HELPING HAND OF A BOOK, BY THE CO-PRESENTER OF BBC RADIO 5 LIVE'S PODCAST HOOKED: THE UNEXPECTED ADDICTS. 'Unique, honest, witty, occasionally shocking, you need this uplifting, amazing book in your life.' Steve Bland, You, Me and the Big C 'I don't know if I was born with it, caught it or bought it; I just know that, at some point in my life, a line was crossed: I needed a drink to get through life, to calm the nerves and quiet the head, and I became reliant on alcohol to change how I felt.' Sobering is the story of an insecure teenager turned Liverpudlian party girl, schoolteacher turned alcoholic and now recovering alcoholic turned award-winning podcaster. Melissa's story is as dramatic as her unique voice, but her message is universal: mental health issues often drive vulnerable people to addiction and working on mental health and personal development can help recovery. Written with the expert help of rehab and addiction specialists, and with insights from other recovering alcoholics and addicts, Sobering covers everything from denial, isolation and shame to getting help and rebuilding relationships. This is a personal story with a mission: to help anyone worried about their drinking to understand themselves and move forward with wisdom to make that hardest decision of all – to stay sober. 'Melissa's unique combination of authenticity, personal experience and humour makes for an incredibly refreshing take on addiction and recovery. A much-needed book that will help individuals to find hope and society to rethink substance misuse.' Shahroo Izadi, author of The Kindness Method

High school and college are life-changing events for young people. Freedom, educational opportunities and new relationships await. However, very few students are entering the educational arena with the training they need to protect themselves from sexual violence and sexual predators. Studies consistently show that female students are sexually assaulted at significant rates, and what is often less reported, male students are also victims of sexual assault, and men are at risk of being falsely accused of sexual assault. Sobering Consent: Sexual Assault, Rape and False Claims-4 Lessons Every Student, Parent and Educator Must Learn provides readers with a simple explanation of the law, and offers important strategies to prevent student sexual violence. Part One-Consent-tells four short stories that are inspired by real criminal cases. After reading this section, students will clearly understand what sexual consent means, how to be sure that sex is consensual, and how alcohol affects consent and sexual assault claims. Part Two-On-Campus Sexual Assault-explains the legal framework that schools must follow to educate their students about sexual assault, adjudicate claims and provide students with resources and support. Inspired by real criminal cases, Part Two of the book tells the story of three "he said/she said" cases to explain the tension between victims' rights and due process rights. This section provides readers with critical information to successfully navigate this tumultuous issue. Part Three-Law Enforcement-explains rape myths and rape biases, and their effects on law enforcement. Understanding law enforcement is necessary for students, parents and most importantly educators. Part Four -Solutions-offers illuminating ways that students can mitigate their risk of sexual assault and false claims by creating mental models to protect themselves from danger. Mental models prepare students to make split-second decisions under stress. This section also offers solutions that institutions and institutional leaders can implement. The author earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California at Berkeley, a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of California at Los Angeles School of Law, and is licensed to practice law in multiple states.

Alcohol use by young people is extremely dangerous - both to themselves and society at large. Underage alcohol use is associated with traffic fatalities, violence, unsafe sex, suicide, educational failure, and other problem behaviors that diminish the prospects of future success, as well as health risks â€" and the earlier teens start drinking, the greater the danger. Despite these serious concerns, the media continues to make drinking look attractive to youth, and it remains possible and even easy for teenagers to get access to alcohol. Why is this dangerous behavior so pervasive? What can be done to prevent it? What will work and who is responsible for making sure it happens? Reducing Underage Drinking addresses these questions and proposes a new way to combat underage alcohol use. It explores the ways in which may different individuals and groups contribute to the problem and how they can be enlisted to prevent it. Reducing Underage Drinking will serve as both a game plan and a call to arms for anyone with an investment in youth health and safety.

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.

Would life be better without alcohol? It’s the nagging question more and more of us are finding harder to ignore, whether we have a “problem” with alcohol or not. After all, we yoga. We green juice. We meditate. We self-care. And yet, come the end of a long work day, the start of a weekend, an awkward social situation, we drink. One glass of wine turns into two turns into a bottle. In the face of how we care for ourselves otherwise, it’s hard to avoid how alcohol really makes us feel… terrible. How different would our lives be if we stopped drinking on autopilot? If we stopped drinking altogether? Really different, it turns out. Really better. Frank, funny, and always judgment free, Sober Curious is a bold guide to choosing to live hangover-free, from Ruby Warrington, one of the leading voices of the new sobriety movement. Drawing on research, expert interviews, and personal narrative, Sober Curious is a radical take down of the myths that keep so many of us drinking. Inspiring, timely, and blame free, Sober Curious is both conversation starter and handbook—essential reading that empowers readers to transform their relationship with alcohol, so we can lead our most fulfilling lives.

An important discussion of philosophical issues surrounding consent to sexual relations.

"Perfect for Christians looking to reassess their relationship with alcohol."--Publishers Weekly When author and Episcopal priest Erin Jean Warde quit drinking, she heard from many others in a similar situation seeking support. In Sober Spirituality, she combines personal storytelling with theological reflection to offer encouragement, wisdom, and practical insight for readers who want to reexamine their relationship with alcohol. Warde explores the way our culture promotes alcohol consumption and shows how we can choose to change our perception of alcohol in our spiritual communities. She names not only the challenges of sobriety and spirituality but also the tremendous gifts and blessings that come through quitting drinking or being more mindful about alcohol use. Readers will emerge with a deeper understanding of how their faith informs daily habits and choices. Sober Spirituality also calls the church to a better understanding of how it can ally with recovery communities. Ultimately, this book declares we are all worthy of an abundant and joyful life in mind, body, and soul.

This book is set against the background of the 'justice gap' in sexual assault cases - the dramatic gap between the number of offences recorded by the police and the number of convictions. It seeks to examine the attitudinal problems which bedevil this area of law and possible strategies for addressing them. Written by a professor of law and a professor of psychology, it reviews evidence from socio-legal and social cognition research and presents new data drawn both from interviews with judges and barristers and from studies with prospective lawyers and members of the public. In the final part, it considers different ways in which rape trials could be improved and suggests steps that could be taken to change public attitudes about sexual assault.

The Internet was going to liberate us, but in truth it has not. For every story about the web's empowering role in events such as the Arab Spring, there are many more about the quiet corrosion of civil liberties by companies and governments using the same digital technologies we have come to depend upon. In Consent of the Networked, journalist and Internet policy specialist Rebecca MacKinnon argues that it is time to fight for our rights before they are sold, legislated, programmed, and engineered away. Every day, the corporate sovereigns of cyberspace (Google and Facebook, among others) make decisions that affect our physical freedom -- but without our consent. Yet the traditional solution to unaccountable corporate behavior -- government regulation -- cannot stop the abuse of digital power on its own, and sometimes even contributes to it. A clarion call to action, Consent of the Networked shows that it is time to stop arguing over whether the Internet empowers people, and address the urgent question of how technology should be governed to support the rights and liberties of users around the world.