Rating: 
Summary: Some Comments on Amazon's Editorial Review
Review: Anne Fletcher's "Sober for Good" is an outstanding contribution to the literature on alcohol problems. It is written in such a way that the average lay person can undersyand all that the author and her more than 200 subjects are saying. She deals with the many controversies in the field in a balanced and judicious manner. Anyone who wants help with an alcohol problem would do well to consult this book first, as the multiple opportunities for assistance are all well outlined. I strongly disagree that the book has even the "appearance" of AA bashing; a mindset that views any comments on AA that are not gushingly superlative as "bashing" is deplorable. It is an honorable and even remarkable organization, but (as the book amply documents) it is not for everyone. As the author of the foreword to the book, I want to make it absolutely clear that I am not a co-author, as Amazon's listing of the book would indicate. Ann Fletcher is owed the entire credit for this excellent and timely contribution to our knowledge of this area.
Rating: 
Summary: This Book is Dangerous
Review: Are you concerned about your drinking? Wondering if it is becoming a problem? Questioning, if I do have a drinking problem - then what? Or perhaps concerned about a loved one's drinking? Then this book is for you. Author Anne Fletcher, having overcome her own drinking problem, interviewed over 200 "masters" who overcame drinking problems about what worked for them. She allows readers to learn from her interviewees' experience - from determining whether drinking has become a problem to deciding what to do about it to building a life that doesn't revolve around alcohol - and supplements the masters' stories with findings from the most up-to-date research on recovery from drinking problems. The result is a highly readable book that covers a wide variety of approaches to quitting (or, in rare cases, moderating) drinking. The author handles controversial issues, such as moderate drinking or alternatives to the traditional AA approach, carefully and evenhandedly. There is also an excellent chapter on what family and friends can do to help. Reviewed by Deborah Van Horn for Amazon.com, originally posted July 12, 2002, updated May 8, 2004.
Rating:
Summary: A must-read for anyone concerned about their drinking
Review: Are you concerned about your drinking? Wondering if it is becoming a problem? Questioning, if I do have a drinking problem - then what? Or perhaps concerned about a loved one's drinking? Then this book is for you. Author Anne Fletcher, having overcome her own drinking problem, interviewed over 200 "masters" who overcame drinking problems about what worked for them. She allows readers to learn from her interviewees' experience - from determining whether drinking has become a problem to deciding what to do about it to building a life that doesn't revolve around alcohol - and supplements the masters' stories with findings from the most up-to-date research on recovery from drinking problems. The result is a highly readable book that covers a wide variety of approaches to quitting (or, in rare cases, moderating) drinking. The author handles controversial issues, such as moderate drinking or alternatives to the traditional AA approach, carefully and evenhandedly. There is also an excellent chapter on what family and friends can do to help. Reviewed by Deborah Van Horn, originally posted July 12, 2002.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Overview
Review: As a long term sober member of AA, I approached this book skeptically thinking is would be just another in the 'bashing' series. But it's not. Fletcher does a very competent job surveying the various means of achieving sobriety. This book is a valauble tool for someone who is struggling with their drinking. It shows that there are a range of options for the person and that they have an opportunity to find which approach works for them.
It is also a strength of SOBER FOR GOOD that Fletcher shows how many people with long-term sobriety have migrated thru various programs thru different phases of their recovery. This would be a good book for one who has been sober for a while, but is feeling the need to expand beyond the limits of what their current program has to offer.
The one drawback in the book is the use of jargon in too many places. For example, use of the term 'master' to describe a person who has achieved sobriety smacks of the guru feeling of many other self-improvement books. A good editor would have made Fletcher find other terminology.
All in all, well worth the $12. I went ahead and bought 5 copies for use with my AA sponsees to let them know that if they don't feel comfortable with the work of the program, then it doesn't mean they're doomed to an early grave.
Rating:
Summary: Very touching
Review: As a person struggling with my own drinking problem I find this book very comforting and touching. REAL stories about REAL people taking different approaches to battling their drinking problems. Some of the reviews of this book have been written by people with such limited views, which could be considered judgmental, especially in regards to drinking in moderation (something that personally, I know that I am incapable of). However, I believe once a person pinpoints their trigger to drink and decide whether or not they will ever be able to drink moderately is a personal decision. True, I believe the number of people with a drinking problem that could learn to drink moderately is very small, but it was fair to present the idea in this book. Some people can do it! Yet, moderation is such a small percentage of the number of solutions presented in this book. Various methods of recovery are presented, and all of them include personal accounts of how they succeeded. We are all just humans, and reading the success stories in this book reminds of that. Touching stories with happy endings; just what we need.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Audio-Tape Version (Unabridged)
Review: I came across the audio-book, "Sober for Good" some time ago and have listened to it several times over by now. In my personal quest to evaluate, decrease, and eventually eliminate my alcohol consumption, I've found it an invaluable tool in providing insight into the many programs and options available to people who are seriously considering reducing and/or eliminating alcohol from their lives altogether.
The definitions of "sobriety", as well as "alcoholic", "problem drinker", and "abuser" are very helpful in one's self-diagnosis of where they stand on the topic. Likewise, the topics of "always recovering versus recovered", "once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic", etc., highlight the many questions many people face regarding such a sensitive issue.
I love the fact that it mentions that each individual is unique and that there is really no, one set approach; it's what works for the individual, whether that may be by themselves, through one program, or a combination of one or more. I also love the fact that the book is very non-judgemental and provides information in a very straight-forward, factual manner, giving the pros and cons of different programs and enabling individuals to make educated decisions as to which method(s) is/are right for them. No one method is endorsed or condemned in any way and the audio-program gives the listener the options to consider which may be right for them.
The testimonies given by all individuals included in this book will help YOU identify with one or several of them; whether they're the person who drinks "more than socially" to people who drank more than a fifth of hard liquor a day. In that same light, it identifies people who live relatively normal lives who want to lose the monkey off their backs, as well as those who have lost it all. If you think you're alone with this issue, listen to this series of audio-tapes and you'll realize that you're not.
I can genuinely say that the audio-book has helped me achieve a solid understanding of what it takes for people to change their lives and move on.
This audio-cassette program was very enlightening for me and listening to it, even more than once, is a pleasure.
Rating:
Summary: This Book is Dangerous
Review: I don't know what people think of when the term Alcoholic comes up, but I see a meeting room full of people who smile and have hope in their lives for the first time ever! Do I belong to AA. Yes and No. I could, yet because I also am an addict I belong to NA. Alcohol is a drug...period! Anne is in some kind of a fog, maybe from one of her occassional drinks on the moderate plan. Or is it that she is not an Alcoholic, which is interesting because she refuses to even acknowlege the word. Why? Virtually MILLIONS of people Recovery with AA, and add another with NA. Which is simple: we don't use no matter what, no matter who comes up with either some "new" Scientific viewpoint, or demented thinking that seems to be intoxicated. I take the book as a very poor excuse to drink, no matter what. If it just so happens that someone, like an alcoholic, picks up the book and decides that he or she can do likewise, then God be with them. And as a side note: AA and NA is NOT religious, Spiritual yes, Religious no. For we know that our disease is more then just the drugs that we used. And developed an allergy to. Sheesh, you would think that someone would get some information correct on the disease first before bashing ANY 12-step Program and printing a dangerous manuel for relapse. I would love to see her in an AA meeting and discuss her viewpoints. Just once, which I sure would be enough for her. A very dangerous book.
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Summary: A Book for Independent Thinkers
Review: Others before me have described the book very well, so I won't elaborate further. I'm not surprised that those that decry it are devoted AA members. Many members of AA are absolutely convinced that the 12-step way is the ONLY way, and that (I have literally heard this said in AA meetings the "Big Book" was written by God. I shudder to think how many people rejected recovery because they were turned off by AA, NA, CA, or WhateverA. And, in spite of its claims, there is no hard data proving that AA works any better than just "puttin' the plug in the jug."
There are other books that provide alternatives to AA, and several that are very critical of AA. This book gives a balanced view for the thinking person and lets that person make an educated choice, or at least gives the person a stepping stone for further investigation into what is all out there for a person that seeks recovery. Why AA members feel threatened is beyond me, but that seems to be part of the AA mentality - and I attend AA meetings regularly. This book has inspired me to work to provide options to AA in my community.
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Summary: Every Substance Abuse Professional Should Read This Book!
Review: 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!
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Summary: The best, most reasonable book available on sobriety
Review: The evolution away from the inaccurate and counterproductive view of a "one size fits all" mentality for substance/alcohol abuse/dependency treatment has been underway for decades: long enough for individuals sober in alternative "non 12 step" programs to recount how they accomplished their stunning and uplifting successes in achieving genuine and lasting sobriety. Anne Fletcher interviews successfully sober individuals from a variety of programs, including those based on the religiously-oriented program of 12 steps (including AA), and in the process helps elucidate the various important components of a successful life in sobriety. Contrary to the "mainstream" notion that spirituality or belief in a "higher power" are necessary to achieve sobriety, Ms. Fletcher recounts numerous examples of successfully sober individuals who required neither. Powerful (and well established) "alternative" techniques for achieving sobriety and satisfaction, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, are presented. Anne Fletcher has provided an invaluable resource and reference for anyone looking for a way out of alcohol/substance abuse/dependency for themselves or someone they care about. Also, this book would provide tremendous insight and breadth in any training curriculum for substance abuse therapists.
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