Product Description
For nearly thirty years, author Dr. Jeff Herten was a high-functioning alcoholic—one who drinks every day, yet continues to lead a productive, successful life. Now he shares his first-hand knowledge of how alcohol can destroy lives—as it nearly destroyed his. Alcohol is the single greatest social ill in the United States. It affects us not only emotionally but physically. Alcohol may lead to deadly cancers of the breast, colon, esophagus, and liver. It rots our bones, corrodes our stomach lining, erodes our memories, and suppresses our immune systems. An Uncommon Drunk explores the numerous facets of alcohol consumption in the United States, including the risks, the behaviors associated with alcohol, and… More >>
An Uncommon Drunk: Revelations of a High-Functioning Alcoholic
Comments
Wow! This brings up a lot interesting views and opinions on today’s society and our social acceptance of alcoholism. I think it is a great read for all ages, especially young folks.
Rating: 5 / 5
The profound honesty and humility Dr. Herten expressed in his book, An Uncommon Drunk, has a power all of its own. Just to read it is an uplifting experience, for it takes great courage to reveal such information on a personal level. Each individual body has its own way of processing the physiological effects of any substance and what Dr. Herten knew was that he was not at his best when using alcohol. He did not achieve at the educational and professional level without effort. An Uncommon Drunk is one more example of Dr. Herten’s desire to do his best. Bravo!
Rating: 5 / 5
Herten’s truly edifying and useful tome has the outward appearance of Chuck Chamberlain’s =A New Pair of Glasses= and AA’s own =Living Sober=. The book looks like the umpteenth reprenting of something forty or fifty years old. But judging =this= book by its cover would indeed be unfortunate.
Herten’s written a fine self-revelation that’s also a stiff dose of millennial-era physiological reality as well as an illuminating polemic against Big Booze. Some of the chapters read like Sherwin Nuland’s =How We Die= and Bruce Perry’s =The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog=, which is to say “luridly.” But, as is the case with those two books, the author is a renowned expert on his topic, and the factual base here is rock solid.
The stimulation-seeker will =not= be disappointed. =AUD= is a series of discrete essays about Herten’s personal encounters with the tragic consequences of substance abuse. As with =HWD= and =TBWWRAAD=, =AUD=’s organization and right-here-on-the-front-lines style make it an easy, as well as engrossing, read for alkies in denial, contemplation, acceptance, commitment and relapse prevention, as well as family members and others in any of those five stages of recovery.
There’s plenty of meat here for the alanon, the codependent, the adult child of the alcoholic, the concerned coworker, the spiritual advisor, the sponsor, the social worker, the substance abuse counselor, the addictions therapist and the addiction medicine physician. (I’m in there in several places.)
Herten’s reframing of wine-tasting and the sophisticated marketing of alcoholic beverages to unsuspecting yuppies, codependents and other approval-seeking “herd animals” is worth the price of admission all by itself. (The “AdBusters” crowd will love this thing.)
Don’t expect a rundown of =various= treatment methods, however. The author comes from “disease model” and 12 Step recovery, which is fine, because for many, the disease model and 12 Step recovery works well. That said, those who come from psychodynamic, behavioralistic, cognitive and/or neuropsychological models and treatment schemes will still benefit from the material here.
RG, Psy.D.
Rating: 5 / 5
I thought this book had a lot of good information on the health consequences of drinking alcohol. However, I would hardly call the Doctor an alcoholic – 2-4 beers a day, 6 days a week?? I would consider this a habit, not so different than eating dessert 6 times a week. Anyone who can eliminate withdrawal symptoms by eating a few carrots or drinking a glass of milk, is most certainly not addicted to alcohol.
I’m glad I read the book. The stories were interesting and I learned a lot, but I resent the fact that he makes it seem like quitting was so easy, anyone can do it – just eat your carrots and say a few prayers and God will send the withdrawal and craving away.
Rating: 3 / 5
Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (11/06)
The author, Dr. Jeff Herten, writes “An Uncommon Drunk” from two main perspectives. The first is based upon his own experience as a functioning alcoholic. The second is based upon his experience and knowledge as a medical doctor. The amount of medical information that he provides about the damage that alcohol causes to our bodies is incredible. I have a Master of Science degree in Rehabilitation Counseling and I learned more in this book about the physiologically damaging effects of alcohol than I did during my entire program. The alcohol industry does a lot to make alcohol appear benign, but really it is a dangerous poison for our bodies.
His experience as a functioning alcoholic is scary. He indicates that there are a lot more functioning alcoholics operating in our community than we realize. These people might be medical doctors or corporate leaders. They are in positions that put us at risk. He also notes that a functioning alcoholic can easily switch into a non-functioning alcoholic role. I personally witnessed this when the President of a community hospital system in central California made the transition from being an administrator into being a homeless vagrant.
In addition to sharing his own personal experience with alcoholism, Herten also writes about other peoples experiences. It is really sad how many lives have been damaged and destroyed from addiction to this substance. Alcoholism doesn’t just affect the abusers life, but also the lives of those around him. These people include spouses, children, employees, and innocent bystanders. It is really an insidious problem.
The information that I gained from reading this book really opened my eyes about an intervention that I needed to do with a functioning alcoholic that is close to me. If I carry this knowledge in me, and don’t tell this person what I learned about the health problems that he has coming his way, then I continue to enable him. At 4:30am, after I caught him finishing up a Bloody Mary, I started talking about how his health problems and weight problems are being contributed to by the incredible amount of alcohol that he is consuming. Unfortunately, the response that I got was a question about what alcohol has fewer calories. I will keep referring to this book for more information to help me wake him up. He needs to realize that if you are grossly obese and can see your liver, you have a problem.
“An Uncommon Drunk” should be read by alcoholics, their families, substance abuse counselors, doctors, future parents, and students. I can’t imagine anyone that would not benefit from this book, except cultures that do not drink. A person in denial would definitely have a harder time staying in denial after reading this story. A functioning alcoholic is a person that drinks frequently, yet still seems to have a good life. It is easier for a functioning alcoholic to be in denial, than non-functioning alcoholic. After they read this book, it won’t be so easy.
Rating: 5 / 5