Publisher Description

With skill and compassion, Sarah Hafner, a recovering alcoholic, elicits from 18 women their struggles and triumphs as they fought alcoholism in a society where women cross-section of women, Hafner makes readily available the identification process found so helpful in various recovery programs. These stories reveal the personal side of a disease that afflicts approximately 10.5 million Americans, nearly half of them women, and directly affects many millions more.Nice Girls Don't Drink invites us into the lives of women from all segments of our society--rich and poor, gay and straight, women in diverse ethnic groups and a variety of occupations. Housewives, salesclerks, counselors, and artists are here together telling of a disease that transcends the distinctions of class, education, and culture. With courage, candor, and even flashes of humor, the women recount the early influences that led to their addiction, often including alcoholic or abusive parents; how alcoholism took over their lives; crucial turning points; and the recovery that enabled them to reclaim their dignity. The book guides readers to sources of help, and lists the twelve steps of Alcoholics Anonymous and the thirteen affirmations of Women for Sobriety. A monument to the resilience of the human spirit, Nice Girls Don't Drink is a source of inspiration for the female alcoholic, but more generally, it is for anyone struggling to overcome an addiction or other handicap with the goal of living a more complete life.

Author Biography

SARAH HAFNER is a writer and artist. She attended Amherst College and Pratt Institute, and now resides in Northampton, Massachusetts, where she is at work on her second book.

Table of Contents

IntroductionMaking it Through the NightAbuseIdentity: Searching for a VoiceIn LoveSelf WorthNice Girls Don't DrinkResources

Review

"Hurrah for Hafner!"-Dr. Jean Kirkpatrick Executive Director Women for Sobriety
"The resounding message we get from the excruciatingly eloquent voices in this book is that women alcoholics have needs that society is not heeding, and certainly not addressing. Perhaps the underlying theme--which echoes long after the reader puts the book down--is that alcoholism itself may be more symptom than disease, and that the real devastation of these women's lives is an absence of self-worth. Nice Girls Don't Drink is a cry for help we dare not ignore."-Phyllis Hobe Author of Lovebound: Recovering from an Alcoholic Family
?. . . these accounts of blackouts, bloating, the DTs, and mental illness may give sufferers of the disease the encouragement they need to find help. Of particular interest is Dr. Jean Kirkpatrick's own story and her conclusion that women alcoholics need a different type of recovery program than men do, which led her to organize Women for Sobriety. But there are as many versions of recovery as there are human beings, and other women are satisfied with the AA method. Hafner doesn't take sides. She simply presents the stories and offers hope. Appended material includes Where to Go for Help, ' The 12 Steps of AA, ' and Thirteen Affirmations of Women for Sobriety.'?-Booklist
?. . . Hafner has reached out to eighteen recovered alcoholic women . . . through her book, Nice Girls Don't Drink. Their stories are painful, even brutal, yet ultimately inspiring, recorded in voices unmarred by psychobabble or sociological generalizations.?-New Directions for Women
?Harner, a recovering alcoholic herself, compiled these interviews with 20 recovering women alcoholics because she felt that they could serve as examples and their voices needed to be heard. . . The stories her subjects tell, harrowing yet hopeful, partially confirm her theory that its different for women. Many women alcoholics, like men, have abusive and alcoholic parents, but other factors, like addictions to food and Valium, seem more common among women drinkers. . . Of several voices for a women-oriented recovery approach, the strongest is that of Jean Kirkpatrick, founder of the 30,000-member Women for Sobriety, which aims to give women some empowerment. In AA, she notes, "the basis is humility," which women already have in sufficient quantity.?-Publishers Weekly
." . . these accounts of blackouts, bloating, the DTs, and mental illness may give sufferers of the disease the encouragement they need to find help. Of particular interest is Dr. Jean Kirkpatrick's own story and her conclusion that women alcoholics need a different type of recovery program than men do, which led her to organize Women for Sobriety. But there are as many versions of recovery as there are human beings, and other women are satisfied with the AA method. Hafner doesn't take sides. She simply presents the stories and offers hope. Appended material includes Where to Go for Help, ' The 12 Steps of AA, ' and Thirteen Affirmations of Women for Sobriety.'"-Booklist
." . . Hafner has reached out to eighteen recovered alcoholic women . . . through her book, Nice Girls Don't Drink. Their stories are painful, even brutal, yet ultimately inspiring, recorded in voices unmarred by psychobabble or sociological generalizations."-New Directions for Women
"Harner, a recovering alcoholic herself, compiled these interviews with 20 recovering women alcoholics because she felt that they could serve as examples and their voices needed to be heard. . . The stories her subjects tell, harrowing yet hopeful, partially confirm her theory that its different for women. Many women alcoholics, like men, have abusive and alcoholic parents, but other factors, like addictions to food and Valium, seem more common among women drinkers. . . Of several voices for a women-oriented recovery approach, the strongest is that of Jean Kirkpatrick, founder of the 30,000-member Women for Sobriety, which aims to give women some empowerment. In AA, she notes, "the basis is humility," which women already have in sufficient quantity."-Publishers Weekly

Promotional

In this unique and inspirational book, the voices of recovering women alcoholics speak out. Hafner, a recovering alcoholic herself, has elicited the personal struggles and triumphs of a diverse group of women confronting alcoholism.

Long Description

With skill and compassion, Sarah Hafner, a recovering alcoholic, elicits from 18 women their struggles and triumphs as they fought alcoholism in a society where women cross-section of women, Hafner makes readily available the identification process found so helpful in various recovery programs. These stories reveal the personal side of a disease that afflicts approximately 10.5 million Americans, nearly half of them women, and directly affects many millions more. Nice Girls Don't Drink invites us into the lives of women from all segments of our society--rich and poor, gay and straight, women in diverse ethnic groups and a variety of occupations. Housewives, salesclerks, counselors, and artists are here together telling of a disease that transcends the distinctions of class, education, and culture. With courage, candor, and even flashes of humor, the women recount the early influences that led to their addiction, often including alcoholic or abusive parents; how alcoholism took over their lives; crucial turning points; and the recovery that enabled them to reclaim their dignity. The book guides readers to sources of help, and lists the twelve steps of Alcoholics Anonymous and the thirteen affirmations of Women for Sobriety. A monument to the resilience of the human spirit, Nice Girls Don't Drink is a source of inspiration for the female alcoholic, but more generally, it is for anyone struggling to overcome an addiction or other handicap with the goal of living a more complete life.

Review Quote

". . . these accounts of blackouts, bloating, the DTs, and mental illness may give sufferers of the disease the encouragement they need to find help. Of particular interest is Dr. Jean Kirkpatrick's own story and her conclusion that women alcoholics need a different type of recovery program than men do, which led her to organize Women for Sobriety. But there are as many versions of recovery as there are human beings, and other women are satisfied with the AA method. Hafner doesn't take sides. She simply presents the stories and offers hope. Appended material includes 'Where to Go for Help,' 'The 12 Steps of AA,' and 'Thirteen Affirmations of Women for Sobriety.'"- Booklist

Promotional "Headline"

In this unique and inspirational book, the voices of recovering women alcoholics speak out. Hafner, a recovering alcoholic herself, has elicited the personal struggles and triumphs of a diverse group of women confronting alcoholism.

Details