I was recently approached by one of our readers of Loving An Alcoholic, asking if I would reveiw her book on recovery; If You Loved Me You’d Stop! What You Really Need To Know When Your Loved One Drinks Too Much

I jumped at the opportunity because I am a believer in surrounding myself with as much literature as possible to gain many different persepectives to assist me in carving my own path of recovery.

About the author:

Lisa Frederiksen uses her decades-long experiences of coping with family alcoholism and alcohol abuse in her journey to free herself of its life-robbing consequences as the back-drop to her seventh book.

If You Loved Me You’d Stop! weaves in and out of personal narrative, factual information and provides easy to understand scenarios that are all too familiar with those affected by a loved one’s drinking.

The book lays out the differences between alcoholism and excessive drinking and ties in the concept that your loved one’s drinking is not within your power to fix or control - which frees many of us.

What is within our control is focusing on ourselves to put enabling, codependency and other unhealthy behaviors in the past.

Throughout Lisa’s sharing of her personal story and drawing scenarios, I was able to see similarities with my story, feelings and behaviors - starting with the title of the book.

I imagine you will as well.

Excerpt from If You Loved Me You’d Stop!

“Keeping the focus on myself in this manner keeps me from unraveling as my life continues to take new twists and turns. Now, it’s different. I still experience anger, shock, fear and disbelief and can go down
paths that aren’t very productive, bot now, in these times, I am also armed with the knowledge and sense of self I’d previously not had. In these times, I know the only person I can truly change is myself, and the only person who can truly change my situation is me. In the end, the research, therapy and recovery work I’ve done and the information and insights I’ve discovered have “saved” my life, even though it cannot stop the “stuff” from happening.”

Do you have a topic you would like to have discussed on Loving An Alcoholic or have comments related to today’s post?

Would you like to have your experience and words of encouragement posted?

Send me your thoughts: support@lovinganalcoholic.com

As I will leave each post; If you, or someone you know, loves an alcoholic or addict, I would encourage you to find a local Al-Anon 12 step meeting to attend. This is your first step towards healing.