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An Uncommon Drunk: Revelations of a High-Functioning Alcoholic | 
| Author: M.d., Jeff Herten
Publisher: iUniverse, Inc.
Category: Book
List Price: $18.95
Buy New: $17.05
You Save: $1.90 (10%)
Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 230978
Media: Paperback
Edition: 0
Pages: 232
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 5.8 x 0.7
ISBN: 059537994X
Dewey Decimal Number: 362
EAN: 9780595379941
ASIN: 059537994X
Publication Date: May 22, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
For nearly thirty years, author Dr. Jeff Herten was a high-functioning alcoholicone who drinks every day, yet continues to lead a productive, successful life. Now he shares his first-hand knowledge of how alcohol can destroy livesas it nearly destroyed his. Alcohol is the single greatest social ill in the United States. It affects us not only emotionally but physically. Alcohol may lead to deadly cancers of the breast, colon, esophagus, and liver. It rots our bones, corrodes our stomach lining, erodes our memories, and suppresses our immune systems. An Uncommon Drunk explores the numerous facets of alcohol consumption in the United States, including the risks, the behaviors associated with alcohol, and the innocent victims of alcohol abuse. But it also offers hope for those wishing to become sober and recommends resources to help them turn their lives around. Frank and honest, An Uncommon Drunk is a must-read for every spouse, parent, child, employer, physician, and counselor whose life is touched by alcohol. It may be just the wake-up call you need.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
 A Power of Its Own June 14, 2008
C. E. Norton (Sun Lakes, AZ United States)
The profound honesty and humility Dr. Herten expressed in his book, An Uncommon Drunk, has a power all of its own. Just to read it is an uplifting experience, for it takes great courage to reveal such information on a personal level. Each individual body has its own way of processing the physiological effects of any substance and what Dr. Herten knew was that he was not at his best when using alcohol. He did not achieve at the educational and professional level without effort. An Uncommon Drunk is one more example of Dr. Herten's desire to do his best. Bravo!
Are you an Alcoholic? This book will help you decide. January 24, 2008
Michael Z www.TheWisdomoftheRooms.com (Woodland Hills, CA USA)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
What a great tool this is for helping you to decide whether or not you have a problem with alcohol. Alcoholism is a cunning, baffling and powerful disease, and the only one that tells you you don't have it! Because it can be so difficult to diagnose, it is very helpful to have books like these that can share a story and experience that you may relate to. Bottom line is that not all alcoholics have lost everything and are living in the gutter. They may be living in the house next to you driving that new car, or they could be your boss. Or they could be you. Great book to help you find out.
Michael Z, Author The Wisdom of the Rooms A Year of Weekly Reflections
 Refreshingly honest - the truth will set you free..... January 3, 2007
G-Dude (Hartford, CT USA)
26 out of 30 found this review helpful
I have struggled with the question of whether I have had a drinking problem for the past several years, and if so, to what extent. After all, I don't wake up in the morning and reach for a hair of the dog that bit me. I've never missed work, never been stopped for drinking and driving (although that was sheer luck at times), and never beat up on my wife or kids in a drunken rage. The problem is, we have all been fed this extreme portrait of what makes an alcoholic, and it makes it all to easy for many of us to deny that we have a problem. Deep down inside, though, we know that we are addicted to our daily dose of liquor - no matter how small, or whether it comes in the seemingly inoccuous form of beer, wine, or the hard stuff. Then again, there are so many reports that come out every so often, touting the benefits of having just the right amount of booze on a daily basis. Here's the real skinny: THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A HEALTHY AMOUNT OF BOOZE ON A DAILY BASIS!!!
The truth is, there are many of us who aren't necessarily born to be hard wired drunks, but we fall into a daily drinking habit through learned social patterns. It sneaks up on us, and our inner voices deceive us when we try to stop. This book is refreshing, because it talks to those of us in this boat, and I was certainly one of them. For fourteen years, I hardly ever went a day without drinking several glasses of wine, at a bare minimum. I woke up nearly every day hung over to at least a certain extent, but found myself reaching for a drink again the minute I got home from work. I've successfully held a job all these years, but very little otherwise got accomplished in my life.
The bare honest truth is, alcohol diminishes the human spirit. There are some of us who can function better while drunk or intoxicated than others, but we all eventually succumb to its effects - and usually recognize it only when it's too late.
By exposing this truth and helping me to see the symptoms of my own addiction, this book has convinced me to get sober. It's been nearly 3 months since I've had a drink. I wake up feeling the best I have in years, and I'm a hundred percent sharper and more productive at work. I'm more engaged with my kids, and I stay up late at night getting things done at home that I never would have imagined doing before. Like the author, I haven't yet attended an AA meeting. I'm not sure that AA is for everyone, although I can relate to those who feel that they need to go there for support and guidance. For me, reading this book was enough. I guess I'm an "uncommon drunk" myself.
I can't recommend this book highly enough. I also recommend Pete Hamils' "A Drinking Life."
An eye-opener November 25, 2006
Reader Views (Austin, Texas)
11 out of 13 found this review helpful
Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (11/06)
The author, Dr. Jeff Herten, writes "An Uncommon Drunk" from two main perspectives. The first is based upon his own experience as a functioning alcoholic. The second is based upon his experience and knowledge as a medical doctor. The amount of medical information that he provides about the damage that alcohol causes to our bodies is incredible. I have a Master of Science degree in Rehabilitation Counseling and I learned more in this book about the physiologically damaging effects of alcohol than I did during my entire program. The alcohol industry does a lot to make alcohol appear benign, but really it is a dangerous poison for our bodies.
His experience as a functioning alcoholic is scary. He indicates that there are a lot more functioning alcoholics operating in our community than we realize. These people might be medical doctors or corporate leaders. They are in positions that put us at risk. He also notes that a functioning alcoholic can easily switch into a non-functioning alcoholic role. I personally witnessed this when the President of a community hospital system in central California made the transition from being an administrator into being a homeless vagrant.
In addition to sharing his own personal experience with alcoholism, Herten also writes about other peoples experiences. It is really sad how many lives have been damaged and destroyed from addiction to this substance. Alcoholism doesn't just affect the abusers life, but also the lives of those around him. These people include spouses, children, employees, and innocent bystanders. It is really an insidious problem.
The information that I gained from reading this book really opened my eyes about an intervention that I needed to do with a functioning alcoholic that is close to me. If I carry this knowledge in me, and don't tell this person what I learned about the health problems that he has coming his way, then I continue to enable him. At 4:30am, after I caught him finishing up a Bloody Mary, I started talking about how his health problems and weight problems are being contributed to by the incredible amount of alcohol that he is consuming. Unfortunately, the response that I got was a question about what alcohol has fewer calories. I will keep referring to this book for more information to help me wake him up. He needs to realize that if you are grossly obese and can see your liver, you have a problem.
"An Uncommon Drunk" should be read by alcoholics, their families, substance abuse counselors, doctors, future parents, and students. I can't imagine anyone that would not benefit from this book, except cultures that do not drink. A person in denial would definitely have a harder time staying in denial after reading this story. A functioning alcoholic is a person that drinks frequently, yet still seems to have a good life. It is easier for a functioning alcoholic to be in denial, than non-functioning alcoholic. After they read this book, it won't be so easy.
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