The Selfish Brain: Learning from Addiction

In this country, drug addiction and alcoholism have reached crisis proportions.
The grim statistics illuminate the size of this crisis. More than 30 million
Americans alive today will become addicted. The use of alcohol, tobacco, and
illicit drugs causes one out of every four deaths in the United States. Illegal
drug use now costs the nation $67 billion a year.

The Selfish Brain:
Learning From Addiction takes a comprehensive, no-holds-barred look at the easy
path to drug addiction and the tough road to recovery. Written in an
easy-to-understand style, this book can help people confront addiction in their
own lives and in their families by exploring the biological roots of addiction
and the way addicts are allowed to deny their addiction by compassionate,
well-meaning people. Based on his experience as a specialist on addiction and as
a policymaker, former drug czar Robert L. DuPont, M.D., advocates "tough-love"
measures to strip away the denial that allows addicts to remain trapped in their
destructive habit and place them on the road to recovery. He examines treatment
options, especially 12-step programs, which he believes are the most effective
path to recovery. Powerful and often controversial, The Selfish Brain provides
an honest examination of an insidious, destructive disease.