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Title details for America Anonymous by Benoit Denizet-Lewis - Available

America Anonymous

Eight Addicts in Search of a Life

by Benoit Denizet-Lewis
David Drummond
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
America Anonymous is the unforgettable story of eight men and women from around the country—including a grandmother, a college student, a bodybuilder, and a housewife—who are struggling with addictions. For nearly three years, acclaimed journalist Benoit Denizet-Lewis immersed himself in their lives as they battled drug and alcohol abuse, overeating, and compulsive gambling and sexuality. Alternating with their stories is Denizet-Lewis's candid account of his own recovery from sexual addiction and his compelling examination of our culture of addiction, where we obsessively search for new and innovative ways to escape the reality of the present moment and make ourselves feel "better."


Addiction is arguably America's biggest public-health crisis, triggering and exacerbating many of our most pressing social problems (crime, poverty, skyrocketing health-care costs, and childhood abuse and neglect). But while cancer and AIDS survivors have taken to the streets—and to the halls of Congress—demanding to be counted, millions of addicts with successful long-term recovery talk only to each other in the confines of anonymous twelve-step meetings. (A notable exception is the addicted celebrity, who often enters and exits rehab with great fanfare.) Through the riveting stories of Americans in various stages of recovery and relapse, Denizet-Lewis shines a spotlight on our most misunderstood health problem (Is addiction a brain disease? A spiritual malady? A moral failing?) and breaks through the shame and denial that still shape our cultural understanding of it—and hamper our ability to treat it.


Are Americans more addicted than people in other countries, or does it just seem that way? Can food or sex be as addictive as alcohol and drugs? And will we ever be able to treat addiction with a pill? These are just a few of the questions Denizet-Lewis explores during his remarkable journey inside the lives of men and women struggling to become, or stay, sober. As the addicts in this book stumble, fall, and try again to make a different and better life, Denizet-Lewis records their struggles—and his own—with honesty and empathy.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    February 9, 2009

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781400191352
      • File size: 291555 KB
      • Duration: 10:07:24

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      November 24, 2008
      According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, an estimated 23 million Americans are hooked on drugs or alcohol, representing an annual economic loss of $524 billion. Millions more have become enslaved to other compulsive behaviors: overeating, sex, gambling and shoplifting. In his first book, Denizet-Louis follows eight average Americans—including an athlete and a grandparent— who are struggling with addiction. The author covers three years in the lives of his subjects, portraying them with candor and compassion, giving these compulsions a more human face by telling the story of his own sex and pornography dependence, for which he twice sought inpatient treatment. This book provides an intriguing glimpse into the brain of an addict and the new hit or miss treatments—dopamine blockers and antieuphoria medications. While the excerpted e-mails and taped monologues might test the reader's patience, Denizet-Lewis is a compelling storyteller, and his wide-range of stories of addiction, relapse and recovery far exceeds other books in the genre.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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