Slaying the Dragon: The History of Addiction Treatment and Recovery in America by William L. White
Alcohol and tobacco, in various forms, has been interwoven throughout English and American culture for centuries. Indeed, the otherwise prim and proper Queen Charlotte, wife of King George 111, enjoyed chewing snuff.In this book, we are shown the increasing awareness in early America of the dangers of drinking, and to a lesser degree that of tobacco. While the development of the recovery process proved gradual, it did progress to the point where, today, drug and alcohol rehabilitation is accepted and often applauded by recovering addicts and those close to them.
This book is often poignant in its depiction of some of the bases for decisions to overcome the dragon of substance abuse. This is especially true of the founder of one of the first self-help groups Dr. Henry A Reynolds. The look of sorrow and resignation in the eyes of his wife as she sat at the window as he staggered towards their home after yet another drink-sodden night was more painful to him than would have been the fiercest rage or rebuke. Those eyes also mirrored his knowledge of his own utter debasement, planting determination to free them both from their growing despair. He succeeded in doing so.
