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Alcoholism and Alcoholics by Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald Please also visit our main website: READ OUR BLOG |
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Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald |
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Conquering the demon drink From the Sunday Times For Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald, rejecting Alcoholics Anonymous’s message of abstinence was the first step on the long road to recovery...
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When you see an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting portrayed in a film or on television, the hero or heroine stands up and says: “My name’s Bill and I’m an alcoholic.” Then it fades out to lush music and you don’t know what happens next. Well, we attended AA meetings on and off for 20 or so years. We met at an AA meeting. It is pretty much the only option available to people with a drink problem. We are convinced that what happens after the music fades away does not help everybody. AA’s programme starts from the premise that alcoholism is an incurable illness, that alcoholics have a mental and physical allergy to booze, and that they are different from others. Their solution is to label you an alcoholic for life, browbeat you into accepting the label and insist that you give up drinking — they call it staying sober — for ever. It’s not sobriety they demand, it’s abstinence. After decades spent trying and failing the AA way, it is plain to us that alcoholism is not a disease and is not incurable. It’s a behavioural problem, a self-harming problem. We are no longer alcoholics. We got to the root of why we drank to excess and then rebuilt our lives. Now we can even enjoy a glass of wine with a meal. Alcoholics Anonymous started in the 1930s as an evangelical, non-denominational Christian sect. It says now that it’s not a religious organisation, yet out of the famous “12 steps”, six mention God. The Black Book — the bible of the AA movement — hasn’t changed in 70 years. You are not allowed to say the book is wrong, or to question it in any way. You may ask questions, but only as though you are consulting the oracle. There are large group sessions devoted to discussing how wonderful it is. You are never to stop reading and rereading it. From the beginning, we both felt this was wrong. For us, lifelong sobriety — the ultimate goal of AA members — is not recovery. It’s a damage limitation exercise. There is no easy way to escape the clutches of the bottle. We met at AA in Ayr, in 1993. Three years later we eloped. Our honeymoon was a £5,000 whisky bender. We moved to Cambridge, where Murdoch planned to start a PhD. But our landlady threw us out after a drunken binge and we were reduced to begging on the streets. That was our lowest point, living rough amid the glittering spires where Murdoch had been an undergraduate; no money for food or booze, wondering where we could go from there. One night two nurses found us huddled on a park bench. They took pity on us, bought us a cup of tea and found us a place in a hostel. From there, we began rebuilding our lives. We started writing our life stories, trying to figure out what was causing our self-destructive drinking. Going back to our childhoods, tracing the roots of my anorexia and Murdoch’s difficult relationship with his cold, distant father helped us to see why we had turned to the bottle. We spent a year figuring it all out while selling newspapers, saving money and planning a return to Ayr. We wanted to come back reasonably respectfully, with our drinking under control. We had to believe in ourselves, and in each other. We had no other friends. All doors were closed to us, nobody wanted to know, and that’s a hell of a place to be. Murdoch still does not see his two children from his first marriage. At this point I was still speaking to my son and daughter, our only family ties. It was Elaine, my daughter, who arranged for us to come back to Ayr. We moved into a rented flat and took whatever work we could find: door-to-door market research around the suburban fringes of Paisley with no car, no shelter, no toilet. Slowly, things fell into place. I got up one morning and said ‘Wow!’. It was as if a veil had fallen from my eyes. At last I realised why I had been behaving like this. We took on a jobshare with a small charity, then gradually Murdoch resumed his career as a financial journalist and PR man that had fallen by the wayside. At first he wrote a column for the Ayrshire Post, then edited a new paper, Scottish Recruitment. It wasn’t grandly paid, but it was better to be writing for newspapers than selling them. Our life together, which had always been defined by drinking, was becoming normal at last. We had to relearn how to mix with people. After years on the margins it was very strange to be invited anywhere, to be socially included. To be treated with a bit of respect. Today we have a great relationship with my son, John, 44, and are very close to Elaine, 39. She was wary the first time she saw us drinking — the AA message is so strong — but when we explained what we were doing, it made sense. She soon realised it was fine. It means she can come down on a Friday night, bring a bottle of wine and relax with us. She has been very supportive. Now, after seven years of hard labour, we have finally published our book. We really believe that our own struggle would have been so much quicker, and less painful, if we could have read a book like it. At the time, we did not know another soul who had been through what we were going through. It wasn’t until we came through the other end that we discovered that the first doubts about AA’s methods were voiced by the addiction expert Dr Stanton Peele as early as 1964. We were delighted when he agreed to read our book and described it as “a wonderful love story and a challenge to conventional wisdom about how people can recover from drinking problems”. So far we have found 12 psychiatrists, psychologists or clinics in America that agree with our theory that alcoholism is a behavioural problem and that it is possible to recover and drink in a controlled way. At the same time, however, law courts are, in many US states, including compulsory AA sessions in the sentences for drink-related offences. Another thing that alarms us is the way the AA 12-step plan has crept into the private sector. One of the only good things about AA is that it is free to whomever wants to attend. But now private clinics are piggybacking onto AA, taking the programme and selling it back at £3,000 a week for a six-week course. And then the NHS, unable or unwilling to deal with the whole problem of alcoholism, sends a percentage of its patients on these six-week courses. Who pays for this? Us. If AA works for you, if you want to give up drinking for life, that’s fine. We are not telling anyone what they should or should not do. But we do want to start a debate and open up choices. Phoenix in a Bottle, by Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald is published by Melrose Books, £16.99 * * * | Given proper advice, George Best could have drunk safely again ONE of the tragedies of George Best’s life was that, if he had been made aware of the full range of alternative options, he could have drunk alcohol in a safe, normal and responsible manner. That is the claim of Scottish couple and former alcoholics Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald, whose book on their recovery from alcoholism "Phoenix in a Bottle" was published earlier this year. Lilian and Murdoch say that, in common with many alcoholics, George Best would have appeared to have been given the stark choice between on the one hand carrying on drinking alcoholically, and on the other embracing lifelong abstinence from alcohol. But according to Lilian and Murdoch, there is a third choice. They maintain that alcoholism is not an incurable disease as Alcoholics Anonymous would have us believe. In fact it is a self-harming behaviour problem rooted in childhood. And if alcoholics are willing to identify and address their issues from the past, there is no reason why most of them should not be able to take a drink safely and responsibly again, if and when they so wish. In 1994 as a result of their alcoholism, Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald were down and out, sleeping rough in the streets and parks of Cambridge, the English university town where, a quarter of a century before, Murdoch had studied for an honours degree.
Refusing to accept what they consider to be the outmoded myths and dogma of Alcoholics Anonymous, Lilian and Murdoch set about searching for the underlying causes of their self-harming behaviour problem, which they discovered lay in childhood.
Although Lilian and Murdoch's upbringing caused their problems, they themselves take full responsibility for their drinking, most importantly because taking responsibility for one's own actions is the starting point on the road to recovery.
As a result of their endeavours, the couple are today back home in Ayrshire, Scotland, leading normal lives again, with their problems of alcoholism and Lilian's associated eating disorder well and truly behind them. Controversially, they are also now able to drink alcohol responsibly again, if and when they so wish.
Their book "Phoenix in a Bottle" is the story of their journey. It is published by Melrose Books ISBN 1905226144 price £16.99. Lilian and Murdoch’s website: www.alcoholicscandrinksafelyagain.com Web links: http://www.alcoholicscandrinksafelyagain.com/newpage32.html http://www.i-newswire.com/pr51333.html ClickPress PressBox The Open Press 24/7 PRWeb * * * Authors of controversial book about alcoholism appear on radio programme Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald, authors of the controversial book on alcoholism "Phoenix in a Bottle", were guests on Friday’s edition of BBC Radio 2’s Jeremy Vine Show. Lilian and Murdoch, from Ayrshire, Scotland, argue that Alcoholics Anonymous is wrong, and that alcoholism is not an illness or a disease, but a self-harming behaviour problem stemming from childhood. They maintain that lifelong sobriety is not the solution to alcoholism, as this only treats the symptoms and not the causes of the problem, and is merely a damage limitation exercise. The couple suggest that alcoholism, in common with other self-harming disorders like bulimia, anorexia and self-mutilation, often stems from problems experienced in childhood. And if these problems can be identified and properly addressed, then the problem behaviour can be cured. Eleven years ago the couple had hit rock bottom, sleeping rough for two weeks on the streets of Cambridge, where a quarter of a century previously as an undergraduate Murdoch had received an honours degree in English Literature at Magdalene College. They had moved to Cambridge from Ayr with the idea of Murdoch doing research for a doctorate, but had reverted to their old habits, started binge drinking, and been thrown out of their lodgings. After a fortnight, and when they were just about at the end of their tether, two nurses on their way home after a Saturday night out took pity on Lilian and Murdoch, bought them a cup of tea and found them a place in a homeless hostel. They spent the next twelve months there getting to the roots of their alcoholism. They tried AA one last time, before concluding that it was a quasi-religious cult whose ideas on alcoholism were inadequate and outdated. Instead, by reading psychology, they decided that the causes of their alcoholic behaviour lay in problems experienced during childhood. And that once these problems were realised and addressed, there was no longer any need for escape through alcoholism, and they could even drink normally like other people again. Ten years after selling newspapers from a stand in Market Square, Cambridge, so that he and Lilian could get back on their feet financially, Murdoch is now a freelance business and financial journalist, and also runs his own public relations consultancy. And in order to pass on the benefits of their experience to others who still have problems with alcohol, the couple have written their book "Phoenix in a Bottle". Reviewing the book, American addiction expert Dr Stanton Peele PhD commented: "Phoenix in a Bottle is a modern version of The Days of Wine and Roses, and tells the true story of how two people who entered a period of desperate drinking stayed with one another in a close loving relationship, and emerged from their alcoholism able to drink responsibly again. "Both a wonderful love story and a challenge to conventional wisdom about how people can recover from drinking problems, Phoenix in a Bottle gives people hope, and helps them to confront their own demons - alcohol or otherwise." "Phoenix in a Bottle" by Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald is published by Melrose Books price £16.99. Lilian and Murdoch’s website: http://www.alcoholicscandrinksafelyagain.com To buy a copy of "Phoenix in a Bottle", visit the Melrose Books website: http://www.internationalbiographicalcentre.com/mb/dotcom/detail.php?isbn=1905226144 Or buy from Amazon UK at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1905226144/qid=1136837615/026-9444125-8059664 Web links: http://www.alcoholicscandrinksafelyagain.com/newpage33.html http://www.i-newswire.com/pr53670.html PRWeb 24/7 The Open Press PressBox ClickPress * * * Give alcoholics hope this Christmas with “Phoenix in a Bottle” The controversial new book “Phoenix in a Bottle” by Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald would make the ideal Christmas present of hope for alcoholics from their friends, relatives and loved ones - say publishers Melrose Books.
“Phoenix in a Bottle” is the true story of Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald, two former alcoholics from Ayrshire in Scotland who, eleven years ago, were down and out, sleeping rough in the streets and parks of Cambridge, the university town where a quarter of a century previously Murdoch had studied as an undergraduate for his degree in English Literature at Magdalene College.
Lilian and Murdoch tried Alcoholics Anonymous many times, but eventually finally rejected its outdated and doctrinaire dogma that alcoholism is an incurable illness or disease, and that the only hope for the alcoholic is lifelong sobriety.
"Alcoholism is not a disease," say Lilian and Murdoch. "It is a self-harming behaviour problem rooted in childhood, and if alcoholics are willing to identify and address their issues from the past, then there is no reason why they should not be able to rid themselves of their problem behaviour, even to the extent of being able to drink alcohol safely and responsibly again if and when they so wish."
“After all,” Lilian and Murdoch point out, “lifelong sobriety is not recovery from alcohol. It is just treating the symptom rather than the underlying cause, and merely a damage-limitation exercise.”
The two former alcoholics continue: "There is a need for a brand new worldwide organisation to replace Alcoholics Anonymous, a fellowship which is now outdated and stuck in a rut that it is unwilling or unable to get out of in order to address its own self-confessed abysmal failure rate.
"According to both an independent US government survey and AA’s own membership surveys, AA-style treatment works for only 5% of its participants."
Leading American addiction expert Dr. Marc Kern commented: “These two surveys clearly show that, after 12 months of attendance, 95% of the original participants have left the programme and either resumed their destructive behaviour or hopefully – but less likely – sought help elsewhere.
"These people have not failed," insists Dr Kern.
"The 12-Step approach has failed them."
Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald attribute the failure of the 12-Step programme to the fact that Alcoholics Anonymous stubbornly insists upon treating alcoholism as a progressive and incurable illness or disease, from which only remission is possible by sticking to a strict regime of abstinence from alcohol.
They say: "Perpetuation of the disease concept of alcoholism is aided and abetted by private rehab clinics that have piggybacked AA and hijacked its 12-Step programme for their own profit."
"Alcoholics Anonymous has the solution to its problems in its own hands," continue Lilian and Murdoch.
"Any normal organisation would be open to new ideas, and would welcome discussion and change as new discoveries and progress were made in the field of alcoholism.
"Unfortunately AA has adopted a cult-like attitude, and regards its so-called programme of recovery as set in stone forever. No changes have been made or even allowed in the 70 years of its existence, and no questioning or discussion is tolerated."
So Lilian and Murdoch conclude: "A completely new organisation is the only solution.
"An organisation that does not seek to perpetuate the disease model of alcoholism long after its sell-by date.
"One that does not advocate lifelong sobriety as a prerequisite for recovery, but instead empowers alcoholics to alter their behaviour in the way that they choose for themselves.
"One that does not insist upon dragging pseudo-religion into a situation in which it has neither use nor relevance.
"And finally one that welcomes change and progress in the understanding of alcoholism, and is willing to accept diverse ways of treating it, instead of dogmatically promulgating and perpetuating a one-size-fits-all approach that is stuck in the past forever."
“Phoenix in a Bottle”
“Phoenix in a Bottle” by Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald has been published by Melrose Books price £16.99. ISBN: 1905226144
Eminent American psychologist and addiction expert Dr Stanton Peele PhD commented:
“Phoenix in a Bottle is a modern version of The Days of Wine and Roses, and tells the true story of how two people who entered a period of desperate drinking stayed with one another in a close loving relationship, and emerged from their alcoholism able to drink responsibly again.
“Both a wonderful love story and a challenge to conventional wisdom about how people can recover from drinking problems, Phoenix in a Bottle gives people hope, and helps them to confront their own demons - alcohol or otherwise.”
“Phoenix in a Bottle” is available from www.amazon.co.uk and other online bookstores, and direct from the publishers at CLICK HERE
This story on Lilian & Murdoch's website Web links: PRWeb E-mediawire 24/7 I-Newswire ClickPress PressBox The Open Press * * * |
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| STOP PRESS From the "Kilmarnock Standard": | |
Business writer airs his views on Radio 2 Jan 27 2006 A FREELANCE journalist who edits the Ayrshire Business page of the Kilmarnock Standard was a guest on BBC Radio 2’s Jeremy Vine Show recently. Murdoch Macdonald and his wife Lilian are the authors of a book that sets out to prove that alcoholism is a behaviour problem rooted in childhood. The pair were on the Radio 2 lunchtime programme in the wake of former Lib Dems’ leader Charles Kennedy’s revelation that he had a drink problem. Murdoch and Lilian did plug their book Phoenix in a Bottle, but the local authors also took the chance to air their argument that Alcoholics Anonymous is “fundamentally flawed” and that alcoholism itself is not an illness or a disease, but a self-harming behaviour problem stemming from childhood. Read more about “Phoenix in a Bottle” at: http://www.alcoholicscandrinksafelyagain.com >>> KILMARNOCK STANDARD |
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14 May 2007...Did anyone see the BBC television programme on Scientology this evening, and if so, did you notice the similarities between the cult Scientology and Alcoholics Anonymous? Kind regards, Lilian and Murdoch. New book proves alcoholics can recover and drink responsibly A new book, “Phoenix in a Bottle,” proves that alcoholism is not a disease or illness, but a self-harming 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 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 is now a freelance business and financial journalist, and also runs his own public relations consultancy.
And in order to pass on the benefits of their experience to others who still have problems with alcohol, the couple have written their book “Phoenix in a Bottle”.
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.” An anonymous reader from London wrote the following review of "Phoenix in a Bottle" to Amazon UK. "An excellent insight into the life of an alcoholic and what it is like to be dependant on alcohol to get you through the day. "I have no interest in drinking and am actually teetotal. "I came across this book through a friend by chance and I definitely recommend it to anyone. "Not only does it cover the turmoil that both Lilian and Murdoch suffered due to their addiction, but it also gave an incredibly account of Lilian's past and why she struggled. "The details on her eating disorder really struck a chord, as it is something I have suffered from too, and made me consider my own life and past events that might have made me become obsessive about controlling food. "I can not recommend this book enough. It proves that these things can be beaten with some determination, love and without having to turn to a life of self-denial. "Well done!" |
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Give alcoholics hope this Christmas with “Phoenix in a Bottle” |
The controversial book “Phoenix in a Bottle” by Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald would make the ideal Christmas present of hope for alcoholics from their friends, relatives and loved ones - say publishers Melrose Books.
“Phoenix in a Bottle” is the true story of Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald, two former alcoholics from Ayrshire in Scotland who, eleven years ago, were down and out, sleeping rough in the streets and parks of Cambridge, the university town where a quarter of a century previously Murdoch had studied as an undergraduate for his degree in English Literature at Magdalene College.
Lilian and Murdoch tried Alcoholics Anonymous many times, but eventually finally rejected its outdated and doctrinaire dogma that alcoholism is an incurable illness or disease, and that the only hope for the alcoholic is lifelong sobriety.
"Alcoholism is not a disease," say Lilian and Murdoch. "It is a self-harming behaviour problem rooted in childhood, and if alcoholics are willing to identify and address their issues from the past, then there is no reason why they should not be able to rid themselves of their problem behaviour, even to the extent of being able to drink alcohol safely and responsibly again if and when they so wish."
“After all,” Lilian and Murdoch point out, “lifelong sobriety is not recovery from alcohol. It is just treating the symptom rather than the underlying cause, and merely a damage-limitation exercise.”
The two former alcoholics continue: "There is a need for a brand new worldwide organisation to replace Alcoholics Anonymous, a fellowship which is now outdated and stuck in a rut that it is unwilling or unable to get out of in order to address its own self-confessed abysmal failure rate.
"According to both an independent US government survey and AA’s own membership surveys, AA-style treatment works for only 5% of its participants"
Leading American addiction expert Dr. Marc Kern says: “These two surveys clearly show that, after 12 months of attendance, 95% of the original participants have left the programme and either resumed their destructive behaviour or hopefully – but less likely – sought help elsewhere.
"These people have not failed," insists Dr Kern.
"The 12-Step approach has failed them"
Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald attribute the failure of the 12-Step programme to the fact that Alcoholics Anonymous stubbornly insists upon treating alcoholism as a progressive and incurable illness or disease, from which only remission is possible by sticking to a strict regime of abstinence from alcohol.
They say: "Perpetuation of the disease concept of alcoholism is aided and abetted by private rehab clinics that have piggybacked AA and hijacked its 12-Step programme for their own profit"
"Alcoholics Anonymous has the solution to its problems in its own hands," continue Lilian and Murdoch.
"Any normal organisation would be open to new ideas, and would welcome discussion and change as new discoveries and progress were made in the field of alcoholism.
"Unfortunately AA has adopted a cult-like attitude, and regards its so-called programme of recovery as set in stone forever. No changes have been made or even allowed in the 70 years of its existence, and no questioning or discussion is tolerated."
So Lilian and Murdoch conclude: "A completely new organisation is the only solution.
"An organisation that does not seek to perpetuate the disease model of alcoholism long after its sell-by date.
"One that does not advocate lifelong sobriety as a prerequisite for recovery, but instead empowers alcoholics to alter their behaviour in the way that they choose for themselves.
"One that does not insist upon dragging pseudo-religion into a situation in which it has neither use nor relevance.
"And finally one that welcomes change and progress in the understanding of alcoholism, and is willing to accept diverse ways of treating it, instead of dogmatically promulgating and perpetuating a one-size-fits-all approach that is stuck in the past forever."
“Phoenix in a Bottle”
“Phoenix in a Bottle” by Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald is published by Melrose Books price £16.99. ISBN: 1905226144
Eminent American psychologist and addiction expert Dr Stanton Peele PhD commented:
“Phoenix in a Bottle is a modern version of The Days of Wine and Roses, and tells the true story of how two people who entered a period of desperate drinking stayed with one another in a close loving relationship, and emerged from their alcoholism able to drink responsibly again.
“Both a wonderful love story and a challenge to conventional wisdom about how people can recover from drinking problems, Phoenix in a Bottle gives people hope, and helps them to confront their own demons - alcohol or otherwise.”
“Phoenix in a Bottle” is available from
http://www.amazon.co.uk and other online bookstores, direct from the publishers at http://www.melrosebooks.com and in the USA from http://www.superbookdeals.com |
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Alcoholics Anonymous is wrong - alcoholism is not a disease |
It's a behaviour problem with its roots in childhood
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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:
Main website:
http://www.alcoholicscandrinksafelyagain.com
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.”
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"Phoenix in a Bottle" enters Amazon’s Hot 25 chart of addiction titles | | Within six weeks of publication a new book on alcoholism has catapulted into Amazon UK’s Hot 25 list of best-selling books on addictions. “Phoenix in a Bottle”, by married couple and former alcoholics Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald of Ayrshire in Scotland, has entered the chart in twelfth position. “Phoenix in a Bottle” shows that alcoholism is not a disease or illness, but a self-harming behaviour problem rooted in childhood, which alcoholics can correct and be able to drink responsibly again if and when they so wish. 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 is now a freelance business and financial journalist, and also runs his own public relations consultancy. And in order to pass on the benefits of their experience to others who still have problems with alcohol, the couple have written their book “Phoenix in a Bottle”. Reviewing the book, American addiction expert Dr Stanton Peele PhD commented: “Phoenix in a Bottle is a modern version of The Days of Wine and Roses, and tells the true story of how two people who entered a period of desperate drinking stayed with one another in a close loving relationship, and emerged from their alcoholism able to drink responsibly again. “Both a wonderful love story and a challenge to conventional wisdom about how people can recover from drinking problems, Phoenix in a Bottle gives people hope, and helps them to confront their own demons - alcohol or otherwise.” An anonymous reader from London wrote the following review of "Phoenix in a Bottle" to Amazon UK. "An excellent insight into the life of an alcoholic and what it is like to be dependant on alcohol to get you through the day. "I have no interest in drinking and am actually teetotal. "I came across this book through a friend by chance and I definitely recommend it to anyone. "Not only does it cover the turmoil that both Lilian and Murdoch suffered due to their addiction, but it also gave an incredibly account of Lilian's past and why she struggled. "The details on her eating disorder really struck a chord, as it is something I have suffered from too, and made me consider my own life and past events that might have made me become obsessive about controlling food. "I can not recommend this book enough. It proves that these things can be beaten with some determination, love and without having to turn to a life of self-denial. "Well done!" “Phoenix in a Bottle by Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald is published by Melrose Books price £16.99. It is available through good bookshops or online direct from the publishers by logging on to http://www.melrosebooks.com ISBN: 1905226144 Phoenix in a Bottle's page on Amazon UK: Lilian and Murdoch’s website: Web links: | |
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