Love and Sobriety

As a psychotherapist, I have been confronted with the personal and family problems brought about by Jellineck's disease, the disease of alcohol. The myth of alcoholism that its victims are weak-willed, selfish and rarely treatable is dispelled in this sensitive, painful and true story of how a recovered alcoholic struggled to come to grips with this debilitating illness and succeeded. The victims of Jellineck's disease are often ignored by professionals and as a result, their lives are...
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As a psychotherapist, I have been confronted with the personal and family problems brought about by Jellineck's disease, the disease of alcohol. The myth of alcoholism that its victims are weak-willed, selfish and rarely treatable is dispelled in this sensitive, painful and true story of how a recovered alcoholic struggled to come to grips with this debilitating illness and succeeded. The victims of Jellineck's disease are often ignored by professionals and as a result, their lives are filled with shame and neglect. The negative and moral implications of this denial are well known and thus help for these victims is inconsistent and often tainted with such hopelessness that change is impossible. I am convinced that recovery for many will not occur until such myths are dispelled. This work of Love and Sobriety will go a long way towards demystifying alcoholism. It contains insights into the thinking and emotional life of an alcoholic. It will serve not only as a source of help for the individual and family confronting this illness, but also the professionals who are hampered in their efforts due to a lack of knowledge and insight into the alcoholic's downward journey from life to the darkness of blackouts and despair. This personal account takes us into that blackness and also leads us back to a life without alcohol, to sobriety, and for those who succeed like John, to happiness. The majority of alcoholics, from 90 to 95 percent, do not make the journey back because we have failed to treat alcoholism as a disease. There is now scientific evidence that alcoholics are genetically predisposed to this disease and that blood chemistry and brain electricity demonstrate a pathological response to imbibing alcohol. This is a beginning but there is a long way to go.