REVIEWS OF BOOK: STOP ENABLING ALCOHOLIC AND DRUG ADDICTS

COPIED AND PASTED (PAPERBACK) REVIEWS DIRECTLY FROM AMAZON WEBSITE.  Available in both the paperback and Kindle edition.  5.0 out of 5 stars One of only a few items to help Enablers on Amazon!, June 21, 2013 By Shortcake - See all my reviews Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?) This review is from: Stop Enabling Alcoholic and Drug Addicts: Helping an addict can be harmful if it allows them to continue spiraling downward in their addiction. (Volume 1) (Paperback) A young wife and mother approached me for help and I recognized she was unknowingly being an enabler for her husband's addiction and his deadbeat Dad behavior. This was among only a few items from Amazon which offered any help to recognize when you are unknowingly being an enabler--the rest were all about general codependency jargon. The title says it all... one needs to recognize when what you think is HELPING is actually HARMFUL and it's harder for them to get motivated to break out of that downward spiral! So many of the other selections I bought first wasted so much time praising the program instead of giving practical advice... But here are the OTHER two items from Amazon I also found helpful for an enabler: 1) A DVD: The 10 Toughest Questions Families and Friends Ask About Addiction and Recovery (LOVED this DVD... It didn't take a long time to dance around the issue--was to the point and straightforward. The best part is that she could pull up the 10 questions in the menu, then right away go to the one you most need the answer to, then watch the rest later.) 2) The Enabler: When Helping Hurts the Ones You Love The above three items were the only decent things I could find on Amazon about enabling. The rest were too much blah blah blah info about co-dependency which strayed too much from the point to actually help an enabler. I'd start out with the above three if you're dealing with enabling, then if you want to read more technical or broader info on co-dependency, then expand your selection. But, I couldn't get very far in any of the other books, truly. I wish Amazon offered more books on enabling, such as the little gem I read years ago from Al-anon; but I don't remember the name. (I tried other Al-anon items from Amazon that were not helpful.) 5.0 out of 5 stars What an eye opener..., January 2, 2013 By Edith S. Lebrun - See all my reviews (REAL NAME) Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?) This review is from: Stop Enabling Alcoholic and Drug Addicts: Helping an addict can be harmful if it allows them to continue spiraling downward in their addiction. (Volume 1) (Paperback) I ordered this book after an epiphany this past October. I never realized that helping a family member (several, infact!) that I was setting myself up for such a major disappointment. I've felt like such a failure. I am an RN, I help people in my practice...but I now know that my family needs to help themselves. If you look up enabler in the dictionary, you'll find my picture. This book is a wonderful tool and real eye opener. Thank you, Audrey Phillips!!!