Safe Social Drinking for Safe Social Drinkers

Welcome to the third review in my Beating a Dead Horse series on books that oppose AA or are promoted by those that seemingly have a grudge against AA. The book for today is D. J. Cornett’s 7 Weeks to Safe Social Drinking. This was the one book out of the original four that I did not pick, it was recommended to me by a friend after he had read my original post. Just a few lines into the introduction I started to get the feeling that maybe this book didn’t belong in the series.

I knew I wasn't a hard-core alcoholic. I never suffered any alcohol related problems: I rarely had a hangover, never had a DUI, and always met important obligations– never missed work or social functions because of drinking. No one ever suggested I might be drinking too much. And I never experienced any physical problems because of it.~ Author D. J. Cornett

Then you have the disclaimer, “not recommended for the alcoholic.”

Apparently what we have here is a safe social drinker telling other safe social drinkers how to drink safe socially.

Click “Read more” to continue with the review…

Yes that was a little snarky, but I placed that barb on purpose because in fact this book does belong on the list for AA bashing. I will quote the only instance I find mentionable, but it’s a doozy!

Why has there been a silent conspiracy by professionals in these fields to reject anything that challenges the status quo? Because these fields are dominated by alcoholics—most of whom are AA graduates—who believe if AA worked for them, it will work for everyone. Second, they feel that offering a moderation approach as a treatment option would foster denial and encourage alcoholics to keep on drinking. Third, they think pushing the disease concept lets drinkers off the hook by telling them they’re not responsible for their drinking behavior, a defective gene is, and they think eliminating personal responsibility for drinking encourages people to seek treatment for it. Finally, they’re sure they’d be out of a job and out of business! They think that if a moderation approach was offered, abstinence would have no takers.

Her first point may have some validity, I mean for most of the last century AA was the only game in town. Let’s face it; it had to work for everybody since there was no Plan B. Her second point in the conspiracy theory I just plain disagree with, because of course any type moderation program will encourage alcoholics to drink… it’s what we do, we are alcoholics and we will use ANY excuse to drink! Now the third is absolute nonsense because AA is neither a job nor a business. Unlike the author and her business of telephone counseling, tapes, and supplements, members of AA receive no monetary compensation and volunteer their time freely. Yes you can find AA groups at private rehab centers and social centers led by paid professionals, but don’t let anyone fool you into thinking that these programs of 30 to 90 days are representative of what you will find in the real world.

Mrs. Cornett, along with Mr. Peele and Fingarette, of my past reviews seem to feel that some people will become alcoholics just to spite AA. We must shelter and pamper these drinkers not yet too-far-gone into the alcoholic abyss and offer alternative “non-alcoholic” alcohol and drug treatment. Now I am all for alternative treatments and having multiple options, but experience has taught me the hard lesson that an alcoholic will avoid these programs just as assuredly as he does AA.

Now on a very positive note, the Drink/Link system that is meat and potatoes of this book is a wonderful educational tool for those that don’t have a drinking problem. I think it would be a valuable tool for those that have the opportunity to teach responsibility and safe drinking habits, especially to the young. I also agree that if more people adhered to these types of drinking behaviors, that perhaps they would avoid a whole host of problems down the road.

While it borders on what many would label as treatment, I instead consider the content of this book as educational material. Good material not unlike a self-help efficiency or effectiveness program, but as Mrs. Cornett admits, self-help books aren’t very helpful to alcoholics. I won’t go into the details of her program, I think it would be worthwhile if you checked out the book and site yourself. While I may disagree on her some of her views, Cornett’s book is full of valuable information about alcohol, its effects, and of course safe social drinking for safe social drinkers.