Rational Recovery: The New Cure for Substance Addiction

I'm finally sober after 37 years of hard drinking! The number of therapists and psychiatrists I've seen, exceed the number of my fingers, and the number of hospitalizations are about the same. I tried AA, NA, men's addiction discussion groups, religious groups, dual diagnosis groups, ECT treatments, sponsors, did my 12 steps, tons of different medications; guess what, I continued to "relapse".....because, as Trimpe explains, all these so called treatment programs tell us that we are "sick" and will never REALLY recover, and most likely continue to relapse. By all accounts, my blood alcohol levels were so high on more than one occasion, I should have died. "Hitting the bottom", what ever that is, sure didn't mean anything; I once "saw" little people behind my house and called the sheriff (who brought 5 or 6 squad cars), and I went out wielding a pistol in case they needed help. Fortunately, I knew several of the officers and did not get shot, although I remember pistols being lowered on me! While some of the above groups DO help some people, I'd read and knew as much as most of the therapists and groups........and was told by a recovering therapist, that I "intellectualized" too much.......well, I just couldn't un-know, what I knew, or get dumb. This book is simply logical and rational! For years, I blamed 2 alcoholic parents, sexual abuse at age 3, and one recovering "therapist" asked what role I had in it. At 3 I was hardly sexy, but was a sex object, to someone very close in the household.......there were a thousand reasons to justify my choice to drink; which was that I was an "alcoholic, suffered from the disease", so I just as well accept my fate, and have a drink! I always made sure I had a 1/2 gallon, and usually I carried it to bed, would wake up at some point, drink, go to sleep, and before my feet hit the floor, I would reach over, find the bottle and have several drinks, straight from the bottle, as I was getting my day together. That always had predictable results! So, for anyone who has tried everything, and made every excuse known to mankind, AND are serious, and don't want to die as both of my parents did, this book may help. Being totally honest, it is necessary to rethink everything we've been programed to believe about alcohol (and I obviously am including any drugs). My collection of "recovery" books, if stacked, would double my height. I can't undo the past, but do have the CHOICE to try to make the rest of my life better than it has been in years. Fortunately, I am blessed; my body escaped the ravages of the years of self abuse. I am reasonably intelligent, worked in HR for a Fortune 100 Corp. in their world HQ, so I never did end up under a bridge, or shelter, by the grace of God. I have issues and problems, just like anyone else.....I just don't drink over them. I'm not a holier than thou, and have friends who are still struggling. They have my support, but don't cram anything down them.......it's all a personal choice, one of 2 choices, and it's almost that simple. If this sounds familiar, it is worth the read, and recommend being sober. If you have not gone as far as I did, be patient; enough alcohol/drugs, will do it to you, and I would not want to wish it on anyone. I would say "good luck", but luck has nothing to do with it; you do! Bob McAdams

If you are one of the almost 5 percent of alcoholics who can be saved by AA, you do not need to read Jack Trimpey's Rational Recovery. It is not for you. Rational Recovery (RR) or "generic recovery" is a way of quitting drinking or drugging that has been around as long as alcohol, and drugs--you just make the rational decision to quit for good and star behaving like it. It works for 65 percent of all people who give it a try. Over half of all who learn RR recover. Of course, making this rational decision is never simple, especially if we then have to act rationally, and that is what the book is about. First you have to recognize the part of yourself that loves to use. If you have trouble hearing this addictive voice, Jack tells us to say out loud "I quit, forever." If we have a drinking problem, we will immediately start an argument with the part that wants to continue to drink or drug. Jack shows us how to win this argument, again and again. The bottom line is that the part of our brain that wants to drink or drug has no access to our fingers or mouth, unless is hijacks the rest of our brain, reason, and self-control. Being a licensed counselor, I know a little how Jack must feel suggesting an alternative approach to AA. AA people do not like RR people. As I write this review. I prepare to be burnt at stake, suggesting Jack is in his right mind questioning why none of the 12 steps mention anything about quitting, dismissing the belief one is powerless, or urging those who wish to recover to never admit they are "alcoholics" or "addicts." He challenges us to forget about "one day at a time" or "never say never" and embrace "I will never drink or drug again." Jack Trimpey goes on to show that Rational Recovery is a cure for chemical dependency by changing what we think and do. No meetings, no bottoming out, no moral inventories, no higher power, just quitting straight up. He shows us how to shatter illusions and thinking errors and act rationally sober. I have people raging at me for suggesting RR and patients complain about the copy I leave out in my waiting room. But it is not a matter of AA versus RR, but a matter of getting sober. This rational approach can sober up many of those who cannot benefit from AA. With over 80 million Americans drinking or drugging today, rationally it is a matter of AA or RR, please. Now. Rational Recovery saves lives. Read it and recommend it.

First, I must say that this book is very appropriately titled. This really IS a very rational approach to recovery. I had been clean and sober in AA for a year and a half or so and, while I was staying sober and was definitely feeling better than when I started, had become increasingly frustrated with the program and couldn't accept many of its basic tenants anymore. In particular, the idea that there was some physical disease basis for alcoholism is central to AA, and yet it was highly speculative at best even at the time that the Big Book was written; to my knowledge there has yet to be any solid evidence for this. I also struggled with the idea that alcoholism is necessarily a lifelong disease requiring constant maintenance if you want to have any hope of remaining sober (again, there's little proof that this is true; in fact, this book conclusively proves that this is false). (To hear old timers, if you're not sitting in 3 - 4 meetings a week or if you quit through any means other than AA you're just a dry drunk who's probably miserable and is just waiting to go on a terrific bender). One other philosophical oddity in AA and the Big Book: any "Higher Power" is acceptable and is a source of actual spiritual power, but one has to wonder where that spiritual power is coming from. My "Higher Power" is just as good as your "Higher Power" as far as it goes, so you end up with a very odd form of religious subjectivism. If I believe that Jesus is God and that's where my spiritual power is coming from, and a Muslim believes that Jesus is definitely NOT God, he's deriving spiritual power from Allah, we can't both be right. Heck, someone could believe that they're deriving spiritual power from Moloch and it would be "true" within AA. Sorry, can't buy it. Unless you want to start believing that Zeus or Moloch or a doorknob actually exist as sources of real spiritual power, AA is completely intellectually bankrupt, as the author points out. This book showed that much of what I learned in AA was wrong. Mental health, general life issues, spirituality, etc. are completely separate from - and irrelevant to - recovery from alcoholism. A lot of times alcohol treatment - and, specifically, most of what AA teaches - ironically focuses on everything but actually quitting drinking. This book showed me that I do NOT have to feel better, get rid of character defects, work on my self-esteem, improve my communication skills, write a fourth step, do a 90 in 90, or call a sponsor every day in order to get (and stay) clean and sober. In fact, to think I need these things is to "play into" and excuse the addiction. Of course, I'm perfectly free to work on my self-esteem, spirituality, communication skills, and character defects after I get sober (and the author freely acknowledges that these are all worthy goals) - as long as I don't think I have to have them to say sober. (It's a lot easier to work on my self-esteem sober though!) The surprising thing here is his explanation of why people drink. I'll leave that for the book to explain the details, but suffice it to explain that what I was taught in AA has very little to do with the real reason. It's a lot simpler than I expected. (Basically, it boils down to "because I really like to"). I was always told that alcohol isn't the real problem and that as long as I thought that it was I'd die drunk. He shows me here that alcohol IS the problem behind addiction by definition. (For the purposes of the book, an alcoholic is anyone who continues to drink against their better judgment, which is a pretty good definition; even in more formal clinical definitions, the problem is alcohol - no alcohol, no alcoholism). This book is NOT about therapy or spirituality. Don't come here looking for advice on how to improve your marriage, finances, or parenting skills. All it will tell you is how to quit drugs and alcohol for good. Yep, that's all; nothing more, sorry. Obviously quitting will avoid the problems that alcohol abuse was causing you (you can't get a DUI if you don't drink, for example), but it won't make your life instantly perfect. Once you're sober you're perfectly free to read Dave Ramsey or go to marriage counseling - it's up to you. This program makes you fully responsible for quitting alcohol - and your life after quitting. (If you're in AA now, that may be an alarming prospect). Some people complain about how critical this book is of AA, but I think that this is necessary. This was actually helpful for me because I was coming out of AA and had been taught half-truths and downright lies for so long. The simple fact is that the vast majority of people who go to AA never get sober (at least not there), and the people who do get stuck in their addictions because AA prevents them from fully committing to recovery. For example, the author shows that the idea of "day-at-a-time" recovery is a perfect example of addictive thinking; if you're not in a place where you can commit to staying sober for even, say, a week at a time, it hardly bodes well for the quality of your recovery. He gives the example of a woman who had repeatedly "relapsed" (I put that in quotes because it's just a euphemism for "getting drunk") in spite of having been in two well-regarded treatment centers and diligently attending AA meetings. In the course of talking to her, it soon came out that no one in her expensive treatment centers had ever suggested that she actually quit drinking and that she had even been taught that it was a disease of relapse. This actually squares with my experience with local treatment centers; a newcomer to AA once complained that people in his IOP program regularly drank on days that they didn't have programming, and that therapists would just cheer them up and encourage them to do better in the future. As he said, the only thing he learned in IOP was that it's OK to drink (that's almost an exact quote). Point being, there's so much confusion out there about how you actually recover (much of it perpetuated by AA and even many professionals) that it's necessary to completely refute these ideas before teaching the truth. In the spirit of this book, if you're drinking in a way that you know is harmful to you, you might choose to quit. This book gives you information on how to do that. You won't walk away with the answers to all of life's mysteries but you'll walk away with enough information to quit for good.

I did not read this book for help with drinking, and I do not have a problem with alcohol. I read it because I have a problem with food; overeating and binge eating. Rational Recovery was mentioned in another book I read on binge eating, so I ordered it. It was an excellent read, & it really opened up my eyes on addiction of any kind. Basically, Mr. Trimpey writes that we need to take ownership of our addictions, because it is up to the addicted person, & them ONLY to stop using. I think he makes an excellent point in saying that AA & rehab just keep the addicted person coming back again & again, always fearing the dreaded relapse. In my experience, my father drank heavily from his teenage years until he was 40. He stopped on his own, went to a few AA meetings, & hasn't gone back to one in 20 years. And he is still stone-cold sober. I always wondered how he did it basically on his own. Now I know. He has so much freedom to thoroughly enjoy his life now-no meetings, no phone calls. He is busier than ever pursuing his interests & hobbies, & he is a happy man overall. I read RR hoping that it could help me with my overeating, and it has. The big message I got from RR is simple--nobody is going to stop putting excess food in my mouth, nobody has a magic method or pill for me to stop overeating. It has to be ME. I'm in charge. I can choose to listen to my "beast" & overeat/binge, or I can realize that it's not me who really wants all that food--it's that dumb beast in my brain. Why I gave it 4 stars and not 5: About the only thing in the book I don't completely agree with is what Mr. Trimpey says about enablers & enabling. He says that the spouse/family of the drinker/drugger should have sympathy for them & basically keep helping them out. He says it's ok to give them an ultimatum, but not really to go so far as to kick them out or cut them off. That didn't make sense to me. Give your drinking spouse an ultimatum, but then don't follow through?? What if the drinker says they will change & just keeps living in the same house, drinking...? I've seen it happen to too many people, until finally the only thing that "wakes" the drinker/druger up is their spouse or parent telling them they've had enough & will leave or kick said drinker/drugger out. Overall, though, this was an eye-opening book for anyone who overdoes any substance, or has a family member or friend who does.

I am a fan of Jack Trimpey's. However, even I was a little put off by his anti-AA comments initially. I turned around, though, when I learned more. Those anti-AA comments are necessary for those of us in the public who haven't learned the truth about AA yet. And, it's impossible to learn the truth because schools, courts, television, articles, and "experts", seem to all spew the same party line. . . that AA is the "only way" and that AA is successful. In fact, AA is not the only way to be successful, and all of the studies that has been done over the years have proven that alcoholism is NOT a disease and that AA and 12 step treatment is absolutely NOT successful. In fact, there have been studies that prove those that quit drinking using AA are LESS successful than those that quit without AA. So, to the reviewer who passes on the erroneous information that AA has a proven track record, the truth is that AA does NOT have a proven track record. Or, to be more concise, their proven track record is that it doesn't work for 95% or MORE of the people that try it. Some evidence has shown that it's actually DETRIMENTAL to those trying to quit drinking. And, evidence has shown MORE people are successful on their own. Furthermore, those that try and "recover" with AA-- who have been indoctrinated with the AA philosophy (pure folkwisdom) have a MORE difficult time moderating or abstaining than those who haven't been brainwashed into believing they ar powerless and have no control over their addictions. For a more comprehensive look at this, look at The Truth About Addiction and Recovery, by Stanton Peele. Peele doesn't share his opinions only, he shares his opinions based on the results of many many studies done over the past decades. . . even the studies that AA quotes as proof for the disease model. Peele gives the entire story and sources it thoroughly. Go do a search with the words "aa cult" and read what you come up with. AA is indocrination, pure and simple. It's not a quit drinking program. And, unfortunately, those schools that introduce 12step programs, court officials, television shows, articles, and "experts" either don't know the truth or have a hidden agenda (like the massive money poured into treatment centers that have been scientifically proven not to be successful). My point is, somebody has to speak the truth and I completely respect Trimpey for doing so. AVRT works and it's SIMPLE. Trimpey's correct. Make the decision to quit, do it, and go work on your life if you need to. If you have anger problems while you're drinking, you might have anger problems when you quit. But, at least your mind will be clear from the alcohol and you will be actually able to WORK on those anger problems. Or, end up in neverending "recovery"-- only socializing with other addicts and self-professed sick people. WHich makes more sense? Surrounding yourself with others that profess to be sick and need the comfort of other sick people for daily meetings for decades? Or, does it make more sense to take charge of your life and live in a healthy balanced way while surrounding yourself with others that live balanced and healthy lives? The absolute only fault I have with this book is that, despite the fact Trimpey does not accept the disease-model of alcoholism as a disease, he firmly believes one can never drink again. In fact, studies have proven that many have successfully moderately drank again although they once struggled with addiction. Once the addiction is conquered, it's conquered. In theory, then, one could moderately drink sometime in the future. As a matter of fact, it has been also shown that those who DO drink moderately in the future are, in fact, more well-adjusted than those that permanently abstain or drink too much. This is really a small issue, though. Conquer the addiction and improve your life.

For a lifetime (more than 70 years) I have observed the misery that many people around me have endured as a result of substance abuse. Jack Trimpey makes a very good case for the basic reason for self medication.......pleasure.....a continual high, and how the BUSINESS of treatment programs does a really good job of UNDERMINING the confidence/capabilities of an individual to curb their cravings by accepting personal responsibility for doing so immediately. I purchased several copies, one for myself to assess the material, and others for people who are substance dependent. The first recipient has had a twenty-plus year problem, has read the book in its' entirety, and gives it a 5-star rating as well. Time will tell, I intend to follow up and provide encouragement. Self empowerment is EVERYTHING !!

I liked the way he critiqued certain aspects of AA (e.g., "powerlessness"). I appreciated his focus on identifying the "addictive voice" (i.e., anything thought or feeling that leads you to drink/use). I did not like the arrogant tone and the way he dismissed AA, as if he had the Answer and everyone else was engaged in delusional nonsense. That felt narcissistic and condescending to me. The book was issued at a time when Rational Emotive Therapy, the brainchild of therapist Albert Ellis, was very popular. I suspect that is why he called it "Rational Recovery." He takes a similar tone as Ellis did -- rationalist, argumentative, sneering. The implication throughout is that his form of recovery is "rational" and other forms are irrational. We have since learned a lot about the limitations of a strictly rationalistic, cognitive approach to psychological difficulties, including addiction, especially when addiction is tied to other life problems (e.g., trauma, shame), as it often is. To take a strictly cognitive approach to these issues is to only skim the surface of the problem. Granted, this is what many people prefer. I'm not an AA guy, never been through it, but I know a lot of people who have. Some of them have benefitted enormously from that program, so it bothered me to hear Trimpey constantly bad-mouth it. He acts as if it is all just a nonsense spiritual cult of some kind. AA isn't for everyone, but it has really helped a lot of people, and we need to be sensitive to that, rather than just try to club it rhetorically to death, as Trimpey wants to. I am sure RR is a better fit for some -- for those who don't like the AA culture, who are very cognitively oriented, who recoil at any mention of spirituality, etc. That is fine. I did benefit from the book. Again, I appreciated his explication of the "addictive voice." I can certainly identify that voice operating in me. I thought of it as "my addict" before -- pretty standard lingo in the recovery community -- but I liked the way Trimpey burrowed down into the idea. It helps me "hear" it better. I also appreciated his focus on deciding to stop completely, rather than "one day at a time," which I agree can unwittingly set people up for relapse. Anyhow, some good information here, but brought down by a pompous tone and restricted view.

This book has an enormous message. Something that can change your life immeasurably. In fact, I'd say this is the #1 book I've ever read...and I read a ton. Years ago, I had a terrible drug problem, read this, made a simple decision and permanently ended my use of drugs. It has been 15 years now. (of course, I don't count time because I'll never do that crap again). I was in an AA based "treatment center" at the time and they all predicted my demise when I declared myself cured and left. Well sadly it actually worked other way around: many of the AA/NA "experts" ended up relapsing with all the pain and consequences that entails. Granted, a few did make it but I don't know of any still going to meetings. This is serious business that can only be dealt with by one thing: You. This book will help you figure out what that means. If you are strung out and are looking for a way out: Get the book now. Don't think about it. Just get it. Read it as soon as you get it. I mean what have you really got to lose? Well--actually, your life, health, friends, family, finances, and freedom. All easily, effortlessly avoidable as you'll see.

Reading this book has changed my life in the most positive way. I highly recommend it.

Having been addicted to both alcohol and drugs for 40 years, and now being 'clean' for 5 years, and working in both the drugs and mental health field what a relief to find that Jack Trimpy holds almost the same views as me! Having been coerced into the 'ordination' of the 12 Step Programme, twice by the courts, I always felt that AA was not much more that a religious cult, endeavouring to retain members by brainwashing us into believing that that we are diseased, and doomed to be in 'recovery' for the rest of our lives! I hold no religious opinions myself but do know that neither religion, nor any 'higher power' played any part in my ridding myself of my addictions. We selfishly choose to become addicts, and we do it to intoxicate ourselves, yet we blame our past, parents, environment etc. and in my view, this is not the reason that we self-intoxicate, but we do so merely because we like intoxication! Ultimately, if we wish for abstinence we need to do this by using the power of our own minds. And believe me, addicts need powerful minds to maintain their addiction, let's face it an addict will walk 20 miles, barefoot, in 10 foot of snow, and skint, to get a bag of 'gear'. That's a pretty powerful mind in my book. Of course a 'recovering' addict needs support, and I personally support many through my work. However, the support AA gives seems to revolve around keeping you 'diseased', making moral inventories, admitting you are 'powerless' over your drink/drug, and submitting all to your God...whoever that may be. Non of this stuff is necessary, I know, because I've done it, and without all this rubbish! Though I don't agree with everything in this book, on the whole it makes a lot of sense, and is a very interesting, and refreshing alternative to the AA culture, which in my opinion aims to keep you bogged down in addiction forever.(for both political, and financial reasons) I recommend this book to any person struggling with addiction, and looking for an alternative to AA. Also, workers in the industry, and families or friends of an addict. I have just read the book twice, put some of its concept into my own working practices, and having some very positive results. I rest my case! If you have any views around this subject, either one way, or another, and from whatever background, I'd love to hear from you. You can message me at [email protected] Enjoy the book!

I found out about this book from a DJ in Liverpool called Lee Butler. He recommends this book to all of his followers and credits it with helping him quit his addictions. I have listened to him go on about it for months now before I looked into it myself. I have had my own struggles for many years but have failed in my own attempts to quit alcohol and the things that usually come with it. Lee Butler wrote a post on his Facebook page to his followers saying how this book helped him quit and how every aspect of his life improved as a result! His finances, his work, his relationship, his health, his mind.... everything improved once he quit! I decided to pick it up and give it a go and have to say it’s already been life changing for me! The book does teach us not to look at the time scale we have been abstained as we can only control of today, the here and now so I know saying 4 weeks is irrelevant really for me as I know I won’t drink or use again but in this short time my life has already improved a great deal. I have saved over €800 already, I’m back in the gym 5 days a week and recently started boxing again. My head feels much clearer now and I am working much harder with my work. I now have a plan and I am working on that each and every day. These last few weeks have been liberating and I can’t thank the author of this amazing book enough and Lee Butler who tries to help all his followers who suffer with any addictions for bringing it to my attention. I recognise my beast; I know what my enemy is and I know what I am up against and now and I have the tools and the mindset to defeat it!

Love this book Makes so much sense.

You may thought that the idea of a simple trick of mind is going to end your addiction is “too good to be true” so did I, until I end forever my binge eating the moment I red about that technique, these book was all I needed to end my addiction!