Holmes's Complete Guide To Stop Drinking Alcohol
The Easy, Mindful and Pain-free Way
by Mark Holmes
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Pub Date Jul 03 2021 | Archive Date Dec 31 2021
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Description
A self-help guide advocates overcoming alcohol addiction through mindfulness, inspired by cognitive behavioral therapy.
In this robust manual, Holmes, an online counselor and founder of the Addiction Help Agency, offers an easy and painless way to quit drinking alcohol permanently. The core of this process is a style of cognitive behavioral therapy with a focus on the incremental reduction of drinking and an increase in mindfulness—through meditation, self-assessment, and self-monitoring—to identify harmful patterns. To aid in this, the book provides numerous tools, from graphs and tables for recording habits to diagnostic tests like the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test, the DSM-5, and others. The guide also discusses self-report surveys like the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale and the Dysfunctional Attitudes Scale. Alongside readers in this undertaking is Moz, a high-functioning drinker and a stand-in for the author, who struggled with alcohol. Moz presents examples of the book’s process and how it succeeded for Holmes. Moz’s experiences also act as a gateway to the deeper research the manual supplies on subjects like the role alcohol plays in popular culture, its chemical composition, and its effects on sex and oft-encountered challenges like loneliness and midlife crises. The book promises “a radical alternative to the public perception…of drinking” as well as “a revolution in alcohol awareness.” In the latter case especially, the guide succeeds. The number of resources and the extensive, well-cited research may feel overwhelming, but the author’s presentation and simple breakdowns will answer most of the questions that patient readers have. The work’s use of Sherlock Holmes quotes throughout that treat alcohol addiction as a kind of mystery to be solved is clever, and the technique never distracts or overstays its welcome. The book is primarily a self-help resource, so those without at least some awareness of their problem or possible difficulty are likely not its audience. The text’s enthusiasm for its own methods can feel like a sales pitch at times but is nonetheless encouraging and infectious.
A comprehensive, passionate, and helpful resource for those looking for an alternative to alcohol.
Advance Praise
"The book is a fact-based highly entertaining take on how to stop drinking alcohol using an easy, mindful and pain-free approach. It is highly practical and enlightens you on many techniques like assessments, tests, contracts, meditation, mindfulness and fact-based reasonings backed up by research findings and an extensive bibliography that ultimately gives you hope in your constant struggle to stop drinking alcohol. It also enables you to reach a state of total alcohol abstention and become a full-fledged teetotaler in the future. Inspired by Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), the book is a must-read if you want to totally abstain from drinking alcohol."" Independent Review of Books
Available Editions
| ISBN | 9798527919226 |
| PRICE | $5.99 (USD) |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Johanna S, Reviewer
This is my second read this month on how to quit drinking which is a personal goal for myself. The cover was good, and I like the idea of Holmes on the job and looking for an answer to this problem.
What did I like? There is no tried or true method only what works for you. This book takes into consideration cbt therapy, mindfulness, and weaning yourself off slowly so you can recognize your triggers. It’s an interesting approach and it may work. It obviously worked for the author.
Would I recommend or buy? If your looking for a way out of alcoholism then this book is worth a try. I have never been to an AA meeting but I know I wouldn’t like to get up in front of people. My Jekyll and Hyde personality is my reason to stop drinking. I’d recommend this book and I’m hoping it will help me. Thanks to the publisher and author for a peek!
I received a complimentary copy to read and voluntarily left a review!
Nicola D, Reviewer
I read Holmes's Complete Guide To Stop Drinking Alcohol after receiving an advance copy on NetGalley. I read out of interest as alcohol is so prevalent in the personal lives and social lives of so many people. The book is easy to read, and well-researched with lots of additional references for follow up reading. It's packed with advice for personal reflection, and also thought-provoking discussion and about the personal and social pressures and motivations for drinking alcohol. I like that it offers resources and information for people, without judgement. There are references to mindfulness and other strategies, and in that ways it's like therapy in a handbook.
It's aimed at providing a programme to eliminate drinking alcohol, but I think it's also an interesting read more generally on the relationship we have with alcohol at an individual and societal level.
Wendy M R, Book Trade Professional
Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I have always been a believer in CBT and would like to cut down on my alcohol consumption so I found this book straightforward and interesting. Now to put it all into practice.
Stephanie W, Reviewer
This book is full of helpful strategies to start and stay on the road to recovery from alcohol addiction. The self-evaluation quizzes were enlightening - they contain questions I hadn't previously considered when thinking about the effects of alcohol on the body and in daily life. Overall, this is a great book to guide readers to quit abusing alcohol once and for all.
Angela G, Reviewer
A self help manual which seems to cover all options for anyone wishing to control their alcohol consumption. To benefit fully from this guide one really needs to seriously commit to and follow along with each chapter.
Jim P, Librarian
Thank you Mark. While I did not need to use your techniques, your book made me give serious thought about my relationship with alcohol. I quit drinking all spirits in Nov 21. I do still enjoy visits to craft breweries, vineyards, and cider-houses with my wife and will still partake of samplings. I am very fortunate that I found the process very easy for me
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