Summary
If You Loved Me, You’d Stop! What You Really Need To Know When Your Loved One Drinks Too Much combines the most current brain research on alcoholism and alcohol abuse with Lisa Frederiksen’s decades-long experience in dealing with these family problems. By explaining this research from the perspective of someone who has personally survived the ravages of a loved one’s drinking, Ms. Frederiksen offers fresh hope for the more than 50 percent of Americans (and the one in four children) who have a family member with a drinking problem. Though it is a slim volume at less than 120 pages, this book nevertheless addresses a host of issues surrounding alcoholism and alcohol abuse, including co-addictions, DUIs (DWIs), underage drinking, dual diagnosis, codependency, and, importantly, the characteristics that distinguish alcoholism from alcohol abuse (excessive drinking). The book also contains numerous appendices containing references and suggestions for each issue addressed in the book. Frederiksen’s book targets those who know their loved one drinks too much and believe that if they can just get them to stop, life will return to “normal.” The target markets also include pediatricians, internists, domestic violence center employees and volunteers, mental health professionals, alcoholics, alcohol abusers, law and public policy makers, treatment center personnel, family law attorneys and child protective services personnel. As a reviewed author and nationally-recognized speaker, Ms. Frederiksen plans to use her influence to not only inspire individual readers, but also to change the national culture of denial that allows the problem of alcoholism and alcohol abuse to continue plaguing families. Just as new research and grassroots action made bike helmets, children’s car seats, and “no smoking” signs commonplace, so too can attitudes and social assumptions about drinking be changed to create a healthier environment for everyone. To that end, Ms. Frederiksen has launched her website www.breakingthecycles.com to start a dialog to shift (and in some cases simply start) the conversations around these important issues.
About the Author
Lisa Frederiksen’s story goes beyond her decades-long experience with family alcoholism and alcohol abuse. She has published six books (under her previous last name), including Women’s Rights and Nothing Less, the Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton; Freedom Cannot Rest, Ella Baker and the Civil Rights Movement; and Women’s Work, the Story of Betty Friedan, as well as numerous articles on a wide-range of topics, including voting and empowerment, careers, workplace issues and public school financing. Frederiksen earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of California at Davis in 1975 and worked during the subsequent twenty-year period in executive management positions. In 1996, she started her own consulting business to companies and nonprofit groups while pursing a long-held dream of writing for publication and speaking on the subjects of her work. She lives in northern California.
Reviews
"Ms. Frederiksen has written a book that not only reinforces what we know or don’t care to know about a loved one who drinks, but she also includes her own experiences as an individual who has a history of alcoholism in the family. In a clear, easytoread book, the author clearly differentiates between alcohol use and abuse." Read More ...
- Carol Hoyer, PhD, for Reader Views
". . . It answers so many questions - Lisa's understanding of the disease, her understanding of alcohol abuse and codependency and the way she presents it - it's just really a fine piece of work!"
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Caroll Fowler, M.A., MFT, Director of the Family Program at The Sequoia Center.
"... a must-read for anyone whose life has been touched by alcoholism. You'll never see this addiction in the same light again!"
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Beth Wilson, Integrative Life Coach and best-selling author, He's Just No Good For Me: A Guide to Leaving Destructive Relationships
"If You Loved Me, You'd Stop!" does not pretend to have all the answers. Rather, its focus is to help you think about the issues involved when someone you love has a problem with alcohol...."
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Cathy Fleischman, RN, MSN
"... an excellent read for anyone affected by a loved one's drinking. Thorough research, practical advice and a non-judgmental tone carry throughout. . . Lisa presents the latest research on alcoholism, alcohol abuse, codependency and recovery against the backdrop of her own decades-long experiences . . ."
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Jim Hutt, Ph.D., MFT
"If You Loved Me, You'd Stop! is about helping the spouse (or sibling) of an alcoholic survive and move forward as a whole person, with their dignity intact."
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Jim Johnston
"Neither in my practice nor my own search for answers about alcoholism, excessive drinking and codependency have I found a book like this..."
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Cherie Zappas Tannenbaum, Nurse Practitioner
"Wow, even after 14 years in Alanon, I was stunned by how much I learned from Lisa's book - she provides straight-talking explanations about alcoholism, alcohol abuse, alcohol use, underage drinking and more. I've never found a book like this one ... short and to the point, reads like a novel, packed with information and hope. It's sure to help anyone who has a loved one who drinks too much."
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Joan A. |
