If you think you might have a problem with alcohol, don't let anyone put you off reading this book. It could change your life.
I stopped smoking (30+ a day) with Allen 10 years ago and never looked back. In fact, when I first spotted the alcohol book I was actually quite scared to buy it! I knew it might work and I wasn't quite ready to relinquish my precious Chablis 'habit'. I'm so glad I did.
It's hard to summarise the book in a review, so I'll just concentrate on the effect it's had on me, which is probably far more useful anyway.
I stopped drinking at the beginning of January (after some 20 years of over-indulgence). I haven't been tempted to drink even once since then. And I feel absolutely fantastic! Totally liberated. The weight's falling off me (and I've been eating for England) I look years younger, I'm more positive, my self esteem (absent for so long) is finally back. And my natural drugs (that we're all born with but spend our lives supressing with chemicals) have kicked in again. So I still go to pubs/parties etc with my friends and get high - but naturally (and very cheaply). For example, I was up until 4am at a party the other night and instead of dozing off/staggering around with rolling eyes/getting embroiled in a nonsensical political arguement I was still bopping around and having a great time.
Also, because I just don't want to drink now, I don't feel vulnerable at all. Some friends are still a bit amazed by my attitude and make sure they don't leave me alone in the same room as an uncorked Chardonnay. But, as I say to them, you could pour a bottle of Bolly over my head now and I wouldn't even be tempted to lick my lips!
My advice is this. Be as cynical as you like (in fact Mr Carr actively encourages it) but whatever you do READ THIS BOOK. Don't just fly through it. Really open your mind and study it (although I think I could have stopped after reading the book once, I read it twice to make sure everything had sunk in).
For the record, The Easy Way to Control Alcohol isn't psychobabble, it's FACT. It should be on the National Curriculum. It makes you look at alcohol, and our culture, in a completely different way. And when it all clicks into place, it's fantastic because you just don't WANT to drink again. You're not stopping yourself. You're not having to live miserably, one day at a time. You don't have to get religion. You don't envy people who do drink. There's absolutely no willpower involved. I know it's hard to believe, but it's true.
Allen Carr already gets a lot of stick from the tobacco industry and I daresay the drinks industry will now join the fray. Remember, they've got £billions to spend on propaganda. Allen started with nothing and has already cured around six million smokers (at last count). I think this book could do the same for drinkers.
I really can't recommend Easy Way to Control Alcohol highly enough (and no I haven't been brainwashed, nor do I work for the author!). If you want to do yourself an enormous favour - buy it now!
