“A gripping, illuminating book . . . Dr. Stein is drawn, in an almost Sherlock Holmesian way, toward trying to fathom and analyze addicts’ behavior. . . . hauntingly and successfully, Stein lets readers make a doctor’s experiences their own.” — New York Times “Beautifully told… [with] great insight, empathy and compassion.” — Abraham Verghese, author of The Tennis Partner, My Own Country, and Cutting for Stone The Addict is the powerful and revealing narrative of Dr. Michael Stein’s year-long treatment of a young woman addicted to Vicodin. Dr. Stein has followed up his award winning book The Lonely Patient with “a useful, sensible, and often inspiring guide to how the medical profession does—and should—treat the sick, and the sick at heart.” (Francine Prose, O magazine)

It's okay to love them. It's your right to help them. Addiction destroys people and can even end lives. When you know or suspect that someone you love is suffering from addiction you have two goals: getting your loved one into treatment and turning that treatment into full-fledged sobriety. Many addiction experts tell you that you have to disengage or risk being an enabler, a codependent bystander, in the wreckage of an addict's life; that you have to cut all ties or be taken advantage of financially and emotionally; that you have to protect yourself from your loved one, who isn't the person you used to know. But many friends and family members find it unnatural, even impossible, to turn away from a person they love who is at his lowest point, and refuse to believe that their addict is lost to addiction. Backed by his years of experience, Dr. Westreich guides you through the process of getting the addict you love on the road to treatment and recovery. He provides detailed scripts to lead you through pivotal conversations with the addict in your life, highlighting the words that he's found to be most effective and the words to avoid. With this book in hand, family and friends will know, for example, how to motivate their addict to recognize his problem based on the addict's own definition of what addiction looks like; how to "raise the bottom" that addicts so often must hit to a more acceptable level -- such as embarrassment, job loss, or ill health; and when to use gentle disagreement, quiet listening, or forceful confrontation to move the addict toward treatment, while managing and protecting their own emotions. Dr. Westreich also shows you how to engage a therapist in the process and provides methods for combating an addict's defense mechanisms. By outlining several treatment options, he helps you to weigh what each can and cannot accomplish, which is the most effective treatment for the kind of addiction you are dealing with, what each treatment requires of the recovering addict and the friend or family member, and how successful each is. Dr. Westreich also takes care to discuss the kinds of special situations you may face when the addict in your life, in addition to having a substance abuse problem, is a minor, is pregnant, has mental or medical diseases, or has other issues that are likely to affect recovery. Helping the Addict You Love is the guide that so many loved ones of addicts have desperately needed. Dr. Westreich supports you through the emotional process of helping the addict you love, tells you it's okay to want to help, and teaches you how to do so.

An incisive look at the system of addiction pervasive in Western society today.

Do you worry that you drink too much? Or perhaps you fear that your dependence on drugs, food, sex, or some other vice is spiralling out of control, and taking your quality of life with it? In Who Says I'm an Addict?, David Smallwood looks at the issue of addiction with compassion, clarity, and wisdom that comes not only from his own difficult journey with addiction, but from his considerable experience overseeing treatment programmes in rehabilitation clinics. David looks in detail at all areas of addiction, from denial, hitting rock bottom, and dealing with shame and guilt, to how our family of origin and the traumas we go through in childhood influence us in later life. He then explores the road to long-term recovery, guiding the reader on how to do the emotional work necessary to ensure that they avoid relapse and can finally lay their demons to rest and get on with re-building their life.

STEPHEN SPEAKS WORLDWIDE ON ADDICTION 60 second book trailer available in sample or visit www.addictbook.com The most incredible enlightening true story ever told. From an affluent family Stephen aged 14 ran away to become involved in organised crime and immense wealth. As his amphetamine addiction took its toll he ended up living in shop doorways for over five years when a miracle saved his life. This page-turner emphasises not only the true horror of London’s 60’s criminals and drugs but is also an authentic insight into what leads some children into crime and addiction. Translated into 4 languages Addict has become a cult book in many countries.

The family recovery classic, Addict in the Family, has been revised and updated to offer parents and other family members even greater support when faced with the reality of a loved one’s addiction. Solid, actionable advice and information about what helps and what doesn’t—and how to care for themselves—make this an indispensable guide. For families of addicts, fear, shame, and confusion over a loved one’s addiction can cause deep anxiety, sleepless nights, and even physical illness. The emotional distress family members suffer is often compounded by the belief that they somehow caused or contributed to their loved one’s addiction—or that they could have done something to prevent it. Addict in the Family is a book about the pain of addiction, but more importantly it is a book of comfort, understanding, and hope for anyone struggling with a loved one’s addiction. As the compelling personal stories reveal, family members do not cause their loved one’s addiction—nor can they control or cure it. What family members can do is find support, set boundaries, detach with love, and eventually discover how to enjoy life more fully. This book helps them do just that—whether the loved one achieves recovery or not.

To solve a problem one must first understand the problem. Unfortunately, that's hard to do with addiction and alcoholism because it makes no sense. Why do people keep on with their substance use when it's ruining their life and making them miserable? In this important book, medical doctor and addiction survivor Dr. Andrew Proulx--a leading expert on addiction psychology--explains the effects of addictive substances on the brain and mind, and why addicts and alcoholics behave the way they do. He then goes on to explain exactly how form a bond with an addicted loved one and to use this bond to help the addict to move to a willingness and mental readiness to accept the help they need. He then explains your role in your loved ones treatment and subsequent recovery and relapse prevention. Dr. Andrew provides guidance for loved ones of addicts to remove themselves from the addict's circle of chaos and to take a different approach to helping the addict that's more effective, and also allows them to take back their own life and sanity. -- Adapted from page [4] cover.