Sober for Good: New Solutions for Drinking Problems -- Advice from Those Who Have Succeeded

I like this style of dealing with the matter. The book helps me regularly with motivation and education on the subject. I've purchased lots of books as part of my own efforts to achieve sobriety. I prefer the personal style found here over the more "clinical", psychological, etc. approach found in many others. I like to read a chapter every day as part of my daily commitment for continuing inspiration.

FINALLY, a neutral book about all the resources and/or options available to problem drinkers. I found it only MILDLY ANTI 12 step. It is so good to have a resource that discusses all the ways people have gotten and stayed sober. AA has helped a lot of people, but its NICE to know what is out there to replace and/or supplement 12 step groups. I hate books that bash AA. I gave this a 4 because it was mildly anti AA. Well worth the money! Lots of important information in one book.

I bought this as a gift to a family member who was recovering from an alcohol addiction.. Her recovery was helped tremendously by this book and she still refers to it frequently. This book has been a wonderful companion through the difficult road and helped her stay on track. Great book! Highly recommend!!

This book helped to turn my life around. It is well written with many inspirational stories and approaches that I can relate to. With this book's guidance and wisdom, I will remain sober for the rest of my life. And so will you. God bless all those who seek this help.

I can only evaluate this book from my own perspective as a problem drinker who consumes alcohol fairly modestly. I average about 2-3 drinks per day, most (but not all) days of the week. This level of consumption barely has me hitting some of the thresholds commonly used to indicate risky behavior, such as the 4-per-day/14-per-week test. Nevertheless, there are a variety of clear warning signs for me, and I suspect I'm pretty typical of a large number of problem drinkers whose behavior occupies a middle ground: not healthy, but not obviously self-destructive.I found this book enormously helpful. Because the findings are presented via real-life "masters" who have successfully managed their problem drinking, I found the lessons easy to relate to and personally relevant. More importantly, the book presented a more nuanced view of recovery than the one many of us have based on the mythology that has sprung up around 12-step programs. It isn't the necessarily the case that problem drinkers have to bottom out before getting better, or declare themselves alcoholics in front of a room full of strangers, or declare themselves powerless, or spend the rest of their life in meetings. In fact, about half of people who give up alcohol manage to do so on their own.None of this is meant as a criticism of traditional 12-step programs, and book itself does not bash AA. Rather, the book is up front about the pros and cons of various approaches to treatment, presenting a menu of options for problem drinkers to explore. As always, the information given is grounded in the real-world experiences of successfully recovered drinkers.For me, this is both a useful book and a hopeful book, certainly not the last one I will read on this topic, but a very good place to start.Finally, one complaint about the Kindle edition of this book: the sidebars in the book are not formatted correctly, so you can only read the first page of information for each one. Often the sidebars contain highly relevant details such as where to go for further information, so its a bit frustrating that they are truncated. Hopefully this will be corrected in future editions.Update: It's been a little over a year since I reviewed this book, and I notice that the reviews remain polarized. Most love it, but some are very vocally opposed, largely on the basis that the book considers alternatives to 12-step programs. I'm not terribly interested in this debate, but I will stress, as the book does, that people are diverse and respond differently to different approaches. I gave up alcohol entirely for a year (which was my goal), and recently started having occasional drinks on social occasions. I am still experimenting to figure out where my comfort level is, and I may return to complete abstinence. Regardless, I am ecstatic about the progress I've made, and I will continue to recommend this book to anyone facing similar issues. But mainly I recommend taking the plunge and making a change in your life. You won't regret it.

I’m a mental health counselor/substance abuse counselor and have set up a library for my clients to read. They love the books and are constantly soaking in information to assist them with recovery.

excellent source of information on all methods of recovery from drugs and alcohol. It is refreshing to find out about recovery W/O AA

I wrote the review below in 2002. Since then I have passed it on as a loan or sold it for what I paid for it maybe 20 times. I've told dozens of women about it. It is still indispensible. I've studied many texts and read many popular books, but Fletcher's book still stands head and shoulders above the rest!Sober for Good is a book filled with hope. It offers perspectives rarely seen in alcohol-related materials, and I sincerely hope that it gets wide distribution.I'm a certified moderator (volunteer small group leader) for Women for Sobriety groups, and this book is a driving force in the sobriety of nearly all of the women I meet. Not everyone benefits from AA, and it's incredibly validating to see that other people similar to ourselves have gotten sober (and stayed sober!) using other methods.The book is put together in a way that allows the reader to go to the parts that relate most to her/his situation, which is particularly important for people still grappling with addiction or newly sober.You go, Anne. You have a big fan club in San Francisco!

To many case studies for my liking, however people can take sinpets of information, which appeals to themselves

Great read, ideal for studies.

Very helpful book thank you

Really good book, giving loads of different peoples personal strategies for stopping drinking with many success stories & advice for drinkers families too.

Thanks