A gripping first-hand story of personal triumph and recovery by a wealthy American housewife who appeared to have it all but who was, in reality, losing life's most important moments in an alcohol-induced haze. Brenda Wilhelmson was like a lot of women in her neighborhood. She had a husband and two children. She was educated and made a good living as a writer. She had a vibrant social life with a tight circle of friends. She could party until dawn and take her children to school the next day. From the outside, she appeared to have it all together. But, in truth, alcohol was slowly taking over, turning her world on its side. Waking up to another hangover, growing tired of embarrassing herself in front of friends and family, and feeling important moments slip away, Brenda made the most critical decision of her life: to get sober. She kept a diary of her first year (and beyond) in recovery, chronicling the struggles of finding a meeting she could look forward to, relating to her fellow alcoholics, and finding a sponsor with whom she connected. Along the way, she discovered the challenges and pleasures of living each day without alcohol, navigating a social circle where booze is a centerpiece, and dealing with her alcoholic father's terminal illness and denial. Brenda Wilhelmson's Diary of an Alcoholic Housewife offers insight, wisdom, and relevance for readers in recovery, as well as their loved ones, no matter how long they've been sober.

For a decade, Lisa Livingston has watched her husband drown himself in booze. She's done everything she can to help him or, at least, understand why he can't embrace a sober life. They have, after all, everything they've ever dreamed of. As Jeff's drinking escalates, Lisa must make a decision. But with love in the mix, it's not always as easy as it seems. 99 Bottles is the fictionalized story of a middle-aged woman married to an alcoholic, desperately trying to define and understand herself. This book exposes the too-often secret moments of hope, despair, triumph and heartache millions face in living with an alcoholic. While this novel is written in the first-person, it is not a memoir. It is a work of fiction created to help those who struggle with loving addicts.

An honest, upfront, engaging account of a suburban housewife's journey from miserable wine-soaked boozer to self-respecting sober lady.

The author of the classic 12 Stupid Things That Mess Up Recovery offers a fresh list of "smart" things to do to attain and sustain emotional sobriety. Learn the attitudes and behaviors that are key to attaining and sustaining emotional sobriety and developing a deeper trust in the process of life. Dr. Allen Berger draws on the teachings of Bill W. and psychotherapy pioneers to offer us twelve hallmarks of emotional sobriety. These “right actions” help us develop the confidence to be accountable for our behavior, to practice asking for what we want and need, and to cultivate a deeper trust in the process of life. Dr. Berger’s list of smart things includes understanding who you are and what’s important to you learning not to take others’ reactions personally trusting your inner compass Through practicing these twelve things, we find release from what Bill W. described as an “absolute dependence on people or circumstances. Freed from the emotional immaturity that fueled our addictive personality and hurt ourselves and others, we can develop the tools to find strength from within and continue our successful journey of recovery.

Inspiring stories from the frontlines of the battle against addiction by Dr. Phil's leading interventionist and recovering addict Joani Gammill. "Exuding the same passion and purpose as the author herself, Joani Gammill's The Interventionist is a heartfelt game changer and long overdue. You deserve to read it." --Dr. Phil McGraw, host of CBS's nationally syndicated show "Dr. Phil" Joani Gammill, an average suburban mom on the outside, was secretly addicted to multiple forms of opiates and amphetamine for years, and almost died as a result. Through the life-changing intervention staged by Dr. Phil on his show, Gammill not only committed to getting help for her addiction, but she also went on to become a professional interventionist, helping thousands of others in distress. In The Interventionist, she intertwines her experiences with depictions of her often harrowing and always inspiring interventions of the addicts and families she's worked with over the years. In each chapter she recounts details of a client's unique battle with addiction and the devastation that led to a loved one's request for her help. Gammill's intriguing story--and the equally captivating stories of the brave people who come to her for help--demonstrates how it is possible to emerge from the seemingly hopeless world of out-of-control drug use and not only regain one's sanity, but actually discover that life clean and sober can be more meaningful than it ever was before.

Despite outward appearances three years after getting sober Lotta is struggling to deal with life in the raw. It's becoming abundantly clear what people mean when they say putting down the drink is just the beginning. Truth is Lotta's lifelong heavy-drinking habit has left her as a fledgling emotionally. She's slowly accepting that she needs to do some more work on herself. But what? Please don't say it has to involve turning into a hippy. Can't she just comfort herself with another chocolate muffin, distract herself on Instagram, and hope for the best? It would appear not. In Mrs D Is Going Within Lotta outlines the practices she developed and strategies she worked on to start establishing herself as an emotionally robust woman.

Fifteen million Americans a year are plagued with alcoholism. Five million of them are women. Many of them, like Caroline Knapp, started in their early teens and began to use alcohol as "liquid armor," a way to protect themselves against the difficult realities of life. In this extraordinarily candid and revealing memoir, Knapp offers important insights not only about alcoholism, but about life itself and how we learn to cope with it. It was love at first sight. The beads of moisture on a chilled bottle. The way the glasses clinked and the conversation flowed. Then it became obsession. The way she hid her bottles behind her lover's refrigerator. The way she slipped from the dinner table to the bathroom, from work to the bar. And then, like so many love stories, it fell apart. Drinking is Caroline Kapp's harrowing chronicle of her twenty-year love affair with alcohol. Caroline had her first drink at fourteen. She drank through her yeras at an Ivy League college, and through an award-winning career as an editor and columnist. Publicly she was a dutiful daughter, a sophisticated professional. Privately she was drinking herself into oblivion. This startlingly honest memoir lays bare the secrecy, family myths, and destructive relationships that go hand in hand with drinking. And it is, above all, a love story for our times—full of passion and heartbreak, betrayal and desire—a triumph over the pain and deception that mark an alcoholic life. Praise for Drinking “Quietly moving . . . Caroline Knapp dazzles us with her heady description of alcohol's allure and its devastating hold.”—Los Angeles Times Book Review “Filled with hard-won wisdom . . . [a] perceptive and revealing book.”—San Francisco Chronicle “Eloquent . . . a remarkable exercise in self-discovery.”—The New York Times “Drinking not only describes triumph; it is one.”—Newsweek