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Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/alcalc/article-abstract/41/6/682/157651 by DeepDyve user on 12 March 2020 682 BOOK REVIEWS carried out by the Home Office at the end of the 1990s found a self-consciousness and anxiety which is the experience of significant 24% fall in alcohol-related crime over the years, many teenagers finding their way in the world. but no single example of a victim being hit by a weapon was Sadly, the author lurches from one bad experience to recorded’ (italics emphasis added). Tell that to hard-pressed another, passing out in a pool of vomit and waking in staff in hospital emergency departments. hospital, suicidal depression, being sexually exploited, losing A fascinating chapter on the role of intoxication in friendships and boyfriends. The reader feels the harrowing responsibility for crimes illustrates how complex the issues inevitability of looming disasters but is left wondering why are. Arguments range from mitigation—the defendant was Koren appears unable to prevent these occurring. unaware of the intention to commit a crime—to aggravation The book ends with a period of abstinence where the author because of culpability and the need for protection of the starts work in New York and finds a steady relationship. She public, which the author seems to favour. The final chapter admits to a continuous struggle with worry and self-doubt on sentencing, before his concluding remarks, is pessimistic and makes no promises to maintain an alcohol-free existence, about the role of detoxification units and rehabilitation, though but is now able to recognize the damage caused by alcohol. new guidelines from the Sentencing Advisory Panel (2004) She does not attach a label to herself as ‘alcoholic’ nor does may help. she seek medical treatment or the support of Alcoholics Dingwall, an academic lawyer, writes about complex Anonymous. She is one of the many alcohol abusers who scientific and legal arguments with a clarity that will astonish stop spontaneously without traditional interventions and anyone who has had to translate a legal document into English. hopefully go on to lead normal lives. Minor irritations could have been prevented by an alert editor: The subject nature of this book makes it disturbing but it data are plural; ‘comprised of’ is ugly; page numbers of offers an interesting insight into the thoughts and feelings references are scattered throughout the text instead of being of a young person caught in the throes of substance misuse. firmly kept in their place in References. Otherwise his account reads like a good detective story. NICOLA JACKSON ALEX PATON doi:10.1093/alcalc/agl064 Controlling Your Drinking: Tools to Make Moderation doi:10.1093/alcalc/agl063 Work for You. By W. R. Miller and R. F. Munoz. Smashed—Growing Up a Drunk Girl. By Koren Zailckas. Guilford Press, New York, 2005. £14. 225pgs, sb. ISBN 1 Ebury Press, UK, 2005. £12.99. ISBN 0 091 90559 1. 5720 903 2. The book is a reflective account of the drinking career of the author from the age of 14–21. The irony being she reached The first self-help guide by the authors was published in 1975. a decision to remain abstinent at an age when she should Their current manual embodies modifications derived from just be beginning to drink legally in America. The description their researches and practical experience. of the 7 years leading to this decision present a harrow- They consider that their approach is as effective from out- ing spiral of binge-drinking and its increasingly alarming patient professional help. The book notes that persons most consequences. likely to achieve moderate drinking have alcohol problems The author also provides insight into the American child- which minimally disrupt their lives, possess little family his- hood experience from summer vacations to high school tory of severe drinking difficulties, retain alcohol problems and on to college with its sorority houses and initiation for <10 years and lack withdrawal symptoms. Controlled rituals. The majority of the book is written in the first person drinking is not recommended during pregnancy, with a medi- although on occasions citations and statistics are quoted. cal condition exacerbated by alcohol, with violence induced Whilst usually relevant to what is happening, these tend to by drinking, during consumption of sedatives or other drugs interrupt the flow and also show a level of insight that she which react unfavourably with alcohol, and finally when patently did not have whilst in the midst of her alcohol- abstinence has prolonged for a year or more. induced chaos. An example of this is when she first goes Readers are asked to set a limit to the maximum blood to college she writes, ‘Three quarters of students may report alcohol level they wish to reach. Precise advice is given on having bad experiences due to somebody else’s drinking’, levels obtained by the US standard drinks containing 15 ml which is taken from a Harvard School of Public Health of ethanol. Infrequent forays above the settled maximum are alcohol study. Whilst informative, this delivery of facts jars allowed; permanent perfection is not expected. A drinking with other more effective and poignant descriptions which diary is essential: extensive information is given on reducing describe her own personal experience. She depicts her own the number of drinking occasions and limiting intake when it room-mate who ‘shrivels like a jewellery box figure and occurs. leaves’ when she encounters her drunk again. The manual contains simple information that is not widely What shines through in the book is the puzzling nature known. Members of a drinking group imbibe with the fastest, of alcohol abuse. There is no obvious trigger for this destruc- not the slowest, member. Moderate drinkers usually take tive lifestyle—no major life crises, no physical or sexual 20–30 min for a drink, then slow down after the first drink abuse, no family history of substance abuse—just the acute or two. Despite changing to a weaker beverage people come
Alcohol and Alcoholism – Oxford University Press
Published: Nov 1, 2006
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