The Chemical Carousel: What Science Tells Us About Beating Addiction
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.39 (810 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 1439212996 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 472 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2017-03-03 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
One of the Best Books on Addiction As a recovering alcoholic-slash-addict, as a writer of a memoir dealing with addiction, (The Los Angeles Diaries), I've read 89 books on the subject of alcoholism and addiction, and I can say without reservation that Dirk Hanson's THE CHEMICAL CAROUSEL is one of my top five favorites. It is well researched. It is exceedingly well written. It is unbiased, yet empathetic to the plight of the addict/alcoholic, and the sections on overeating and tobacco add fur. John Graham said Finally, an honest depiction of addiction. I grew up with an addict. My mother, sister, and I spent our lives tip-toeing around the house, hoping we wouldn't enrage our alcoholic father, avoiding the inevitable outburst, trying not to get hit. There was no way that my father could "just say no." After reading Dirk Hanson's book, The Chemical Carousel, I now know why. But this book isn't just about alcoholism. Hanson has written a thoughtful and thorough description of the complex world of addiction,. "Best Book On Addiction I have Ever read" according to J. Forester. "Cunning, baffling, powerful," is how the AA Big Book describes addiction, and as an addict myself, that description jibed very well with my experience.Until now.At the height of addiction the addict has no more idea why they use than family or friends - or what to do about it. But now, for the first time, Dirk Hanson has demystified the inexplicable. This book is a must read for addiction professionals, but also for all addicts, recovered or not, and those
He looks at the pros and cons of today's pharmacopoeia, and gives a thorough, entertaining tour of the government's part in its creation. Though Hanson's tone may be conversational, like an informal chat with an informed friend, he nonetheless takes readers through the science of brain function and explicates what is known about its chemistry, physiology and psychology. We each have biochemical individuality while sharing neurochemical pathways of reward and relief and unconscientiously fashioning them to our desires: ways to feel good, molecular levels of bliss. But, as biological psychology indicates, the concept is much more complicated. The author is equally engaging when it comes to the role of diet and exercise. Hanson begin
--Winner of a 2010 Independent Publisher Book Award in the Health/Medicine/Nutrition Category.--Winner of the 2012 College on Problems of Drug Dependence/NIDA Media Award
Dirk Hanson is a freelance science reporter and novelist. His work has appeared in Scientific American, Huffington Post, AlterNet, California, and elsewhere. . His two previous books, The New Alchemists: Silicon Valley and the Microlectronics Revolution and The Incursion: A Novel, were reviewed in the New York Times, The New Yorker, The Los Angeles Times, Fortune, and other publication