Arresting Destruction

About the Book

Far too little is known about alcoholism and recovery from it. Binge drinking and a myriad other related alcohol problems are rampant. While a few of us know the differences between alcoholism and alcohol abuse, we have all seen the harmful effects of alcoholism and alcohol abuse. Beyond the damage they do to themselves, heavy drinkers adversely affect their families, friends and work colleagues. The demands on social and health care services are seriously underestimated. Martin Noel-Buxton is himself an alcoholic in recovery. Reflecting on his own experience, he addresses the processes of change that can bring about recovery and points to a new quality of life in recovery. Martin discusses the vital differences between alcohol abuse and alcoholism, Alcoholics Anonymous and its notion of spirituality, and considers the effectiveness of talk therapies and other approaches to recovery. The book illustrates how the individual alcoholic recovers from alcoholism and explores the experience of those who become alcoholic and who then find recovery. It covers treatment, relapse and what works in bringing about and supporting recovery. The author explains that recovery is far more than just stopping drinking and he describes the complex processes of living life beyond uncontrollable alcohol dependency. The book will prove invaluable reading for individuals faced with confronting alcohol problems, their friends and relations, their work colleagues, health care professionals and those responsible for service provision and policy development. It will be helpful to those interested in addiction issues and in alcoholism in particular.

About the Author

Martin, Lord Noel-Buxton is an hereditary peer. Born in 1940 in Surrey, he spent his early childhood in Scotland with his mother. Later he lived with his father and step mother in Essex. While at school he became increasingly interested in the sciences. Martin went up to Balliol College, Oxford and read philosophy, politics and economics. He qualified as a solicitor in 1966 and had a successful career as a partner in a leading City firm practising in company, commercial and intellectual property law. Martin was married three times and has three children. He was an active member of the House of Lords and retains his interest in politics. Martin is what he calls a “real alcoholic”. His drinking forced his resignation from the law. In 1981 he went into his first treatment centre from which he was sectioned. By 1994 he had in a real sense “lost everything”. All his possessions easily fitted into his step-son’s Mini Metro. Despite this, Martin has not had an alcoholic drink since October 1994. He has changed from being a drinking alcoholic to being a contented abstinent alcoholic in recovery. He has sought to record an understanding of what happened to him before and after he accepted his alcoholism and has spent time researching and studying alcoholism against a background of his own recovery. He now lives in London. He has a keen interest in vintage and classic cars and in baroque music and an ever growing enthusiasm for neuroscience.