"Living with a Functioning Alcoholic" is a book about hope, written specifically for women living in the chaos of alcoholic families yet unable to seek help from a psychologist.

"To me the sound of a metal bottle capunscrewing against a glass bottle isthe worst sound in the world.To my husband it is heaven."This true account is my story. My personal observations and feelings as I lived with a husband addicted to alcohol, on a roller coaster ride of hope and despair, love and loathing, embarrassment and anger, dreading each day. I was isolated, confused and upset that I was not doing enough to help him.You become worn down by the windscreen wiper mentality. The good guy, bad guy, drinking, not drinking, telling the truth, lying, worrying, hope, please not this time, maybe he will stop - or maybe I am going mad - perhaps it is me.This is the life I have written about. How I slowly came to realize that I was always waiting, wanting him to change. Trying to change him. Wrong. It had to be me who changed.I describe how I reached these conclusions, the choices I made and acted upon, to improve my life.Without implementing change, everything will stay the same as it is now.In writing this book I hope that some one else who lives with an alcoholically dependant person can be helped.We are not going mad.We did not cause the problem.We alone cannot change the alcoholic.We must change ourselves in order to get our life back.

This title says it all: When You Love a Functional Alcoholic, what is one to do? With good grace, a basis in the twelve-step program, and years of experience, Dr. William F. Kraft guides the reader through this most parlous journey-and back to wholeness and holiness and happiness. The book comprises thirty-three bite-size chapters-since it presumes readers are spending much of their time caring for (or bailing out) the alcoholic they love. Specific cases are described in particular, such as parents who live with teenaged alcoholics; children who have to care for elderly alcoholics; and what to do with that sometimes dry/sometimes even sober alcoholic who always seems to ultimately fall off the wagon. Making the book unique are the many stories of former patients, clients, and members of AA in their own words (anonymously, of course). These testimonies, which do not always end in a pot of gold, make not only for compelling (and sometimes heart-rending) reading, but also add a patina of authenticity to the book: if these people can learn to help the alcoholic they love, then perhaps you can too. Ultimately this is a book of acceptance, forgiveness, and love-all of which must begin with oneself. A bibliography completes the work. Book jacket.

Determine if your drinking is a problem, develop strategies for curbing your intake, and measure your progress with this practical, engaging guide to taking care of yourself. Every day, millions of people drink a beer or two while watching a game, shake a cocktail at a party with friends, or enjoy a glass of wine with a good meal. For more than 30 percent of these drinkers, alcohol has begun to have a negative impact on their everyday lives. Yet, only a small number are true alcoholics--people who have completely lost control over their drinking and who need alcohol to function. The great majority are what Dr. Doyle and Dr. Nowinski call "Almost Alcoholics," a growing number of people whose excessive drinking contributes to a variety of problems in their lives. In Almost Alcoholic, Dr. Doyle and Dr. Nowinski give the facts and guidance needed to address this often unrecognized and devastating condition. They provide the tools to: identify and assess your patterns of alcohol use; evaluate its impact on your relationships, work, and personal well-being; develop strategies and goals for changing the amount and frequency of alcohol use; measure the results of applying these strategies; and make informed decisions about your next steps.

Who is the typical alcoholic among the 12.5 million living in the United States now? Many, if not most of us when asked that question, would envision a skid row bum or someone at least out of work or with little education locked into a low-skill, low-paying job. But that is not accurate, according to the results of a national study released in June, 2007 by the National Institutes of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The NIAAA determined that alcoholics in the United States really fall into five subtypes, including nearly 20 percent who are highly functional alcoholics, well-educated with good incomes. They include corporate presidents, powerful politicians, police, lawyers, doctors, scientists, and other highly-skilled, highly-educated people who are middle- to high-income and by most accounts successful. In this unprecedented book, mental health counselor Sarah Benton takes us into the worlds and minds of so-called high-functioning alcoholics, to understand how people so intelligent and achievement-oriented get drawn into states in which they secretly cannot control their liquor consumption but still manage to excel in their careers. The book includes a look at celebrity alcoholics like singer Eric Clapton and actor/comedian Robin Williams, as well as alcoholics in high positions including Chris Albrecht, former Chairman and CEO of HBO. Other high-profile people included in this book are Miss USA 2007 Tara Conner and football legend Joe Namath. With her own story of alcoholism and her recovery woven into the text, Benton takes us into the lives and challenges of these well-educated and successful people, seeking to understand how, when, and why they became addicted, as well as the reasons their alcoholism is, for most, so hard to admit, cope with, and recover from.

More daily inspiration from a fresh, diverse perspective. Insightful reflections reveal surprisingly simple things that can transform lives.

• Has drug or alcohol abuse in your family caused your child to become withdrawn or to act out? • Is addiction in a family member contributing to upset and stress in your child? • Do you want to help your child understand the problem and communicate about his/her feelings? • Do you want to help your child develop healthier coping strategies? I Can Be Me is a helping book for professionals and parents who want to help children of alcoholic parents. Written for children ages 4 to 12, it can be read by a child alone or worked through with a caring adult. Simple line drawings and text speak to children in a language they understand and are based on the real experiences of children with addicted parents. Written from the perspective of children whose parents are addicted to alcohol and various other drugs, this book helps children take off the masks that hide their true feelings and educates them about alcohol or drug abuse in the family. Entertaining drawings and simple text make this book easy to understand and invite children to add their own thoughts and feelings. Children often feel alone in homes where alcoholism or drug abuse is present. I Can Be Me helps children understand more about addiction and realize that they are not to blame for their parents’ problems. Through a series of creative exercises and activities children learn about healthy coping strategies and that they are not alone. Eight separate units make this book an ideal companion to counseling or support group sessions. Parents or counselors can also use a single section to address the unique concerns of an individual child.