4 out of 4 stars
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Ripcord Recovery: An Anecdotal Treatise by a Pioneering New Author is an inspiring memoir by T.T. Sawyer. It chronicles the author’s painful battle against alcoholism and drug addiction and reengineering of his own program of recovery as a last resort. It is written to help alcoholics/addicts who still suffer.
The book begins with a short background about the author. He is fifty-two years old and has been battling his disorder for thirty years. He took to beer and pot when he was eighteen and after three trips to rehab, he sobered up at twenty-two. He relapsed after two decades of sobriety and checked himself into another rehab. He stayed clean and sober for a year. As he was nearing another relapse, he tried a different, not FDA approved, not medically sanctioned or even legal in some states, program as a last resort. It worked.
This is a very inspiring book. Though it includes a glimpse of the pain and agony of withdrawals, the ennui of sobriety, and ignominy of relapse, the book focuses on the program and how it helps the author stay sober for three years and counting. It also describes how he came up with the program and the circumstances he was in that pushed him to try, out of desperation, something unconventional and even illegal as a last resort.
With only seventy-six pages, this is a very short but very substantial book. It is concise and free of irrelevant details. It is also an easy read and appears professionally edited. Moreover, it is inspiring and hopeful. It is apparently written with passion and genuine desire to help other people. The author’s fervor to share information that he believes is beneficial to others is quite laudable.
I enjoyed this book immensely. I can visualize the shame and can feel the regret of the author with every relapse. I can taste the self-loathing with every blackout and memory loss. The lack of appeal for sympathy and compassion makes the book sound even more sincere. The author owns his condition and feels proud of his achievement to stay sober, one day at a time.
This is, indeed, one inspiring book. However, the timeline of the author’s alcoholism/addiction, sobriety, and relapse is, somehow, confusing. Moreover, the program the author sets for himself needs careful consideration. It may have been working for him for years now but nobody knows for sure if it would work for somebody else since it is neither FDA-approved nor medically sanctioned. Furthermore, skeptical readers may not just ignore the program but may deem it dangerous and call out the author on misinformation.
Since I like everything about this book, I rate it 4 out of 4 stars. It is well-written, hopeful, and inspiring. Though I have reservations regarding the program, I recommend the book not only to patients of alcohol use and substance use disorder but also to their loved ones. I strongly believe that the program merits rumination and careful consideration and I sincerely hope that it would work to alleviate the pain and suffering of alcoholics and drug addicts around the world.
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Ripcord Recovery
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