Drinking to Distraction - Softcover

Hollenstein, Jenna

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1483405117 ISBN 13: 9781483405117

Publisher: Lulu Publishing Services, 2013

Synopsis

She never drove or worked drunk, never injured herself or someone else, never woke up next to a strange man, was fired, went bankrupt, or became homeless because of her drinking. But for years Jenna Hollenstein worried that she was using alcohol for the wrong reasons. Though it didn't cause her to spiral out of control, drinking seemed to be detracting from her life in subtler ways: missed opportunities, unaddressed fears, challenges not taken, relationships not cherished, and creativity unexplored. Rather than a series of dramatic events often associated with alcoholism, her decision to stop drinking was based on years of introspection, pros and cons lists, and conversations with friends, family, and a wise therapist. Though she never "hit bottom," Hollenstein eventually realized that drinking was not enhancing her life: it was distracting her from it.

About this title

Review:

"DRINKING TO DISTRACTION is a well-written memoir dealing with the internal landscape of high functioning alcoholism. It is an important work in that it deals with the pain and insecurity of this rarely mentioned type of addiction." -IndieReader

"Hollenstein...makes it clear from the start that her book has none of the drama of typical addiction memoirs...instead, she focuses on her slow realization that "[a]lcohol numbed both [her] pain and [her] joy." This quiet process of introspection...proves to be just as engaging as any tale of alcohol-induced havoc...Her story is a refreshing antidote to the sensational tales of salvation that are so common in personal-transformation memoirs."
-Kirkus Reviews

"Drinking to Distraction is an alcoholism memoir of unusual perceptiveness, clarity, subtlety, and honesty. Jenna Hollenstein brings us directly into her process--from denial through rationalization, justification and symptom substitution, explorations of recovery, relationships, and spirituality--to penetrating the core emotions which maintained her addiction and her suffering. It is a journey of enormous courage, and by illuminating her own roadmap to self-acceptance and freedom, she has inspired each of us to find our own."
~Lawrence Peltz, MD, author of The Mindful Path to Addiction Recovery: A Practical Guide to Regaining Control over Your Life

"Drinking to Distraction is a thought-provoking exploration of how one woman's ambivalent relationship with alcohol impacts each area of her life. For many gray-area drinkers--those who don't identify as alcoholics, whose boozing hasn't precipitated disaster, but who feel concern all the same--the author's open-minded pursuit of positive change will resonate."
~Will Godfrey, former Editor in Chief of TheFix.com

About this edition

• Publisher: Lulu Publishing Services
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1483405117
• ISBN 13: 9781483405117
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 96