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Article from the Daily Record by Maria Croce

BACK FROM THE DRINK

May 6 2005

Homeless alcoholics Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald almost drank
themselves to death. But after dragging each other down, they pulled
each other up again. They tell Maria Croce their amazing story


AS Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald huddled together on a park bench,
they thought they were about to die. After a drinking binge, they'd
been mugged, were freezing cold and had run out of booze.

Lilian recalled: 'It had not been my first bender, and it wasn't my
last, but I will always think of it as my worst.'

Her clothes ripped by muggers, dirty from living on the streets after
being kicked out of their lodgings and sporting a black eye, a
dishevelled Lilian even considered snatching a blanket from a nearby
tramp.

But he looked up at her and said: 'You wouldn't steal from one of
your own, would you?'

Initially she was shocked by his response, but then her thoughts
returned to booze and how she was going to get her next drink, as
nothing else seemed to matter.

As Lilian and Murdoch, from Ayrshire, shivered in the freezing park,
they were approached by two nurses returning home from a night out
who realised the desperate pair needed help. The women bought them a
burger with the last of their own money.Then they persuaded a passer-
by to give the couple the taxi fare to a hostel.

'They saved our lives,' said Lilian. 'I don't think we'd have
survived another night on the streets.'

That brush with death proved a turning point for Lilian and Murdoch
and spurred them on to reclaim their lives.

'We lived in the hostel for a year,' said Lilian. 'We did lapse into
drink once, but mostly we'd visit the library and read.'

The pair became interested in psychology and started to analyse what
had led them to start drinking to excess.

They came to the conclusion their problems lay in their upbringings.

'We had feelings of low self-worth and just didn't know how to cope
when things went wrong,' said Lilian.

Their life on the streets seems a world away from how they live now.
They're a respectable, middle-aged couple and, as they serve tea in
the lounge of their listed flat in Ayr, it's hard to imagine how 10
years ago they had sunk so low through alcoholism.

Murdoch, 58, writes for the local paper and runs his own PR company,
while Lilian, 61, has been involved in charity work.

Two years after their brush with death, they returned to Cambridge
where they'd lived rough to track down the nurses who'd helped them.

Through the local paper, they were reunited with Donna Powter and
Kirsten McDougall.

'It was very emotional and we hugged them when we saw them,' said
Lilian. 'I don't know what would have happened if they hadn't stepped
in to help us that night.'

Lilian and Murdoch began writing a book about their experience of
alcoholism, initially as a form of therapy.

But now they're hoping the book, Phoenix In A Bottle, could help
others suffering problems with drink.

Lilian said: 'When I look back, I can't believe that I behaved like
that. But we feel no one's powerless to change.

'Through writing this book we wanted to empower people. Alcoholism
isn't a disease, it's a self-harming behaviour problem rooted in
childhood.'

Lilian and Murdoch believe they've now been able to overcome their
problem through identifying and addressing the issues from their past.

And controversially, they say they even enjoy a social drink now -
although they insist they never get drunk.

Murdoch said: 'Once we addressed our problems, there was no longer a
need for escape through alcoholism, and we can drink normally like
other people again. Now we know when to stop.'

They initially met at a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous in Ayr in
1993, although they now disagree with the methods of AA, whose logo
is below.

'I don't think lifelong sobriety is the solution to alcoholism,' said
Murdoch. 'It only treats symptoms and not causes.'

Lilian believes her problems stemmed from when she was a teenager
battling against anorexia.

'My grandmother told me I was fat and ugly, so I stopped eating
properly,' she said.

Lilian admits she turned to drink to give her the confidence to eat.
She married at 19 to escape her home life and had two children, John,
41, and Elaine, 36. But that marriage broke down after 10 years and
Lilian's problem with alcohol escalated.

She moved in with a wealthy businessman and the pair ran a pub,
enjoying luxurious holidays and owning a cabin cruiser.

But Lilian felt unhappy and turned to alcohol to cope with her life.
After that relationship ended after seven years, she married a man
who worked for a whisky company and inevitably, with so much spirit
available, her drinking grew worse.

'I'd drink every day for two to three weeks without stopping,' she
said.

Meanwhile, public school-educated Murdoch was a Cambridge University
graduate whose contemporaries included BBC correspondent John Simpson.

He had a strict upbringing and worked in banking and ran his own PR
company before his addiction to booze wrecked his career and left him
without a job.

By the age of 30, he was drinking four pints of beer at lunchtime and
another four at night, before switching to cider because it was
cheaper.

He married at 26 and had two children, Kirsty, 31, and Grant, 27, but
started drinking because he couldn't cope with a marriage that wasn't
working. His second marriage also ended in disaster.

Murdoch was then on his own for eight years before he met Lilian when
he was working in a homeless hostel.

Lilian and Murdoch married within months - but soon alcohol took over
and almost claimed their lives.

Murdoch suffered liver problems and Lilian collapsed more than once.

On one occasion, doctors feared she wouldn't last the night.

The couple moved to Cambridge, where Murdoch planned to do a PhD at
his former university. But their dream turned into a nightmare as
they drank away their savings.

Murdoch recalled: 'We'd start drinking first thing in the morning and
just continue drinking through the night. Then, after a brief sleep,
we'd wake up to find bottles around the bed and start again.'

The pair hit rock bottom when they were kicked out of their lodgings
and ended up on the streets.

But after the nurses saved them from freezing to death in the park,
they began to get their lives back and returned to Ayr.

'We've lost years of our lives,' said Lilian. 'But you can't look
back with regret.You just have to go forward.'

Murdoch added: 'You can only make-up for it by doing something
positive.'

Now the pair insist they'll never return to a life ruled by booze.

Lilian explained: 'I'm a different person and I won't go back to
being the person who had to rely on drink.'

And although they nearly killed each other through their mutual
dependence on drink, Lilian believes they also wouldn't have survived
without each other.

'We almost destroyed each other through drink, but I also feel
Murdoch saved me,' she said. 'We saved each other because we believed
in each other.'

Now they hope their story will inspire others to help themselves.

Murdoch said: 'If there's a purpose to this book, it's to empower
people to save themselves.We're not saying that everyone has to do it
our way, but we hope it stimulates discussion.

'I'm not embarrassed about what we've been through. People now come
to us and ask our advice if they're having problems because we've
been open about what we went through."

Web link:

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=15483706&method=full&sit
eid=89488&headline=back-from-the-drink-name_page.html


STOP PRESS!


Our new book "Phoenix in a Bottle", describing what we've done and
how we achieved it, will be published on 30 May by Melrose Books
price £16.99.

You can buy online now, for delivery on publication.

Web address to buy our book:

http://www.melrosebooks.com/detail.php?isbn=1905226144

Or e-mail us for further assistance.

LilianandMurdoch@...

Link to Fame Publicity Services website:
http://www.famepublicity

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New book proves alcoholics can recover
and drink responsibly again


A new book "Phoenix in a Bottle", due to be published on 30 May, will
prove that alcoholism is not a disease or illness, but a behaviour
problem rooted in childhood, which alcoholics can correct and be able
to drink responsibly again if and when they so wish.

The authors are former alcoholics Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald, a
married couple from Ayr, Ayrshire in Scotland.

Lilian and Murdoch's lives were devastated by alcoholism, but they
have now recovered so completely that they now not only lead normal
lives again, but are also able to drink in a perfectly sociable
manner once more.

That goes against the teaching of Alcoholics Anonymous, and of many
alcoholism treatment centres throughout the world. But Lilian (61)
and Murdoch (58) believe 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 argue 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.

Ten 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 now writes business and financial articles for
three local weekly papers and also runs his own public relations
consultancy.

And Lilian is so keen to pass on the benefits of their experience to
others who still have problems with alcohol, that together the couple
wrote "Phoenix in a Bottle".

Eminent American addiction expert Dr Stanton Peele PhD has read the
book, and 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 will be
published by Melrose Books price £16.99 on 30 May. ISBN: 1-905226-14-
4.

Enquiries:

Ross Hilton
Commissioning Editor
Melrose Books
St Thomas Place
ELY
Cambridgeshire
CB7 4GG
Telephone: 00 44 1353 646608
E-mail: rosshilton@...

Web: www.melrosebooks.com

Issued by Fame Publicity Services.

Fame Publicity Services
10 Miller Road
AYR, Ayrshire
Scotland KA7 2AY
Tel.: 00 44 1292 281498
Mobile: 07833 667322.
E-mail: famepublicity@...


Web: www.famepublicity.co.uk

Lilian and Murdoch's website:
www.alcoholicscandrinksafelyagain.com

Melrose Books website:
www.melrosebooks.com

Dr Stanton Peele's website:
www.peele.net




Web links:

http://www.pr-scotland.com/releases/050421-09.htm

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/4/prweb231534.htm

http://www.24-7pressrelease.com/view_press_release.php?
rID=5155&tf7sid=41e729a0c8bf09e404ab12994255809c

http://i-newswire.com/pr8494.html

http://www.24-7pressrelease.com/view_release.php?
rID=3788&tf7sid=ce8a547a08c7011ff861cc4134c30ef1

http://www.theopenpress.com/index.php?a=press&id=799

http://www.alcoholicscandrinksafelyagain.com/newpage5.html

http://www.famepublicity.co.uk/productssimple1.html

http://www.kntimes.com/knreleases/fullstory03054-insight-news-status-
1-newsID-61.html

http://www.pressbox.co.uk/Detailed/24330.html

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/2/prweb213026.htm

http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2005/2/prweb213026.htm

http://groups.msn.com/JOURNALISTSWRITERSCLUB/general.msnw?
action=get_message&mview=0&ID_Message=847&LastModified=467551888865112
5127

http://groups.msn.com/AlcoholicsCanDrinkSafelyAgain/welcome.msnw

http://groups.msn.com/Alcoholicsdontneedtostayonthewagon/welcome.msnw

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AlcoholicsCanDrinkSafelyAgain/mes
sage/23

Web address to buy our book:

www.melrosebooks.com/detail.php?isbn=1905226144

Hi David

I have decided, my ideal senario is to only drink when
I go out - although I sometimes change my mind & drink
alone & then regret it - but it think that's because I
still haven't worked through my issues. but it's good
to know that there are some people out there
sucessfully controlling their drinking.

Thanks for your reply

Maria


--- david smith <dasmith1947@...> wrote:


---------------------------------

You do it because you decide to. I love a drink and am
going out tonight. I do not worship alcohol and simply
know when I have had enough. Last night, the night
before, no drink and no problem. I do NOT want a life
dfuelled by drink BUT I will not have a life without
it and why should I.  Booze has taken me to many
places some good but some horrible. I, we, have a
choice at some point and that is everything. I have
lived a part of my life without that ability to choose
and I am not going back because I've decided not to. I
am not at all being clever because my wisdom has come
after tremendous pain.  Some people are able to
control alcohol without having to go through this
learning process. Good luck.

Cheers

davo






David  A. Smith

>From: Maria Martin <marymary069@...> >Reply-To:
AlcoholicsCanDrinkSafelyAgain@yahoogroups.com >To:
AlcoholicsCanDrinkSafelyAgain@yahoogroups.com
>Subject: [AlcoholicsCanDrinkSafelyAgain] Need some
advice >Date: Fri, 15 Apr 2005 07:54:23 -0700 (PDT) >
> > >Dear Lilian and Murdoch (and anyone else who may
read >this mail) > >I'm new to this little group and i
haven't bought your >book yet, although i intend to.
>I have had a drink problem for many years, it started
>in my Early teens and I am now nearly 40. >I agree
wholeheartedly with your idea that alcoholism >is a
behavior problem with its roots in childhood >trauma,
and that the real problem is not actually the
>behavior itself, but the underlying issues. >I have
tried AA and twelve-step re-hab and these have >been
of absolutely no use to me whatsoever. I am now >in
long-term psychotherapy, and although things have >got
better they are still not perfect. >I have cut down my
drinking from every day to once or >twice a week. But
I still don't have full control over >it, and still
drink on my own when i am sad or >stressed out. >what
i would like to ask you, and anyone on this list >who
has regained control over there drinking is HOW >you
did it. Did you have a period of abstinence? and >how
long did it take before you regained full control?
>I've been struggling with this for two years and it's
>still A daily battle. > >Any input would be a real
help. > >Thanks >Maria > > > >--- lilianandmurdoch
<LilianandMurdoch@...> wrote: > > > > > > > New
book proves alcoholics can recover and drink > >
responsibly again > > > > > > > > > > A new book
"Phoenix in a Bottle", due to be > > published on 30
May, will > > prove that alcoholism is not a disease
or illness, > > but a behavior > > problem rooted in
childhood, which alcoholics can > > correct and be
able > > to drink responsibly again if and when they
so wish. > > > > > > click here to buy our book > > >
> > > The authors are former alcoholics Lilian and
Murdoch > > MacDonald, a > > married couple from Ayr,
Ayrshire in Scotland. > > > > Lilian and Murdoch's
lives were devastated by > > alcoholism, but they > >
have now recovered so completely that they now not > >
only lead normal > > lives again, but are also able to
drink in a > > perfectly sociable > > manner once
more. > > > > That goes against the teaching of
Alcoholics > > Anonymous, and of many > > alcoholism
treatment centres throughout the world. > > But Lilian
(61) > > and Murdoch (58) believe 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 argue 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. > > > > Ten
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. 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 now writes
business and > > financial articles for > > three
local weekly papers and also runs his own > > public
relations > > consultancy. > > > > And Lilian is so
keen to pass on the benefits of > > their experience
to > > others who still have problems with alcohol,
that > > together the couple > > wrote "Phoenix in a
Bottle". > > > > Eminent American addiction expert Dr
Stanton Peele > > PhD has read the > > book, and
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 will be > > published by
Melrose Books price £16.99 on 30 May. > > > > > > > >
click here to buy our book > > > > Enquiries: > > > >
Ross Hilton > > Commissioning Editor > > Melrose Books
> > St Thomas Place > > ELY > > Cambridgeshire > > CB7
4GG > > Telephone: 00 44 1353 646608 > > E-mail:
rosshilton@... > > > > Web:
www.melrosebooks.com > > > > Issued by Fame Publicity
Services. > > > > Fame Publicity Services > > 10
Miller Road > > AYR, Ayrshire > > Scotland KA7 2AY > >
Tel.: 00 44 1292 281498 > > Mobile: 07833 667322. > >
E-mail: famepublicity@... > > > > Web:
www.famepublicity.co.uk > > > > Lilian and Murdoch's
website: > > www.alcoholicscandrinksafelyagain.com > >
> > Melrose Books website: > > www.melrosebooks.com >
> > > Dr Stanton Peele's website: > > www.peele.net >
> > > > > > > > > Web links: > > > >
http://i-newswire.com/pr8494.html > > > >
http://www.24-7pressrelease.com/view_release.php? > >
rID=3788&tf7sid=ce8a547a08c7011ff861cc4134c30ef1 > > >
> http://www.theopenpress.com/index.php?a=press&id=799
> > > >
>http://www.alcoholicscandrinksafelyagain.com/newpage5.html
> > > > http://www.pressbox.co.uk/Detailed/24330.html
> > > >
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/2/prweb213026.htm >
> > >
>http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2005/2/prweb213026.htm
> > > >
>http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AlcoholicsCanDrinkSafelyAgain/mes
> > sage/23 > > > > > > > > > > > > >=== message
truncated === > > > Maria Martin > > > > > >
>__________________________________ >Do you Yahoo!?
>Yahoo! Small Business - Try our new resources site!
>http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/resources/ > > > > >
>------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
--------------------~--> >Ever feel sad or cry for no
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   Maria Martin




__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com

Dear Lilian and Murdoch (and anyone else who may read
this mail)

I'm new to this little group and i haven't bought your
book yet, although i intend to.
I have had a drink problem for many years, it started
in my Early teens and I am now nearly 40.
I agree wholeheartedly with your idea that alcoholism
is a behavior problem with its roots in childhood
trauma, and that the  real problem is not actually the
behavior itself, but the underlying issues.
I have tried AA and twelve-step re-hab and these have
been of absolutely no use to me whatsoever. I am now
in long-term psychotherapy, and although things have
got better they are still not perfect.
I have cut down my drinking from every day to once or
twice a week. But I still don't have full control over
it, and still drink on my own when i am sad or
stressed out.
what i would like to ask you, and anyone on this list
who has regained control over there drinking is HOW
you did it. Did you have a period of abstinence? and
how long did it take before you regained full control?
I've been struggling with this for two years and it's
still A daily battle.

Any input would be a real help.

Thanks
Maria



--- lilianandmurdoch <LilianandMurdoch@...> wrote:

>
>
> New book proves alcoholics can recover and drink
> responsibly again
>
>
>
>
> A new book "Phoenix in a Bottle", due to be
> published on 30 May, will
> prove that alcoholism is not a disease or illness,
> but a behavior
> problem rooted in childhood, which alcoholics can
> correct and be able
> to drink responsibly again if and when they so wish.
>
>
>  click here to buy our book
>
>
> The authors are former alcoholics Lilian and Murdoch
> MacDonald, a
> married couple from Ayr, Ayrshire in Scotland.
>
> Lilian and Murdoch's lives were devastated by
> alcoholism, but they
> have now recovered so completely that they now not
> only lead normal
> lives again, but are also able to drink in a
> perfectly sociable
> manner once more.
>
> That goes against the teaching of Alcoholics
> Anonymous, and of many
> alcoholism treatment centres throughout the world.
> But Lilian (61)
> and Murdoch (58) believe 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 argue 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.
>
> Ten 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. 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 now writes business and
> financial articles for
> three local weekly papers and also runs his own
> public relations
> consultancy.
>
> And Lilian is so keen to pass on the benefits of
> their experience to
> others who still have problems with alcohol, that
> together the couple
> wrote "Phoenix in a Bottle".
>
> Eminent American addiction expert Dr Stanton Peele
> PhD has read the
> book, and 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 will be
> published by Melrose Books price £16.99 on 30 May.
>
>
>
>  click here to buy our book
>
> Enquiries:
>
> Ross Hilton
> Commissioning Editor
> Melrose Books
> St Thomas Place
> ELY
> Cambridgeshire
> CB7 4GG
> Telephone: 00 44 1353 646608
> E-mail: rosshilton@...
>
> Web: www.melrosebooks.com
>
> Issued by Fame Publicity Services.
>
> Fame Publicity Services
> 10 Miller Road
> AYR, Ayrshire
> Scotland KA7 2AY
> Tel.: 00 44 1292 281498
> Mobile: 07833 667322.
> E-mail: famepublicity@...
>
> Web: www.famepublicity.co.uk
>
> Lilian and Murdoch's website:
> www.alcoholicscandrinksafelyagain.com
>
> Melrose Books website:
> www.melrosebooks.com
>
> Dr Stanton Peele's website:
> www.peele.net
>
>
>
>
> Web links:
>
> http://i-newswire.com/pr8494.html
>
> http://www.24-7pressrelease.com/view_release.php?
> rID=3788&tf7sid=ce8a547a08c7011ff861cc4134c30ef1
>
> http://www.theopenpress.com/index.php?a=press&id=799
>
>
http://www.alcoholicscandrinksafelyagain.com/newpage5.html
>
> http://www.pressbox.co.uk/Detailed/24330.html
>
> http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/2/prweb213026.htm
>
>
http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2005/2/prweb213026.htm
>
>
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AlcoholicsCanDrinkSafelyAgain/mes
> sage/23
>
>
>
>
>
>
=== message truncated ===


   Maria Martin






__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Small Business - Try our new resources site!
http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/resources/

New book proves alcoholics can recover and drink responsibly again




A new book "Phoenix in a Bottle", due to be published on 30 May, will
prove that alcoholism is not a disease or illness, but a behaviour
problem rooted in childhood, which alcoholics can correct and be able
to drink responsibly again if and when they so wish.


  click here to buy our book


The authors are former alcoholics Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald, a
married couple from Ayr, Ayrshire in Scotland.

Lilian and Murdoch's lives were devastated by alcoholism, but they
have now recovered so completely that they now not only lead normal
lives again, but are also able to drink in a perfectly sociable
manner once more.

That goes against the teaching of Alcoholics Anonymous, and of many
alcoholism treatment centres throughout the world. But Lilian (61)
and Murdoch (58) believe 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 argue 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.

Ten 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. 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 now writes business and financial articles for
three local weekly papers and also runs his own public relations
consultancy.

And Lilian is so keen to pass on the benefits of their experience to
others who still have problems with alcohol, that together the couple
wrote "Phoenix in a Bottle".

Eminent American addiction expert Dr Stanton Peele PhD has read the
book, and 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 will be
published by Melrose Books price £16.99 on 30 May.



  click here to buy our book

Enquiries:

Ross Hilton
Commissioning Editor
Melrose Books
St Thomas Place
ELY
Cambridgeshire
CB7 4GG
Telephone: 00 44 1353 646608
E-mail: rosshilton@...

Web: www.melrosebooks.com

Issued by Fame Publicity Services.

Fame Publicity Services
10 Miller Road
AYR, Ayrshire
Scotland KA7 2AY
Tel.: 00 44 1292 281498
Mobile: 07833 667322.
E-mail: famepublicity@...

Web: www.famepublicity.co.uk

Lilian and Murdoch's website:
www.alcoholicscandrinksafelyagain.com

Melrose Books website:
www.melrosebooks.com

Dr Stanton Peele's website:
www.peele.net




Web links:

http://i-newswire.com/pr8494.html

http://www.24-7pressrelease.com/view_release.php?
rID=3788&tf7sid=ce8a547a08c7011ff861cc4134c30ef1

http://www.theopenpress.com/index.php?a=press&id=799

http://www.alcoholicscandrinksafelyagain.com/newpage5.html

http://www.pressbox.co.uk/Detailed/24330.html

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/2/prweb213026.htm

http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2005/2/prweb213026.htm

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AlcoholicsCanDrinkSafelyAgain/mes
sage/23

Hi-I have been attending AA for about a year and a half now and have
found it of enormous help, literally saving my life and changing my
direction.  However, I do agree with your take on the alcoholism
being a symptom and the "sobriety" from alcolhol being only part of
it, or a temporary cover-up.  While most of the negative things i
have read about AA on the internet do not hold true in my meetings
(for example, brainwashing people into thinking AA is the only way),
I do believe that the principles hold true for pretty much anything
that I have problems with.  My question for you is, HOW do you
address these childhood issues and traumatic occurences in a most
effective way.  I have been to many therapists of outstanding
reputation for my specific problems, and nothing has helped at all
except trying to live the AA way of working the steps-being of
service to others..  The problems, so far that I have learned, are
never going to go away, and maintainng full-out forgiveness for such
horrid occurences is, while ideal and in alignment with AA
philosophy, very difficult to say the least.  Even if you forgive,
you are still gravely affected-not knowing "how" to be the whole
person you should be.  While I do agree with, and woudl like more
information about, your approach, I also don't see anything wrong
with, or negative about, living a life in which the core purpose and
key to happiness is helping others. Staying physically and mentally
sober leads to a more productive and therefore more useful and
therefore more hopeful life.  So, why do we want so badly to eb able
to drink socially again?  I do not know, but I do believe it is in
the underlying problem of childhood trauma as you said, and if I
knwo where to find answers to relinquishing them from my brain, I
will be there.

New book proves alcoholics can recover and drink responsibly again

A new book "Phoenix in a Bottle", due to be published on 30 May, will
prove that alcoholism is not a disease or illness, but a behaviour
problem rooted in childhood, which alcoholics can correct and be able
to drink responsibly again if and when they so wish.

The authors are former alcoholics Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald, a
married couple from Ayr, Ayrshire in Scotland.

Lilian and Murdoch's lives were devastated by alcoholism, but they
have now recovered so completely that they now not only lead normal
lives again, but are also able to drink in a perfectly sociable
manner once more.

That goes against the teaching of Alcoholics Anonymous, and of many
alcoholism treatment centres throughout the world. But Lilian (61)
and Murdoch (58) believe 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 argue 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.

Ten 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. 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 now writes business and financial articles for
three local weekly papers and also runs his own public relations
consultancy.

And Lilian is so keen to pass on the benefits of their experience to
others who still have problems with alcohol, that together the couple
wrote "Phoenix in a Bottle".

Eminent American addiction expert Dr Stanton Peele PhD has read the
book, and 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 will be
published by Melrose Books price £16.99 on 30 May.

Enquiries:

Ross Hilton
Commissioning Editor
Melrose Books
St Thomas Place
ELY
Cambridgeshire
CB7 4GG
Telephone: 00 44 1353 646608
E-mail: e-mail protected from spam bots
Web: www.melrosebooks.com

Issued by Fame Publicity Services.

Fame Publicity Services
10 Miller Road
AYR, Ayrshire
Scotland KA7 2AY
Tel.: 00 44 1292 281498
Mobile: 07833 667322.
E-mail: e-mail protected from spam bots
Web: www.famepublicity.co.uk

Lilian and Murdoch's website:
www.alcoholicscandrinksafelyagain.com

Melrose Books website:
www.melrosebooks.com

Dr Stanton Peele's website:
www.peele.net




Web links:

http://i-newswire.com/pr8494.html

http://www.24-7pressrelease.com/view_release.php?
rID=3788&tf7sid=ce8a547a08c7011ff861cc4134c30ef1

http://www.theopenpress.com/index.php?a=press&id=799

http://www.famepublicity.co.uk/productssimple1.html

http://www.pressbox.co.uk/Detailed/24330.html

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/2/prweb213026.htm

http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2005/2/prweb213026.htm

Hello There,

My name is Aaron and I write to you from Sacramento,California.I am
currently a member of other yahoo groups,mainly Anti-AA.
Without going into a big story,I will tell you that I was in and out
of AA for approx 25 years,indoctrinated at age 13.It is a cult,and
quite dangerous in my opinion.My story is almost unbelivable,so I
dont tell it.But I believe that what is taught in Alcoholics
Anonymous has caused suicides.www.morerevealed.com
I deal with my experiences in AA mostly by using humor,and I am
interested in making a film that exposes AA for what it truly is.I
do not know about the U.K.,but here in the USA,AA has infiltrated
the Judicial as well as Medical fields.Every time someone is
mandated by the court to attend meetings,it violates the
Constitution (separation of Church & State).
I am sure you have researched AA so I dont need to go on about it.
If you want a good laugh,check out the photo section at:
enemiesofbill@yahoogroups.com
Best wishes for this group,you will hear from me again.
Someday I hope to be able to visit the U.K......
Sincerely,Aaron

Hi there.

Great to hear from you and to read how you overcame your problems.

We've all had different issues from the past, and like you, we dealt
with them.

You're so right about the self-defeating mantra. "Alcoholic" is just
a label AAs stick on themselves, and they have it on for the rest of
their lives. AA disempowers people (the first step). We want to give
people their power back. Nobody is powerless to change their own
behaviour.

We've also got our main website if you'd like to have a look at it.
The address is www.alcoholicscandrinksafelyagain.com

Well done to you!

Kind regards,

Lilian and Murdoch.

I saw a program about your organisation a year or so ago, and I
thought to myself "They are absolutely right". And today I was
compelled to look up your site in response to a debate I got into
about alchoholism.

I myself was an alchoholic, for a number of years until a change
about 6 years ago, in which I delved into why I was having so many
problems in my social and professional life.  I realized I had
issues stemming from childhood that I had not dealt with. So I dealt
with them.

Mind you, I did not seek any professional help, but started my own
program of meditation and introspective, slowly unraveling the knots
of my personality and finding out where the various pieces of the
puzzle led. I was a long hard road, and there were some tears shed,
but in the end, I am a happier manand do not live in fear of the
bottle.

Today, I enjoy beer, and the occasional spirit, and have become
quite an afficionado of microbrews as well as tasty imports, and
have also taken up enjoying the occasional bottle of good wine.
I rarely drink to excess, except for the occasion of celebration
with friends, when I hoist just one too many in toast, but I don't
like hangovers, so I avoid doing that as much as humanly possible.

Once again, you two are spot on, and I hope you can help people
overcome the self-defeating mantra of "Once an Alchy, always an
Alchy."  Personally, I think that just gives a problem drinker an
excuse to fail.

Hello,
I frequently post on 12 step free and sometimes EFTCoaa.  I left aa
around 2 years ago.  At first I went through a brief period where I
over did drinking and got really sick. twice.  I can now see that it
was because I had fetishised alcohol thanks to aa for so many years
and it was a forbidden fruit.  After the second time, I called a so
called friend in aa who of course advised me to go back to meetings
and I almost did.  My husband, who has always hated aa and has never
had any alcohol problems, talked me out of it.  I realized I had a
choice and I could control my destiny.  I have not drunk to excess
since July. I now just have a glass of wine with meals occasionally.
The thinking about drinking has disappeared as I have put some time
between my last meeting.  I have thrown away all the aa literature in
my house.  I am beginning to feel like an adult again instead of the
"child within me" crap that I was always hearing at meetings.  Thank you.

Hello,

This email message is a notification to let you know that
a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the AlcoholicsCanDrinkSafelyAgain
group.

   File        : /Alcoholics Anonymous is wrong 2.doc
   Uploaded by : lilianandmurdoch <LilianandMurdoch@...>
   Description : Alcoholics Anonymous is wrong - alcoholism is not a disease

You can access this file at the URL:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AlcoholicsCanDrinkSafelyAgain/files/Alcoholics%20A\
nonymous%20is%20wrong%202.doc

To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit:
http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/groups/files

Regards,

lilianandmurdoch <LilianandMurdoch@...>

Alcoholics Anonymous is Wrong - Alcoholism is Not a Disease

Alcoholism is not an incurable and progressive illness or disease, as
Alcoholics Anonymous would have us believe, but rather a self-harming
behaviour problem with its roots in childhood.

So say former alcoholics Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald from Ayrshire
in Scotland. They argue that pursuing lifelong sobriety is not a sign
of recovery from alcoholism, as Alcoholics Anonymous claims. Staying
away from booze one day at a time is treating the symptom instead of
the fundamental underlying problem, and merely a damage limitation
exercise.

Lilian says: "If an alcoholic is willing to identify and thoroughly
address their issues from the past, then there is no reason why he or
she should not be able to consciously change their previously
problematic behaviour patterns, even to the extent of being able to
drink responsibly and safely again in a perfectly normal and sociable
manner. We know that this is possible, because we have done it
ourselves. So have many other former alcoholics who have contacted us
from all over the world through our website
www.alcoholicscandrinksafelyagain.com

"Being able to drink responsibly again is important in itself for an
alcoholic, because it's not pleasant to be socially excluded for any
reason. But being able to drink normally and safely again is even
more important because it is the outward and visible sign that an
alcoholic has resolved his or her problems and is truly well again.

"Nobody is incapable of changing their behaviour. And that is one of
the fundamental differences between Alcoholics Anonymous and us. AA
disempowers people – the first of the Twelve Steps says: "We admitted
we were powerless over alcohol" – but we are fighting to give
alcoholics that power back."

Ten years ago the Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald 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. They had moved
there from Ayr with the idea of Murdoch doing research for a
doctorate (PhD), but reverted to their old habits, started binge
drinking, and were 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.

The couple 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 now writes his own regular column in the local
weekly paper and also runs his own public relations consultancy.

And Lilian is so keen to pass on the benefits of their experience to
others who still have problems with alcohol, that the couple are
building a website www.alcoholicscandrinksafelyagain.com to spread
their message of hope.

They also have a community group website at
http://groups.msn.com/AlcoholicsCanDrinkSafelyAgain which includes a
chat room and message board where members can exchange thoughts,
ideas and experiences.

Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald's web links:
http://www.alcoholicscandrinksafelyagain.com/newpage20.html
http://www.famepublicity.co.uk/productssimple1.html

Main website:
http://www.alcoholicscandrinksafelyagain.com

Community websites
http://groups.msn.com/Alcoholicsdontneedtostayonthewagon
http://groups.msn.com/AlcoholicsCanDrinkSafelyAgain
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AlcoholicsCanDrinkSafelyAgain/

Murdoch MacDonald concluded: "It is high time that the semi-quiescent
media reviewed the quasi-monopoly that they appear to have granted to
Alcoholics Anonymous on the subject of alcoholism. If the media were
to properly examine the 12-Step programme, they would realise that
Alcoholics Anonymous is a pseudo-religious cult that has held up and
blocked real progress in the field of alcoholism for the past three
score years and ten."

Issued by Fame Publicity Services
10 Miller Road
AYR, Ayrshire
Scotland
KA7 2AY

Telephone: +44 (0)1292 281498

Website: www.famepublicity.co.uk

Hello,

This email message is a notification to let you know that
a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the AlcoholicsCanDrinkSafelyAgain
group.

   File        : /Andrew Johnson press release FINAL.doc
   Uploaded by : lilianandmurdoch <LilianandMurdoch@...>
   Description : Relaxation CD - a useful aid to recovery

You can access this file at the URL:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AlcoholicsCanDrinkSafelyAgain/files/Andrew%20Johns\
on%20press%20release%20FINAL.doc

To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit:
http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/groups/files

Regards,

lilianandmurdoch <LilianandMurdoch@...>

Check out this link:

http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2004/10/emw166719.htm



--- In
AlcoholicsCanDrinkSafelyAgain@yahoogroups.com, "lilianandmurdoch"
<LilianandMurdoch@a...> wrote:
>
>
> Check out this link:
>
> http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/10/prwebxml166719.php
>
>
>
> --- In
> AlcoholicsCanDrinkSafelyAgain@yahoogroups.com, "lilianandmurdoch"
> <LilianandMurdoch@a...> wrote:
> >
> >
> > Lifelong sobriety is not recovery from alcoholism, as Alcoholics
> > Anonymous claims. It's just a damage limitation exercise.
> >   Pursuing lifelong sobriety is not a sign of recovery from
> > alcoholism, as Alcoholics Anonymous claims. Staying away from
booze
> > one day at a time is treating the symptom instead of the
> fundamental
> > underlying problem, and merely a damage limitation exercise.
> >
> > (PRWEB) October 12, 2004 -- Pursuing lifelong sobriety is not a
> sign
> > of recovery from alcoholism, as Alcoholics Anonymous claims.
> Staying
> > away from booze one day at a time is treating the symptom instead
> of
> > the fundamental underlying problem, and merely a damage
limitation
> > exercise.
> >
> > So say former alcoholics Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald from
Ayrshire
> > in Scotland. They argue that alcoholism is not an incurable and
> > progressive illness or disease, as Alcoholics Anonymous would
have
> us
> > believe, but rather a self-harming behaviour problem with its
roots
> > in childhood.
> >
> > Lilian says: "If an alcoholic is willing to identify and
thoroughly
> > address these issues from the past, then there is no reason why
he
> or
> > she should not be able to consciously change their previously
> > problematic behaviour patterns, even to the extent of being able
to
> > drink responsibly and safely again in a perfectly normal and
> sociable
> > manner. We know that this is possible, because we have done it
> > ourselves. So have many other former alcoholics who have
contacted
> us
> > from all over the world through our website
> > www.alcoholicscandrinksafelyagain.com
> >
> > "Being able to drink responsibly again is important in itself for
> an
> > alcoholic, because it's not pleasant to be socially excluded for
> any
> > reason. But being able to drink normally and safely again is even
> > more important because it is the outward and visible sign that an
> > alcoholic has resolved his or her problems and is truly well
again.
> >
> > "Nobody is incapable of changing their behaviour. And that is one
> of
> > the fundamental differences between Alcoholics Anonymous and us.
AA
> > disempowers people – the first of the Twelve Steps says: "We
> admitted
> > we were powerless over alcohol" – but we are fighting to give
> > alcoholics that power back."
> >
> > Ten years ago the Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald 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. They had moved
> > there from Ayr with the idea of Murdoch doing research for a
> > doctorate (PhD), but reverted to their old habits, started binge
> > drinking, and were 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.
> >
> > The couple 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 now writes his own regular column in the
local
> > weekly paper and also runs his own public relations consultancy.
> >
> > And Lilian is so keen to pass on the benefits of their experience
> to
> > others who still have problems with alcohol, that the couple are
> > building a website www.alcoholicscandrinksafelyagain.com to
spread
> > their message of hope.
> >
> > They also have a community group website at
> > http://groups.msn.com/AlcoholicsCanDrinkSafelyAgain which
includes
> a
> > chat room and message board where members can exchange thoughts,
> > ideas and experiences.
> >
> > Lilian and Murdoch have completed the first draft of a book about
> > their experiences, and are currently looking for a suitable
> publisher.
> >
> > Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald's web links:
> >
> > Main website:
> >
> > http://www.alcoholicscandrinksafelyagain.com
> >
> > Community websites
> >
> > http://groups.msn.com/Alcoholicsdontneedtostayonthewagon
> >
> > http://groups.msn.com/AlcoholicsCanDrinkSafelyAgain
> >
> >
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AlcoholicsCanDrinkSafelyAgain/
> >
> > Other links
> >
> > http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/10/prweb166719.htm
> >
> > http://www.alcoholicscandrinksafelyagain.com/newpage17.html
> >
> >
>
http://groups.msn.com/AlcoholicsCanDrinkSafelyAgain/sobrietyisnotrecov
> > ery.msnw
> >
> > http://www.openpress.com/index.php?a=press&id=1993
> >
> > http://www.alcoholicscandrinksafelyagain.com/newpage15.html
> >
> > http://www.pressbox.co.uk/Detailed/17770.html
> >
> > http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/6/prweb130243.htm
> >
> > http://www.pressbox.co.uk/Detailed/15000.html
> >
> > http://www.pr-scotland.com/releases/040409-02.htm
> >
> > http://www.alcoholicscandrinksafelyagain.com/newpage4.html
> >
> > http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/7/prweb144035.htm
> >
> > http://www.pr-scotland.com/releases/040726-01.htm
> >
> > http://www.pressbox.co.uk/Detailed/16150.html
> >
> > http://www.alcoholicscandrinksafelyagain.com/newpage0.html
> >
> > Issued by:
> >
> > Fame Publicity Services
> > 10 Miller Road
> > AYR, Ayrshire
> > Scotland KA7 2AY
> >
> > Telephone: +44 (0)1292 281498
> >
> > Website: www.famepublicity.co.uk

Check out this link:

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/10/prwebxml166719.php



--- In
AlcoholicsCanDrinkSafelyAgain@yahoogroups.com, "lilianandmurdoch"
<LilianandMurdoch@a...> wrote:
>
>
> Lifelong sobriety is not recovery from alcoholism, as Alcoholics
> Anonymous claims. It's just a damage limitation exercise.
>   Pursuing lifelong sobriety is not a sign of recovery from
> alcoholism, as Alcoholics Anonymous claims. Staying away from booze
> one day at a time is treating the symptom instead of the
fundamental
> underlying problem, and merely a damage limitation exercise.
>
> (PRWEB) October 12, 2004 -- Pursuing lifelong sobriety is not a
sign
> of recovery from alcoholism, as Alcoholics Anonymous claims.
Staying
> away from booze one day at a time is treating the symptom instead
of
> the fundamental underlying problem, and merely a damage limitation
> exercise.
>
> So say former alcoholics Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald from Ayrshire
> in Scotland. They argue that alcoholism is not an incurable and
> progressive illness or disease, as Alcoholics Anonymous would have
us
> believe, but rather a self-harming behaviour problem with its roots
> in childhood.
>
> Lilian says: "If an alcoholic is willing to identify and thoroughly
> address these issues from the past, then there is no reason why he
or
> she should not be able to consciously change their previously
> problematic behaviour patterns, even to the extent of being able to
> drink responsibly and safely again in a perfectly normal and
sociable
> manner. We know that this is possible, because we have done it
> ourselves. So have many other former alcoholics who have contacted
us
> from all over the world through our website
> www.alcoholicscandrinksafelyagain.com
>
> "Being able to drink responsibly again is important in itself for
an
> alcoholic, because it's not pleasant to be socially excluded for
any
> reason. But being able to drink normally and safely again is even
> more important because it is the outward and visible sign that an
> alcoholic has resolved his or her problems and is truly well again.
>
> "Nobody is incapable of changing their behaviour. And that is one
of
> the fundamental differences between Alcoholics Anonymous and us. AA
> disempowers people – the first of the Twelve Steps says: "We
admitted
> we were powerless over alcohol" – but we are fighting to give
> alcoholics that power back."
>
> Ten years ago the Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald 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. They had moved
> there from Ayr with the idea of Murdoch doing research for a
> doctorate (PhD), but reverted to their old habits, started binge
> drinking, and were 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.
>
> The couple 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 now writes his own regular column in the local
> weekly paper and also runs his own public relations consultancy.
>
> And Lilian is so keen to pass on the benefits of their experience
to
> others who still have problems with alcohol, that the couple are
> building a website www.alcoholicscandrinksafelyagain.com to spread
> their message of hope.
>
> They also have a community group website at
> http://groups.msn.com/AlcoholicsCanDrinkSafelyAgain which includes
a
> chat room and message board where members can exchange thoughts,
> ideas and experiences.
>
> Lilian and Murdoch have completed the first draft of a book about
> their experiences, and are currently looking for a suitable
publisher.
>
> Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald's web links:
>
> Main website:
>
> http://www.alcoholicscandrinksafelyagain.com
>
> Community websites
>
> http://groups.msn.com/Alcoholicsdontneedtostayonthewagon
>
> http://groups.msn.com/AlcoholicsCanDrinkSafelyAgain
>
> http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AlcoholicsCanDrinkSafelyAgain/
>
> Other links
>
> http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/10/prweb166719.htm
>
> http://www.alcoholicscandrinksafelyagain.com/newpage17.html
>
>
http://groups.msn.com/AlcoholicsCanDrinkSafelyAgain/sobrietyisnotrecov
> ery.msnw
>
> http://www.openpress.com/index.php?a=press&id=1993
>
> http://www.alcoholicscandrinksafelyagain.com/newpage15.html
>
> http://www.pressbox.co.uk/Detailed/17770.html
>
> http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/6/prweb130243.htm
>
> http://www.pressbox.co.uk/Detailed/15000.html
>
> http://www.pr-scotland.com/releases/040409-02.htm
>
> http://www.alcoholicscandrinksafelyagain.com/newpage4.html
>
> http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/7/prweb144035.htm
>
> http://www.pr-scotland.com/releases/040726-01.htm
>
> http://www.pressbox.co.uk/Detailed/16150.html
>
> http://www.alcoholicscandrinksafelyagain.com/newpage0.html
>
> Issued by:
>
> Fame Publicity Services
> 10 Miller Road
> AYR, Ayrshire
> Scotland KA7 2AY
>
> Telephone: +44 (0)1292 281498
>
> Website: www.famepublicity.co.uk

Lifelong sobriety is not recovery from alcoholism, as Alcoholics
Anonymous claims. It's just a damage limitation exercise.
   Pursuing lifelong sobriety is not a sign of recovery from
alcoholism, as Alcoholics Anonymous claims. Staying away from booze
one day at a time is treating the symptom instead of the fundamental
underlying problem, and merely a damage limitation exercise.

(PRWEB) October 12, 2004 -- Pursuing lifelong sobriety is not a sign
of recovery from alcoholism, as Alcoholics Anonymous claims. Staying
away from booze one day at a time is treating the symptom instead of
the fundamental underlying problem, and merely a damage limitation
exercise.

So say former alcoholics Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald from Ayrshire
in Scotland. They argue that alcoholism is not an incurable and
progressive illness or disease, as Alcoholics Anonymous would have us
believe, but rather a self-harming behaviour problem with its roots
in childhood.

Lilian says: "If an alcoholic is willing to identify and thoroughly
address these issues from the past, then there is no reason why he or
she should not be able to consciously change their previously
problematic behaviour patterns, even to the extent of being able to
drink responsibly and safely again in a perfectly normal and sociable
manner. We know that this is possible, because we have done it
ourselves. So have many other former alcoholics who have contacted us
from all over the world through our website
www.alcoholicscandrinksafelyagain.com

"Being able to drink responsibly again is important in itself for an
alcoholic, because it's not pleasant to be socially excluded for any
reason. But being able to drink normally and safely again is even
more important because it is the outward and visible sign that an
alcoholic has resolved his or her problems and is truly well again.

"Nobody is incapable of changing their behaviour. And that is one of
the fundamental differences between Alcoholics Anonymous and us. AA
disempowers people – the first of the Twelve Steps says: "We admitted
we were powerless over alcohol" – but we are fighting to give
alcoholics that power back."

Ten years ago the Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald 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. They had moved
there from Ayr with the idea of Murdoch doing research for a
doctorate (PhD), but reverted to their old habits, started binge
drinking, and were 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.

The couple 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 now writes his own regular column in the local
weekly paper and also runs his own public relations consultancy.

And Lilian is so keen to pass on the benefits of their experience to
others who still have problems with alcohol, that the couple are
building a website www.alcoholicscandrinksafelyagain.com to spread
their message of hope.

They also have a community group website at
http://groups.msn.com/AlcoholicsCanDrinkSafelyAgain which includes a
chat room and message board where members can exchange thoughts,
ideas and experiences.

Lilian and Murdoch have completed the first draft of a book about
their experiences, and are currently looking for a suitable publisher.

Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald's web links:

Main website:

http://www.alcoholicscandrinksafelyagain.com

Community websites

http://groups.msn.com/Alcoholicsdontneedtostayonthewagon

http://groups.msn.com/AlcoholicsCanDrinkSafelyAgain

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AlcoholicsCanDrinkSafelyAgain/

Other links

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/10/prweb166719.htm

http://www.alcoholicscandrinksafelyagain.com/newpage17.html

http://groups.msn.com/AlcoholicsCanDrinkSafelyAgain/sobrietyisnotrecov
ery.msnw

http://www.openpress.com/index.php?a=press&id=1993

http://www.alcoholicscandrinksafelyagain.com/newpage15.html

http://www.pressbox.co.uk/Detailed/17770.html

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/6/prweb130243.htm

http://www.pressbox.co.uk/Detailed/15000.html

http://www.pr-scotland.com/releases/040409-02.htm

http://www.alcoholicscandrinksafelyagain.com/newpage4.html

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/7/prweb144035.htm

http://www.pr-scotland.com/releases/040726-01.htm

http://www.pressbox.co.uk/Detailed/16150.html

http://www.alcoholicscandrinksafelyagain.com/newpage0.html

Issued by:

Fame Publicity Services
10 Miller Road
AYR, Ayrshire
Scotland KA7 2AY

Telephone: +44 (0)1292 281498

Website: www.famepublicity.co.uk

Can alcoholics recover and drink normally again? Pioneering new book
seeking publisher will reveal the truth
   If you were to try putting the question "can alcoholics recover and
drink normally again?" to members of your family, friends and
neighbours, they would probably come up by way of response with the
tired old clichés from Alcoholics Anonymous like "once an alcoholic,
always an alcoholic" or "just one drink sets up the compulsion". But
if you try keying in the question "can alcoholics recover and drink
normally again" on one of the main Internet search engines like
Google, MSN, Yahoo, Lycos or AskJeeves, you will come up with a very
different answer.

(PRWEB) September 21, 2004 -- If you were to try putting the
question "can alcoholics recover and drink normally again?" to
members of your family, friends and neighbours, they would probably
come up by way of response with the tired old clichés from Alcoholics
Anonymous like "once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic" or "just one
drink sets up the compulsion".

But if you try keying in the question "can alcoholics recover and
drink normally again" on one of the main Internet search engines like
Google, MSN, Yahoo, Lycos or AskJeeves, you will come up with a very
different answer.

The top result listed on all the major search engines will link you
through to one of the websites run by Murdoch and Lilian MacDonald,
two former alcoholics who have recovered from alcoholism so
completely that they are now able to take a drink quite normally and
safely again, if and when they so wish.

Murdoch (58) and Lilian (60), a married couple from Ayrshire in
Scotland, have set up their websites to tell their story to the
world. Because until now they believe that alcoholics have had a raw
deal, as the quasi-monopoly enjoyed by Alcoholics Anonymous has
effectively denied them any real choice about their own treatment.

"We are not against anybody going to AA if that's what they want,"
says Lilian. "But we say that lifelong sobriety is not recovery from
alcoholism, as AA prescribes. That is only treating the symptom
rather than the underlying cause, and as such is merely a damage-
limitation exercise."

"Alcoholism is not a disease, as AA and other 12-Step programmes
maintain," argues Murdoch. "Alcoholism, like other so-called
addictions, is a behaviour problem stemming from childhood. There is
no reason why anybody who is prepared to identify and address these
issues from the past cannot make a real and full recovery and drink
safely and normally again, if and when they so wish. We know, and we
do.

"Nobody is incapable of changing their behaviour. And that is one of
the fundamental differences between Alcoholics Anonymous and us. AA
disempowers people – the first of the Twelve Steps says: "We admitted
we were powerless over alcohol" – but we are fighting to give them
that power back."

Ten 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. They had moved there from Ayr with the idea of
Murdoch doing research for a doctorate (PhD), but reverted to their
old habits, started binge drinking, and were 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.

The couple 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 now writes his own regular column in the local
weekly paper and also runs his own public relations consultancy.

And Lilian is so keen to pass on the benefits of their experience to
others who still have problems with alcohol, that the couple are
building a website www.alcoholicscandrinksafelyagain.com to spread
their message of hope.

They also have a community group website at
http://groups.msn.com/AlcoholicsCanDrinkSafelyAgain which includes a
chat room and message board where members can exchange thoughts,
ideas and experiences.

Lilian and Murdoch have completed the first draft of a book about
their experiences, and London literary agent Andrew Lownie is
currently looking for a suitable publisher.

Contact details:

Andrew Lownie Literary Agency
17 Sutherland Street
London, SW1V 4JU
Tel: 0171 828 1274
Fax: 0171 828 7608
E-mail: lownie@...
Website: www.andrewlownie.co.uk

Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald's web links:

Community websites

http://groups.msn.com/Alcoholicsdontneedtostayonthewagon

http://groups.msn.com/AlcoholicsCanDrinkSafelyAgain

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AlcoholicsCanDrinkSafelyAgain/

Main website in course of construction

http://www.alcoholicscandrinksafelyagain.com

Other links

http://www.alcoholicscandrinksafelyagain.com/newpage15.html

http://www.pressbox.co.uk/Detailed/17770.html

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/6/prweb130243.htm

http://www.pressbox.co.uk/Detailed/15000.html

http://www.pr-scotland.com/releases/040409-02.htm

http://www.alcoholicscandrinksafelyagain.com/newpage4.html

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/7/prweb144035.htm

http://www.pr-scotland.com/releases/040726-01.htm

http://www.pressbox.co.uk/Detailed/16150.html

http://www.alcoholicscandrinksafelyagain.com/newpage0.html

Issued by:

Fame Publicity Services
10 Miller Road
AYR, Ayrshire
Scotland KA7 2AY

Telephone: +44 (0)1292 281498

Website: www.famepublicity.co.uk

E-mail: FamePublicity@...

Welcome to all new members.

Please feel free to use the message board to share your story with
other members.

Please also visit our other site:

www.alcoholicscandrinksafelyagain.com

Kind regards,

Lilian and Murdoch.

They beat the booze – but still like a drink

By Bob Smyth
Sunday Post

A couple have written a book on how they beat the booze – but they'll
toast its publication with a drink.

Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald penned their story to highlight their
controversial claims that recovering alcoholics don't need to stay on
the wagon.

The couple, from Ayr, say they're "cured" of alcoholism, but still
enjoy drinking socially.

Now they're looking for a publisher, and are set to spread news of
their unusual treatment around the world on a website that they're
setting up alcoholicscandrinksafelyagain.com

Slamming

The pair have waged a campaign against conventional therapies for
drink problems, slamming Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and the theory
that "one drink will put you back on the road to ruin".

At their lowest point, boozing drove the couple to sleep rough. But
Murdoch insists: "Now we can enjoy a sociable bottle of wine."

He adds: "If you get rid of the root cause, instead of just the
symptoms, why shouldn't you be able to drink normally again?"

Lilian used to go on whisky binges which lasted weeks. Trapped in an
unhappy marriage, her childhood feelings of worthlessness came
flooding back.

She says: "Drink would block out all the worst things. It got rid of
my inferior feelings, and that's where the problems started."

As landlady of an Ayrshire pub, it was easy for her to have a drink
whenever she wanted it. She was in and out of AA, where she met
Murdoch 11 years ago. They married months later, blowing £5000 on
booze during their honeymoon.
Lilian says: "Soon after, we went to Cambridge for Murdoch to
complete a PhD. We started drinking and were thrown out of our rented
accommodation. We were begging in the streets."

One night they were beaten up.

Two nurses took them to hospital, then got them into a hostel. The
couple started addressing why they drank, and after a year, made a
fresh start.

They're delighted a new book published last week backs their views.

The book - 7 Tools to Beat Addiction - is by American addiction
expert Dr Stanton Peele, who is campaigning against the tendency of
American courts to make people convicted of drink-related offences
join AA as part of their sentence.

Disease

Dr Peele says: "While maintaining alcoholism is a disease, AA and
other disease proponents ignore the standard therapeutic requirement
that people be told of the alternatives, and be allowed to govern
their own health-care decisions."

Lilian says: "We are campaigning to get freedom of choice for
alcoholics. We are not against people going to AA if that's what they
want. But we believe in individual treatment for individual people -
not one size fits all."

Alcoholics Anonymous declined to comment.

Former Alcoholics from Ayrshire in Scotland Welcome American
Addiction Expert Stanton Peele's New Book on Recovery
   Two former alcoholics, Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald, a married
couple from Ayrshire in Scotland, welcome American addiction expert
Stanton Peele's new book on recovery "7 Tools to Beat Addiction". In
his latest book, addiction expert Dr. Peele once again explodes the
myth, prevalent in the United States and becoming more so elsewhere
in the world, that alcoholism, drug abuse and other addictions are a
disease which is bio-genetic in origin, and for which addicts must
seek medical treatment or join a support group like Alcoholics
Anonymous.

Ayrshire, Scotland (PRWEB) July 26, 2004 -- Two former alcoholics,
Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald, a married couple living in Ayrshire,
Scotland, have warmly welcomed the publication of a new book written
by social psychologist Dr. Stanton Peele called 7 Tools to Beat
Addiction.

In his latest book, addiction expert Dr. Peele once again explodes
the myth, prevalent in the United States and becoming more so
elsewhere in the world, that alcoholism, drug abuse and other
addictions are a disease which is bio-genetic in origin, and for
which addicts must seek medical treatment or join a support group
like Alcoholics Anonymous.

Dr Peele argues that addiction is not a disease, nor is it limited to
alcohol or to drugs - it can include, for instance food, shopping and
sex. He maintains that addiction is a pattern of dysfunctional
behaviour and experience that is best understood by examining an
individual's relationship with his or her world. Rather than a
disease, it is a manifestation of lack of skills for coping with
life – a lack that can and should be addressed and rectified.

The book then proceeds to list and describe seven tools, Values,
Motivation, Rewards, Resources, Support, Maturity, Higher Goals.
These are the tools that will empower addicts to outgrow destructive
habits by putting together the building blocks for a balanced,
fulfilling, and responsible life.

Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald said today: "We welcome the publication
of Dr Peele's new book "7 Steps to Beat Addiction", not least because
once again he debunks the myth that alcoholism and other addictions
are a disease. He goes on to quote American government-backed
statistics that prove that most addicts recover, and that the
majority of those that recover moreover do so without any medical
treatment and without the help of Alcoholics Anonymous or other 12-
Step programmes."

Scottish couple Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald are two former
alcoholics who have recovered so completely that they now not only
lead normal lives again, but are also able to drink in a perfectly
safe and sociable manner once more. They are building two websites to
help others do the same, and criticise Alcoholics Anonymous for being
a quasi-religious cult that has blocked and prevented progress in the
field of treatment of alcoholism for the past seventy years.

Many alcoholics CAN recover and drink safely again, if and when they
so wish, say Lilian and Murdoch.

This diametrically contradicts the teaching of Alcoholics Anonymous,
and of many alcoholism treatment centres throughout the world. But
Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald of Ayr in Scotland believe that the 12-
step programme of lifelong sobriety is not the solution to
alcoholism, as it only treats the symptoms and not the causes of the
problem, and is merely a damage-limitation exercise.

Lilian and Murdoch argue that alcoholism, like other self-harming
disorders including bulimia, anorexia and self-mutilation, is a
behaviour problem, not a disease, often stemming from problems
experienced in childhood. And if these problems can be identified and
properly addressed, then the problem behaviour can be cured.

And Lilian and Murdoch have just completed the first draft of a book
about their experiences, and will shortly start looking for a
suitable publisher.

The couple also criticise the private clinics that have jumped upon
the AA bandwagon and peddle the 12-step philosophy at an average cost
of £3,000 per week in the UK for a typical stay of 5-6 weeks.

They agree with Stanton Peele, who says, "The medical establishment
has come to recognize the financial and other advantages of
piggybacking on the AA movement, as have many recovering alcoholics.
AA members frequently make counselling careers out of their
recoveries. They and the treatment centres then benefit from third-
party reimbursement. In a recent survey of 15 treatment centres
across the US, researcher Marie Bourbine-Twohig found that all of the
centres (90 percent of which were residential) practiced the 12-step
philosophy, and two-thirds of all counsellors in the facilities were
recovering alcoholics and addicts."

Lilian concludes, "When our ideas about alcoholism - of which we are
the living proof - gain more acceptance worldwide, and if more
government money is put into preventative measures, not only will
alcoholics stand a greater chance of getting back to normality, but
we will also have taken the first step towards ensuring that
alcoholism can be stamped out altogether."

Dr. Stanton Peele's new book "7 Tools to Beat Addiction" is published
tomorrow, Tuesday, 27 July by Three Rivers Press, an imprint of
Random House ($14.00). See Web links below.

STANTON PEELE
Stanton Peele PhD, JD is a psychologist and lawyer who is recognised
as a leading expert in the addiction field. He is an adjunct
professor at the New York University School of Social Work and a
senior fellow at the Drug Policy Alliance.

Beginning in 1975 with the publication of Love and Addiction, he has
written a series of well-received books that forcefully present new
approaches to addiction. Dr. Peele's other books include Diseasing of
America and The Truth About Addiction and Recovery. As interest in
alternative approaches to addiction has grown, more and more books
appear that refer to his work.

Dr. Peele has received the Mark Keller Award from the Rutgers Center
of Alcohol Studies and the lifetime scholarship award from the Drug
Policy Alliance. He lectures nationally and internationally and is
often called upon to comment on controversial developments in the
addiction arena. He also writes popular magazine and newspaper
articles, many of which have been reprinted in collections for
college students. He maintains an active website, www.peele.net, in
which he answers questions about addiction from readers around the
world.

WEB LINKS:

Information about "7 Tools to Beat Addiction" on Stanton Peele's
website:

http://www.peele.net/7tools/index.html

Random House

http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=1400048737

Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1400048737/102-5349011-
3887362?v=glance

Amazon UK

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1400048737/qid=1090761933/202
-2036468-1904645

LILIAN AND MURDOCH MACDOALD'S WEB LINKS:

Community websites

http://groups.msn.com/Alcoholicsdontneedtostayonthewagon

http://groups.msn.com/AlcoholicsCanDrinkSafelyAgain

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AlcoholicsCanDrinkSafelyAgain/

Main website in course of construction

http://www.alcoholicscandrinksafelyagain.com

Other links

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/6/prweb130243.htm
http://www.pressbox.co.uk/Detailed/15000.html
http://www.pr-scotland.com/releases/040409-02.htm

NEWS RELEASE: Immediate


Alcoholics CAN recover and learn to drink safely again!


"Alcoholics Anonymous is a quasi-religious cult that has blocked and
prevented progress in the field of treatment of alcoholism for the
past seventy years," claim Scots couple.

Many alcoholics CAN recover and drink safely again, if and when they
so wish.

That is the message of hope offered on two Internet websites hosted
by a Scots couple whose lives were devastated by alcoholism, but have
now recovered so completely that they now not only lead normal lives
again, but are also able to drink in a perfectly sociable manner once
more.

That diametrically contradicts the teaching of Alcoholics Anonymous,
and of many alcoholism treatment centres throughout the world. But
Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald of Ayr in Scotland believe that the 12-
step programme of lifelong sobriety is not the solution to
alcoholism, as it only treats the symptoms and not the causes of the
problem, and is merely a damage-limitation exercise.

Lilian and Murdoch argue that alcoholism, like other self-harming
disorders including bulimia, anorexia and self-mutilation, is a
behaviour problem, not a disease, often stemming from problems
experienced in childhood. And if these problems can be identified and
properly addressed, then the problem behaviour can be cured.

Ten 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. They had moved there from Ayr with the idea of
Murdoch doing research for a doctorate (PhD), but reverted to their
old habits, started binge drinking, and were 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.

The couple 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 now writes his own regular column in the local
weekly paper and also runs his own public relations consultancy.

And Lilian is so keen to pass on the benefits of their experience to
others who still have problems with alcohol, that the couple are
building a website www.alcoholicscandrinksafelyagain.com to spread
their message of hope.

They also have a community group website at
http://groups.msn.com/AlcoholicsCanDrinkSafelyAgain which includes a
chat room and message board where members can exchange thoughts,
ideas and experiences.

And Lilian and Murdoch have just completed the first draft of a book
about their experiences, and will shortly start looking for a
suitable publisher.
*
The couple recognise that they are not the first to criticise AA and
advocate that alcoholics can make a complete recovery without having
to commit themselves to a lifetime of abstinence. Indeed as long ago
as 1964, Dr Arthur H Cain published an article in the Saturday
Evening Post in which he claimed that even then that "Alcoholics
Anonymous had become a dogmatic cult that blocks medical progress and
hampers many members' lives," and that "because of its narrow
outlook, Alcoholics Anonymous prevents thousands from ever being
cured. Moreover AA has retarded scientific research into one of
America's most serious health problems."

And more recently, Dr Stanton Peele has criticised the AA movement in
his books and on his website www.peele.net

Dr Peele is currently campaigning against the tendency of American
courts of law to coerce people convicted of drink-related offences
into joining AA as part of their sentence.

Lilian said: "We are campaigning to get freedom of choice for
alcoholics. We are not against people going to AA if that's what they
want. But we believe in individual treatment for individual people –
not one-size fits all."

"As Stanton Peele says: `Oddly enough, while maintaining alcoholism
is a disease, AA and other disease proponents ignore the standard
therapeutic requirement that people be told of the alternatives, and
be allowed to govern their own health care decisions.'"
*
Lilian and Murdoch find it strange that since Arthur Cain's
groundbreaking article in 1964, the media have appeared reluctant to
give any significant coverage to people who are critical of AA. As
Murdoch points out: "The media have traditionally granted AA a quasi-
monopoly in the field of alcoholism, and those of us who want to
promote a more enlightened and progressive attitude towards the
subject find it almost impossible to be heard. It is as if too many
AA members and sympathisers have attained positions of influence in
the media, and are able to censor any opinions that appear to
contradict the AA philosophy."

The couple's final criticism is of the private clinics that have
jumped upon the AA bandwagon and peddle the 12-step philosophy at an
average cost of £3,000 per week in the UK for a typical stay of 5-6
weeks.

Stanton Peele says: "The medical establishment has come to recognize
the financial and other advantages of piggybacking on the AA
movement, as have many recovering alcoholics. AA members frequently
make counselling careers out of their recoveries. They and the
treatment centres then benefit from third-party reimbursement. In a
recent survey of 15 treatment centres across the US, researcher Marie
Bourbine-Twohig found that all of the centres (90 percent of which
were residential) practiced the 12-step philosophy, and two-thirds of
all counsellors in the facilities were recovering alcoholics and
addicts."

Lilian concludes: "When our ideas about alcoholism - of which we are
the living proof - gain more acceptance worldwide, and if more
government money is put into preventative measures, not only will
alcoholics stand a greater chance of getting back to normality, but
we will also have taken the first step towards ensuring that
alcoholism can be stamped out altogether."

-ends-
Notes:

1. Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald are available for interview 0900-
2200 hours Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).
E-mail: lilianandmurdoch@...
2. A jpeg image of Lilian and Murdoch is attached to this press
release.
3. Also attached is a copy of the text of the article by Dr
Arthur H Cain in the Saturday Evening Post dated 19 September 1964.
The article can also be accessed online by logging on to:
www.aadeprogramming.com/reclaim/cured.html

Web links:

Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald's websites:
www.alcoholicscandrinksafelyagain.com
http://groups.msn.com/AlcoholicsCanDrinkSafelyAgain

Dr Stanton Peele's Addiction Website: www.peele.net

AA Deprogramming site: www.aadeprogramming.com

Issued by Fame Publicity Services.
E-mail: famepublicity@...

I am a graduate student conducting research on relationships and
drinking habits.  Your participation would be greatly appreciated.
It's an anonymous on-line survey that takes about 30 minutes to complete.

You are NOT eligible to participate if any of the following are true:
You are under the age of 18
You are currently an inpatient or outpatient at a drug and alcohol
treatment facility
You are currently a defendant in a legal proceeding involving alcohol
or drug use
You are currently in jail, under house arrest, under probation or
under court order to attend a recovery program for alcohol or drug use

For more information about the research and how to participate,
please click on the link below.  It will take you to the survey site.

Please feel free to forward this e-mail to any recovering alcoholics
you know who might like to participate.

CLICK ON THIS LINK:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=64146438394

I am so pleased to have found this site and to have read what
Lawrence said.  I have a  problem with eating and drinking.  I keep
on thinking that 12 step programmes are there for people who want to
control and have power over others.  I would love to know how TA
helped and how  did Lawrence get into it in the first
place...............Once again I am delighted that someone has had
the guts to state that addiction problems have roots in
childhoon........and that 1 step programmes are questionable
Thanks

Dear Lilian and Murdoch,

Let me briefly introduce myself:

My name is Lawrence Leith, I am 36 in April, and for the past several
months I have been able drink normally. So what's so special about
that, you may ask.

I developed a drink problem way back when I was around 17 - I am from
Sunderland - a city in the north east of England with a hard drinking
cultural history. To cut a long story short, my drinking cost me my
career, my fiancée at the time, my self respect - the usual stuff!
I ended up in AA for about 6 weeks in 1994, but thought I was
superior to 'them'. All I really wanted was for them to teach me how
to drink without getting into all the trouble I was ending up in! I
don't mean trouble with the law - I mean the worst kind; the trouble
that tears at your very reason for existing, and makes you question
if it's all worth it. I call it 'The Dark Place'.

Anyway, I rejected AA and went back to my usual routine, which landed
me in hospital, drying out several times over the years, culminating
in a spell in a rehab unit in Durham. By this time my liver had
packed in and I needed a transplant quite urgently soon after my
admission to the rehab. This happened in 1997 and I resumed drinking
about 4 months later! I started off with Kaliber, but within weeks I
was back on vodka.

Now this is the sick bit! I was going out with a girl who was as
screwed up as I was (she was a care assistant in the respite home
where I convalesced after the transplant). I was so weak after the
operation that I didn't have the will to lead any sort of independent
life, and she loved to smother me to bits. It was after 8 months or
so when out of the blue a thought occurred to me. "Lawrence, you're
worth more than this. You have potential to do some good with your
life, so stop wasting it." I stopped drinking and went back to AA.
The sad part is that I went to AA because I knew it would take up a
large amount of my time; the payoff being that I wouldn't have to be
around the well-meaning but stifling Debbie! I think it backfired on
me because after 3 months or so I was quite immersed in AA (even
though I was drinking on and off in secret - but in far less harmful
amounts).

My involvement in AA lasted about 4 years. I had stopped drinking,
but had learned to rely on the group-think and AA jargon for my
sobriety. The thing is, I knew that it was all a crock of [rubbish]
since day one! All I was doing was playing one great big mind game
with other 12 steppers to see who could outsober the other one! All
the talk of the program used to disillusion me - I could never get a
straight answer out of anyone as to 'how' you integrated it into your
normal pattern of living.

You'll hate me for this but I was asked to work in a 12 step based
treatment centre, which I did for a year or so. Finally my conscience
got the better of me and I started to look for other ways of treating
alcohol problems. I got into Transactional Analysis and am currently
training for my MSc in TA Psychotherapy, which will take me another 4
years.

I actually got the sack from the 12 step unit, as my radical beliefs
that AA wasn't the be all and end all of getting well seemed to upset
the counsellors (Ha! Don't get me started on that one! "Counsellors"?
They were the 'cream' of AA who sold their souls to 12 step people
for a living when AA offered the same thing for free!)

I am of the opinion that in order to recover from anything, you have
to go back to a state of mental well-being similar to the one you had
before there was a problem with whatever it was. This is the opposite
to total abstinence where you are merely adapting to circumstances,
or living by avoiding a substance that AA has empowered with human
qualities such as cunning baffling and powerful! Until I took total
responsibility for my own actions, and stopped blaming drink, other
people, or just 'the world', then I was going nowhere fast.

Now, as you rightly point out, once the physical dependence is dealt
with then you have to go back to see what event or events led up to
the decision to cope with life by drinking. I had to explore my
beliefs about my catholic upbringing, combined with a mother with a
binge drinking problem, and a father who pretended that everything
was OK, and even got angry with me and my twin sister for getting
upset when mam was verbally and physically abusing us. The resulting
low self esteem, and an irrational belief that everyone else in the
world was OK, except for me, led to the type of thinking and feeling
that was crying out to be quelled by the sort of drinking I did best.

The anger has now turned to compassion, and with that came a strange
peace of mind. I have a much better paid job in a private company. I
work at an alcohol and drug treatment unit in the capacity of Care Co-
ordinator. That basically means that it's up to me as to what goes
into the therapeutic treatment programme. It's mostly life skills,
and cognitive behavioural stuff we do, but I am constantly updating
the programme and reviewing the way we work with our client group. I
am dead laid back in the groups and leave the clients to draw their
own conclusions as to what's best for them. This is direct opposition
to what I got drummed into me at AA, where the newcomers are dictated
to and almost brainwashed. We get a fair amount of AA survivors, who
it is a pleasure to convince that they will not die or go insane if
they don't do 5 meetings a week! As for the disease thing... don't go
there.

I even have a few cans of ordinary strength lager on a weekend, with
no mad urge to go on a bender. I don't need to anymore. That's all
gone now. I have made my peace with the bottle. I am still wary of
it, and respect it, but I set myself limits. Besides, if I drink over
4 cans, then it reacts badly with my anti-rejection medication - it's
like having built in antabuse! (Not that I ever took that when I was
meant to!)

Another helpful way of looking at life for me is seeing what has
happened since I stopped abusing alcohol. I have just bought a house,
I have a great family, 2 cars, a bright new career, I get on fine
with my mam and dad, and even enjoy a glass of wine with a meal! The
spooky thing is that I was the one who changed - not them!

I could go on, but I have to get up for work tomorrow - unlike most
of my ex-friends in AA. (Ooooh, that was a bit harsh!)

Take care of yourselves, and let me know when you plan to update the
site. I'd also like to know how things are with your book.

Yours mischievously

Lawrence