The Alcoholism and Addiction Cure: A Holistic Approach to Total Recovery

I'm watching CNN Sunday morning, and every commercial seems to be for this book, so I read up on it. It really doesn't matter why a person started drinking to excess - what matters is: don't take the first drink. Speculating about underlying causes is akin to having a poison arrow in your side that needs to be removed, and you are wasting time trying to decide who shot the arrow, who made the shaft, feathers, what kind of bow it was shot from etc. Meanwhile the poison is killing you. (Thanks to the Buddha for this metaphor). The first thing is: don't take the first drink!!

You know, I've never really swallowed the idea that alcoholism is a 'dis-ease' and that someone struggling with addiction is 'powerless' over anything...my husband has been battling addiction for 10 years and I've always believed that there was an underlying cause that made him want to 'medicate' himself but had never found any major supporter of the idea until this book was released. It's like an AH-HA moment for those of us that believe in our own power. I've fought for years with my husband's fellow 'recovering addicts'; some of which have been sober for 15 years, that it's a choice, not an illness. When someone offers you that drug, bottle of beer, or whatever tool you've used, you have the choice to say 'yes, I'll take it' or 'no, thank you.' To me it's always been that simple...so you are NOT powerless...you HAVE the power to say yes or no. This book opened up the realm of self power to let me (and my husband) take back the responsibility for his actions...which, in itself, has begun the healing process; he's no longer a 'victim' of a dis-ease. We can't afford a place like Passages, nor can we afford all of the healers that they recommend; however, the mind is the MOST powerful of all healers and we have the power to heal ourselves once our plane of thinking has been opened. WE WILL SUCCEED!

I highly recommend this book to ANYONE that has been to AA but does not feel confident with its "give it to God" concept of lack of self-control; for you are the ones that 'know' deep down inside that there's more to this than a diagnosis of a dis-ease. READ THIS BOOK! Then continue on your path to soul search and find that hidden hurt that's taken you to this place. Set yourself free.


I am truly grateful to these two men for writing and publishing this book. They are true angels.

I was trained in, arguably, the best psyc think tank in the world. This book's TV promotion piqued my curiosity. In fact, it offers nothing in the way of, "What you, yourself, can do" or any practical approach available to most people looking to help someone with any sort of addiction/dependency. Although a reasonably interesting read, it is shameless self promotion advocating a course of treatment requiring ridiculous expense through a multimodal approach with no explanation as to how the various parts work together, and certainly no scientific or controlled basis supporting the author's claims.

It's extremely high-priced, completely unsupported, pop psychology at it's worst preying on those most desperate. As much as I dislike AA's 12 step program, it is far more solidly grounded. Don't waste your time or hard-earned money on the book.

I have not read this book and likely will not read it. I cannot believe that any thinking (or mixed-up, addicted) person would read anywhere beyond being advised to hire all these practitioners or ask for free treatment. Folks in Malibu may be able to afford this treatment, but the vast majority of alcoholics and addicts couldn't even dream of it. And why would someone so deeply interested in sharing his suggestions for recovery possibly charge this kind of money? If you're wondering, don't doubt your gut instinct. Get a good therapist that you can afford or one who is on your health plan, go to AA, and learn some cognitive techniques to help you change your thinking. May recovery, health, and peace be yours.

This book and the Passages Malibu Program are awesome. Chris Prentiss along with his Son Pax have the guts to stand up and speak out about the miserable failures of the old paradigm of alcohol and drug treatment programs. Their program is a bold step forward into the treatment of addictions and self sabbotaging behavior. There will be the old detractors who will scream from the mountain tops that this book and it's ideas are heresy, but that's because the old 12 Step model of addiction being a disease has now been proven false and people are getting cured and free from the recovery cults.

Roger D. Thompson. B.Msc. C.Ht.