Addiction Dilemmas (eBook)

Jim Orford is Emeritus Professor of Clinical and Community Psychology at the University of Birmingham. His books on addiction include Excessive -Appetites: A Psychological View of Addictions (2e, 2001)and An Unsafe Bet?: The Dangerous Rise of Gambling and the Debate We Should Be Having (2011).

Preface vii

Sources and Acknowledgements xiii

1. We'll Be There for Him: A Family Responds to Relapse 1

2. Long Day's Journey into Night by Eugene O'Neill 9

3. Tough Love: A Television Studio Discussion 15

4. Wives of Gamblers 21

5. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë 31

6. British SikhWives and Daughters Stand Up toMen's Drinking
38

7. Nil By Mouth: A Film by Gary Oldman 46

8. Worrying for Drinkers in Aboriginal Australia 52

9. A Prodigal Son: The Mother's Story 65

10. Parents of Problem Gamblers 75

11. The Tale of Caitlin Thomas 88

12. Dylan Thomas in America by John Malcolm Brinnin
103

13. An Imaginary Conversation:Wives in Mexico, England, South
Korea and Italy 111

14. Father Figure by Beverley Nichols 124

15. Growing Up with My Mother by Virginia Ironside
131

16. Mrs Sara Coleridge and Friends 138

17. Five Husbands ofWives with Drinking Problems: A Focus Group
153

18. A Chancer by James Kelman 169

19. Growing Up with ParentsWho Drink Excessively: Four Stories
175

20. Baudelaire and His Mother in Chains 185

21. Fever Pitch by Richard Brooks 194

22. I Only Had the Baby'sWelfare at Heart: Concerned
Grandmothers 199

Further Reading 207

Index 209

"Although the book may lend itself best to a student
leadership, its diversity and links to the addiction literature
will make it of interest to a wide range of professionals, as well
as all who have had any personal contact with addiction."
(The British Journal of Psychiatry, 1 May 2012)



Professor Orford is one of the most distinguished researchers of
the addictions today. In this book he aims to counter the neglect
and misunderstanding faced by families affected by addiction
- an estimated one million worldwide- and to highlight the
personal, professional and public policy dilemmas. By drawing on
personal accounts from fiction, autobiography and Professor
Orford's own international research programme, the voices of
children, wives, grandparents and friends spring to life. The
penetrating and sensitive commentary, and thought-provoking
questions and exercises make this book invaluable for
practitioners, researchers and family members. It demonstrates the
many shared experiences of family members across continents and
over time, whether alcohol, drug misuse or gambling is
involved.

--Judith Harwin, Professor of Social Work,
Brunel University, UK