Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald on the Jeremy Vine Show

Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald, authors of the controversial book on
alcoholism "Phoenix in a Bottle", were guests on Friday's edition of
BBC Radio 2's Jeremy Vine Show.

Lilian and Murdoch, from Ayrshire, Scotland, argue that Alcoholics
Anonymous is wrong, and that alcoholism is not an illness or a
disease, but a self-harming behaviour problem stemming from childhood.

They maintain that lifelong sobriety is not the solution to
alcoholism, as this only treats the symptoms and not the causes of
the problem, and is merely a damage limitation exercise.

The couple maintain that alcoholism, in common with other self-
harming disorders like bulimia, anorexia and self-mutilation, often
stems from problems experienced in childhood.

And if these problems can be identified and properly addressed, then
the problem behaviour can be cured.

Eleven years ago the couple had hit rock bottom, sleeping rough for
two weeks on the streets of Cambridge, where a quarter of a century
previously as an undergraduate Murdoch had received an honours degree
in English Literature at Magdalene College.

They had moved to Cambridge from Ayr with the idea of Murdoch doing
research for a doctorate, but had reverted to their old habits,
started binge drinking, and been thrown out of their lodgings.

After a fortnight, and when they were just about at the end of their
tether, two nurses on their way home after a Saturday night out took
pity on Lilian and Murdoch, bought them a cup of tea and found them a
place in a homeless hostel.

They spent the next twelve months there getting to the roots of their
alcoholism. They tried AA one last time, before concluding that it
was a quasi-religious cult whose ideas on alcoholism were inadequate
and outdated.

Instead, by reading psychology, they decided that the causes of their
alcoholic behaviour lay in problems experienced during childhood. And
that once these problems were realised and addressed, there was no
longer any need for escape through alcoholism, and they could even
drink normally like other people again.

Ten years after selling newspapers from a stand in Market Square,
Cambridge, so that he and Lilian could get back on their feet
financially, Murdoch is now a freelance business and financial
journalist, and also runs his own public relations consultancy.

And in order to pass on the benefits of their experience to others
who still have problems with alcohol, the couple have written their
book "Phoenix in a Bottle".

Reviewing the book, American addiction expert Dr Stanton Peele PhD
commented:

"Phoenix in a Bottle is a modern version of The Days of Wine and
Roses, and tells the true story of how two people who entered a
period of desperate drinking stayed with one another in a close
loving relationship, and emerged from their alcoholism able to drink
responsibly again.

"Both a wonderful love story and a challenge to conventional wisdom
about how people can recover from drinking problems, Phoenix in a
Bottle gives people hope, and helps them to confront their own
demons - alcohol or otherwise."

"Phoenix in a Bottle" by Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald is published by
Melrose Books price £16.99.

To listen to Lilian and Murdoch on "The Jeremy Vine Show" go to:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/mainframe.shtml?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/radio2_aod.shtml?radio2/r2_vine_fri

Lilian and Murdoch's website:

http://www.alcoholicscandrinksafelyagain.com/

To buy a copy of "Phoenix in a Bottle", visit the Melrose Books
website:

http://www.internationalbiographicalcentre.com/mb/dotcom/detail.php?
isbn=1905226144

Or visit Amazon UK:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1905226144/qid%
3D1120560576/026-9444125-8059664