Rating: 
Summary: Powerful message - We need each other
Review: Brilliant!This is a very engaging book. Dr. Drew Pinsky has the rare ability to cut through the veil of our societal fears and state the case plainly and honestly. His stories of patients struggling to connect with other people are depressing, but a reality of our noisy modern life.
Only a person of great strength can express feelings of weakness we believe as genuine. Dr. Drew has that credibility in spades. In this book he lets us see behind the mask of "medicine" to reveal a person who suffers his patient's triumphs and failures along with them. Details about mental problems that are out of cognitive control also shines a light on the problems addicts face in their recovery.
The information about addiction is very informative, and Dr. Pinsky is clearly the hub of the wheel in expressing the reality of addiction through these stories. A wake up call to everyone, especially parents.
Rating: 
Summary: Overall, a good book!
Review: I thought that this book was a good read but there were a few things that took away from the overall quality of the book. Poor illustrations litter the book and detract from the overall quality, I thought it made the book seem a little unprofessional and low budget, surely a case where less would have been more. I think that Dr. Drew did an excellent job with his writing considering that he comes from a medical background. Altough the book could have benefited from a little more orginization and structure. The overall message of the book was a little unclear but the story was well told and there were many lessons to be learned. Overall I recomend this book to anybody because it discusses a topic that is of concern to everybody. I was hoping that the book would discuss more aspects of human behavior and and the biological processes behind addiction. I hope that Dr. Drew writes about human behavior sometime in the near future because I think he has great insight.
Rating: 
Summary: Mixed Messages
Review: He hates Clinton (good) but likes euthanasia (huh?). He advocates "harm reduction" (that ol' secular-humanist standby) but he says the '70s were bad (the moral-relativist decade). He wants to save kids by exposing them to a filthy radio show. The book gives sordid details of the "plight" of addicts. And nothing is ever their own fault. The Blame Game figures into Dr. Drew's scheme -- but it's not just the usual suspects. Instead of (you guessed it) "everything-is-the-parents'-fault" we also get some juicy cultural targets. But this insight into why Filth Culture is destroying a great nation is so mixed with parent-blaming and God-blaming that it becomes a mire. How about some simple answers, Doc? Enough with the "deepness." At least he hates Clinton and loves Bush, but we can do better than Dr. Drew.
Rating:
Summary: Dr. Drew is right.
Review: Preface: Drew, you were feeling depressed about the poor book reviews on the show-hopefully, by writing this review, I can begin to repay you for all the greatness you've bestowed upon my life! Review: Completely awesome. Though I have never known personally anyone who suffered from addiction, I found the book to be entertaining and informative. Thank you Dr. Drew!!!
Rating:
Summary: An excellent look into the world of addiction treatment
Review: I picked this book up at 9pm and couldn't put it down until I completed it at 4am, it was that riviting of a story. Although told through the first person experience of Dr. Pinsky, this is not an autobiography or a loveline merchandising scheme, but instead a touching and fascinating look into the practice of addiction medicine. It follows in the same vane as a reality program you might expect to see on the discovery channel or pbs but with the added look into the mind of the clinician that only comes through first person narrative. I thought the candor of Dr. Pinsky, including the feelings he witheld from his patients, was totally relevant in showing the complex interactions at play during the treatment of addiction. It's refreshing to see the human side of clinical treatment that would otherwise be left unexposed.
This book is a great read and is well worth the money spent... great work Dr Drew!
Rating:
Summary: Strictly for Loveline Fans
Review: This book doesn't give you much info on drug addiction or the different types of drug treatment programs. It's just 288 pages of Drew's random opinions as he goes about his day dealing with f*cked-up patients. If you want to know more about Drew's personal life because you have no life of your own, you will like this book. If you are looking for more insight into drug addiction and treatment than you already get from the Loveline radio show, don't waste your money.
Rating:
Summary: Waste of money, time, and attention
Review: I was given this book. What a disappointment! It is all about Drew Pinsky's reactions to people.
*Nothing about what a 12-step meeting is actually like
*Nothing about secular alternatives to recovery (Rational Recovery, LifeRing or Secular Sobriety)
*Nothing about increasing physical fitness as a component of recovery and relapse prevention
*Nothing about nutrition as a component of recovery and relapse prevention (treating alcoholism and some other addictions with vitamin supplementation)
*Nothing about non-chemical treatments for depression as a dual diagnosis with addiction
*Nothing substantive about how to get help for addiction,other than going to a treatment center.
Pinsky treats EVERY withdrawal symptom with more drugs. That should be a clue.
Dr. Pinsky assumes that the patient population he treats (many of whom have been remanded to Las Encinas by cour order) is representative of all addicts. They are not. There are many addicted individuals who achieve sobriety without hospitalization. Pinsky just doesn't see them.
This book was poorly written and edited. Pinsky has a poorly-veiled contempt for most of his patients. The stories he and his ghostwriter present depict the relatives of addicts as evil contributors--nothing about the helpless pain an addict's parent, sibling or spouse may feel, nothing about the efforts relatives may make to support and encourage true recovery. The book is filled with Pinsky's self-congratulatory recitation of his own opinions and insights.
I wish it were possible to give negative stars.
The one place I do agree with Pinsky is the toxicity of modern culture for families and for the young.
Rating: 
Summary: creepy
Review: It's a sort of interesting look into the thoughts and feelings of a doctor who treats drug addiction. It's kind of scary in that way. As Mr. Fishman notes in his review, the good doctor bravely admits, in an indirect way, how contemptuous he is towards his patients, getting aroused by his female patients and casually toying with the idea of snuffing the more troublesome ones. It's probably good that we know this about our medical professionals, but it certainly is disturbing knowledge, to say the least.
Rating:
Summary: Insight Into the Addict and the Care Provider
Review: A hard book to put down, I felt like I was watching a car accident in slow motion, unable to turn my eyes away, even from the gross parts. The addiction process and the methodology that is used to try to help the addicted is well explained in episodic scenes from the lives of several addicts in different stages of care. Excellent Insight develops over the course of the book about the relationship of the Care provider to the addict and why he is driven to rescue the terribly wounded. For those who have listened to "Loveline" for years on the radio, this details the other side of Dr. Drew and what drives him and why he should be considered "Man of the Year."
Rating:
Summary: Very good
Review: I like it. It reminds me that doctors have feelings, too. It shows that recovery is up to the individual and it is hard work. Fascinating theories about addiction are included without being too technical. Dr Drew is a passionate, passionate man, as we know. He repeats himself a lot though. Maybe it's because he's struggling with his issues he talks about during the book, and maybe he knows addicts are reading it and need reinforcement. But it gets a little repetitive, and that's why I gave it 4 stars instead of 5.
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