Rating: 
Summary: Doctor, Please Tell Us What We REALLY Need To Know!!!
Review: I'm sure Dr. Drew Pinsky is a competent medic and means well, but he leaves us readers frustrated by never telling us exactly how to cure alcoholism and drug addiction. We hear a great deal about his own worries and learn a lot of interesting stuff about his family, but what we REALLY REALLY need to know is what we can do at home--ON OUR OWN!--to cure ourselves of the disease of addiction, because obviously most of us cannot afford to check into Dr. Drew's expensive private hospital. Luckily, TV's famous Dr. Phil (of the Oprah Show) has the answer to this devastating problem. For instance, my own Mom was addicted to alcohol and painkillers, but after reading one of Dr. Phil's brilliant books, she has been clean for 2 weeks now. And she did it all on her own. Bless you, Dr. Phil, you're a true genius! I'm giving this book two stars instead of one because I think the real writer, Todd Gold, deserves kudos for his elegant, masterly writing. The way he brings Dr. Drew's contrived incidents to life and blends them all into a seamless narrative demonstrates a very rare literary talent.
Rating: 
Summary: Germany or Floridaaaa
Review: Great book Dr Drew. Germany or Florida . . . A pair of flying underpants caused a crash when they landed on a driver's face and blocked his view according to police. A police spokesman in said one of a group of naked men in a van threw the underwear into a Volkswagen Passat as they passed it on a busy stretch of freeway. "The underpants landed on the driver's face, causing him to ram the truck ahead from behind," said the spokesman, adding that he did not know why the men were driving along naked. No one was hurt in the crash, but police are hunting the owner of the underpants for failing to stop at the scene.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Book, loved getting in drew's head.
Review: I bought the book cracked after hearing that Dr. Drew was going to be coming out with it. Of course i knew about it way ahead of time because of drews constant mentioning of it on loveline every night for months before it was released, but like everyone else i was eager to get it. I was eager to read, not only because i'm a fan of dr. drew, but because i'm very much interested in the topic. My sister has been involved with drugs and she herself is getting help now. i love so much that i can tell my parents to read this book i bought to let them know a little more information about this stuff. I myself am not an avid reader, but i definately loved reading this book. i couldn't put it down, it was so amazing to get the feelings and thoughts from drew. i never got as emotional when reading as i did when i read this book. well written and overall a great read. I Loved it!..i'm gonna go read it again right now!! I've tried numerous times to call into loveline to tell drew how much i liked his book, but had no success getting though, but i know he reads these things.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting and informative, but flawed
Review: I approched this book with caution. I've only listened to Loveline a couple of times, and honestly that was mostly because I couldn't get any other radio station. I am in general not a big fan of "pop psychology" which is what I was afraid this would be. I was wrong. I'd always wondered what went through the minds of physicians and counselors who deal with addicts. I could never understand why someone who wasn't a recovering addict would want to subject themselves to all the lies, manipulation and self-destructiveness that we deal out on a regular basis. (Yes, I am a recovering addict. 2 yrs clean and counting.) This book gave me some insight into my question. I learned more about the physical part of addiction from this book than I did in rehab. Scary, huh? I wondered why I was going through such pain and shaking coming off the Vicodin and Klonopin I was using and was told I was making it up, lying to try to get more drugs and that I shouldn't complain, it wasn't like I was detoxing off heroin. I had no idea that what I was going through was real and was dangerous. It made me realize just how inadequate some rehab facilities are and how little some physicians understand addiction (even psychiatrists!). I'm thankful that there are people like Dr. Drew out there who actually know what they're doing and are willing to share it with the general public. I wouldn't however reccommend this book as a study of what goes through the mind of an addict as they fight to recover. People who are searching for that kind of knowledge would do better to read a book like Elizabeth Wurtzel's More, Now, Again. I also have a bit of an issue with the author's use of the term "borderline". I assume he is talking about people with Borderline Personality Disorder but this book seems to use the word borderline as a synonym for an annoying/difficult patient. I also wonder if an unattractive patient would garner the same sympathy from the doctor...perhaps it's his ghostwriter, but I thought there were just a few too many descriptions of his patient's physical attractiveness. There are also some glaring grammatical and typographical errors in the book which are really unfortunate. It's a daring book in some ways and very honest and heart-felt. He shares his frustrations and the toll that his profession takes on his personal life. I don't know either why some people succeed and some fail at recovery, nor do I know why so far I've seemed to "get it". I guess if either Dr. Drew or I knew we'd publish it, win a Nobel prize and retire to the Caymans.
Rating:
Summary: Drew, you're a god, but this isn't the bible
Review: Dr. Drew Pinsky is a sincere person who really wants to make a difference in people's lives. He is an expert in addiction medicine and as the co-host of Loveline, he is entertaining and informative. I know that he had good intentions with this book and wasn't just "chasing after a nickel" as Adam Carolla would say. I learned a lot from reading the book. I recognized my own weaknesses, even though I don't drink or do drugs, I have my own destructive addictions ($pending too much) which come from growing up in a alcoholic family. I wanted to love this book. I am giving it 3 stars because the composite characters are compelling even if there is a fake quality to them and you can tell they are composites. Reading about them is still helpful. Dr. Drew is also very honest about himself which I think is admirable. Now to why I am not giving the book the 5 stars it could have gotten: the editing is BAD as others have mentioned. Page 209 is the worst. Co-writer Todd Gold must have forgotten that he was writing in Drew's voice because he has Drew referring to himself in the 3rd person. CRINGE!! There are also skipped words and typographical errors including Drew's daughter being called Pauline. I am shocked that publisher Judith Regan & her people would let this slip by. Todd Gold can't write. He takes something that is very true and real by a passionate, passionate man and turns it into a slipshod mess. There are places where the same thing is explained more than once. Drew's infatuation with helping others (which started when his mother miscarried a baby) is not given the respect it deserves. Todd Gold's writing makes it almost unintelligible. The end when Brianna seems to learn from Amber's situation seems contrived. Because it is written badly it makes you think life is hopeless when actually I think the point is that for some people there is hope. The question of why some "get it" and others do not is a key, but it is never explored as it should be. The narrative flow is absent. I can't recall ever reading a major book by a big publisher that has so many typos and such bad editing. So I am sorry, Drew, I feel really bad because I know you will see this. I admire you and the message you & Adam send to people 5 nights a week. If you had a better editor/writer this could have been a much better book. Please think about that next time. The book may have come from your heart, that is evident, but unfortunately it also came from Todd Gold's word processor, and that ruined it.
Rating:
Summary: I wonder if Dr. Drew will read this
Review: I haven't finished the book yet, but so far I really love it. I can tell that Dr. Drew must have really put his heart into it and it's really moving. It was definatley worth the money, and it was the best investment I have made in some time. I think that it is a really important book for everyone to read because although I don't have a major amount of contact with addiction, I think this book adresses so much more than that. It's about the human spirit triumphing over pain, which I hope to do someday. I listen to loveline every night, and I've often thought of calling, but have been to frightened. I tried to email Drew and Adam, but it didn't work. I have been depressed and in and out of therepy since I was seven. Although I am not an adict, I could associate with Drew and his patients. I really found this book to be profound. Good job Dr. Drew, thank you. (Dr.Drew, by the off chance that you may read this, I know you said you wouldn't say peoples' names on air, but could you maybe adress more calls about self-injury and depression so I can get advice from you that way? thanks if you can, and thanks anyway :o)
Rating:
Summary: Cracked cracked me open...
Review: After reading Dr. Pinsky's book in all of 24 hours, it helped me seek out the treatment I have been pondering about for so long. When I put the book down for the evening, I dreamt I was sitting with Dr. Pinsky and actually admitted to myself and him all of my own issues, from opiate addiction to my most serious, the eating disorder I've had for the past 10 years. I found his insight to be extremely helpful for me, as often times I feel like I'm nothing more than a number to a physician. Thank you Dr. Pinsky for your insightful book and for helping countless others along the way.
Rating:
Summary: Todd Gold Lets The Good Doctor Down.
Review: Ask any medical transcriptionist: It's unreasonable to expect any doctor, much less one who spends ten hours a week chatting with Adam Carolla, to sit down and write a proper narrative that flows correctly, reads smoothly. Doctors aren't natural-born writers. That's why we have co-authors for projects like this. I recall a Brian Wilson autobio that Mr. Gold also co-wrote. What quietly nagged me about that book, is a major irritation here: TODD GOLD DOES NOT KNOW (Or CARE About) THE BASIC MECHANICS OF ENGLISH. Paragraphs stop arbitrarily, with the subject continuing unchanged in the next. Homonyms (lookalike words with different meanings) mysteriously appear, daring the reader to guess Drew's intended meaning. Misspellings, questionable use of commas, and all your other standard eighth-grade mistakes abound. I'd love to give detailed examples, but the fact is, I'm NOT struggling through this disjointed book again. Yes. It's *that* bad. Drew Pinsky is an insightful, brilliant, and compassionate man, who has much to offer our society. I never miss "LoveLine", if I can help it. I hope he will record a reading of this book; as a monologue, it just might work. Todd Gold, on the other hand -- how does he even GET these jobs???
Rating:
Summary: HEY DR. DREW !!
Review: i tryed to contact you and adam many other ways, but you said that you always readthese revies. i wanted to suggest to your show Loveline, on 107.7 The End, that you have Dr. Bruce on your show wiht you adn adam. that would be fun !!! GOOD BOOK!!!
Rating:
Summary: i liked it and so did all my friends
Review: i love this book. i told all my friends and hey loved it to. i got a free invitation into the life of dr drew and got to see what happens with not only his life but his patients lives as well. im only 14 but i can tll you that all my "wantings" to experiment with drugs hae been shattered. dr. drew: good job thanks for writing it all my friends would probably say the same
loveline is good to i listen to it everynight
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