Despite the immense obstacles they face, many alcoholics do manage to recover. In this groundbreaking book, Arnold M. Ludwig--a doctor with over twenty-five years of experience working with alcoholics--goes inside the minds of alcoholics in order to explain the behaviors and thought processes they use to get and stay sober. Whether alcoholics achieve recovery through Alcoholics Anonymous, a church, counseling, hospitalization, or entirely of their own initiative, the basic methods remain essentially the same. This book offers the first detailed examination of these successful methods. Ludwig has discovered that in most cases a lasting recovery can only begin after certain crucial attitude changes occur. Regardless of the motivation of alcoholics, powerful forces lure them back to drink. To remain sober, alcoholics not only must recognize these forces and the dangerous frame of mind that fuels them, but also must use a variety of techniques for resisting temptation. Recovery involves far more than simply not drinking; it means a sober life style. Over the years, Ludwig has worked with over one thousand alcoholics from all walks of life and within many different settings, including hospital clinics, Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, detoxification centers, and private homes. Using clinical vignettes, research findings, and personal anecdotes, he documents the basic principles necessary for conquering craving and achieving recovery. Ludwig offers an optimistic message: no matter how bad things get, there is always hope. This book will provide insights not only for recovering alcoholics, but also for their families, counselors, and doctors.

About the Author
Arnold Ludwig, M.D. is E. A. Edwards Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine. He is on the editorial board of The American Journal of Psychotherapy and has written five other books and over one hundred articles.

Reviews
An outstanding effort filled with important information for those who treat alcoholics, live with alcoholics, or who are alcoholics.... A significant contribution to the field, and all who deal with alcoholics would benefit from reading it. * Science Books & Films *
A thoroughly readable and rich introduction to...the process of recovery from alcoholism. * New England Journal of Medicine *
Ludwig offers a unique integrative perspective which encompasses the clinical wisdom accrued through twenty-five years of experience as an alcoholism researcher and therapist....The book serves as an excellent primer for clinicians and recovering persons on a practical and multiperspective approach to alcoholism treatment. * Contemporary Psychology *
An exciting contribution to the growing self-help literature in the addictions field....Dr. Ludwig has long enjoyed an excellent reputation both as a researcher and clinician in the field of alcohol studies. This book will strengthen that reputation. It will also save lives. * G. Alan Marlatt, University of Washington *
Perhaps the best book on the subject I have read for a long time. * Donald W. Goodwin, M.D., University of Kansas *
Solid, informative, imaginative, and elegantly written. * Harold Kalant, M.D., University of Toronto *
`The sifted and assimilated result of years of thoughtful observation by a kind and sensitive clinician. * Margaret Bean-Bayog, M.D., Harvard Medical School *
An excellent little book * highly informative, full of challenging and stimulating ideas, and teeming with shrewd clinical insights.British Journal of Psychiatry *
Useful for physicians who wish to understand alcoholism and the recovery process, and to gain anecdotal evidence of this process, which is presented by using the words of recovering alcoholics....Can be of great value to those many physicians faced with individual patients who are drinking too much. * New York State Journal of Medicine *
A rich and interesting book filled with references to research, self-reports by alcoholics, and fictional allusion to the thought-processes of the alcoholic... Ludwig does not proselytize about any one approach and he offers a hearty notes/bibliography section for those who wish to find out more about technical aspects of alcoholism and treatment. * KLIATT Young Adult Paperback Book Guide *



Book Information
ISBN 9780195059182
Author Arnold M. Ludwig
Format Paperback
Page Count 208
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 172g
Dimensions(mm) 136mm * 203mm * 12mm