Her Best-Kept Secret: Why Women Drink-And How They Can Regain Control

By every quantitative measure researchers can document, women are drinking more. They are being charged more often with drunk driving; they're more frequently measured with high concentrations of alcohol in their bloodstream at the scene of car accidents, and they're more often treated in emergency rooms for being dangerously intoxicated. The most striking trend: women in their thirties, forties and fifties, who are getting through their days of work, and nights with teething toddlers and trying teenagers, or sick parents, by hitting the bottle. The number of middle-aged women who entered alcohol treatment programs between 1992 and 2007 nearly tripled. That's especially telling: Disappearing for a month or more is difficult for anyone, but it's especially tricky for women who have children at home. Two large federal surveys also found that they have an 80% greater prevalence of having, or at once having had, alcohol dependence than did the generation before them. And, in perhaps the most undeniable statistic of all, they are the consumers whose purchases are fuelling steady growth in the sales of wine. Meanwhile, men's drinking, arrests for drunk driving and alcohol purchases are flat, or falling. Glaser traces the history of women and alcohol and leads up to today when, for the first time, women are beginning to question the common prescription for abuse: AA. Not only is the message of surrender particularly harmful to women's recovery, but the organization itself has often exposed vulnerable women to male predators. Glaser shows how this problem is beginning to be aired in public, just as a new kind of treatment tailored to women's bodies and psyches, is taking hold.

About the Author :
Gabrielle Glaser is the author of Strangers to the Tribe and The Nose and a journalist whose work has appeared in The New York Times, Mademoiselle, Glamour, The Washington Post, and Health, among other publications.

Review :
“[A] substantial book, interested in hard facts and nuance rather than hand-wringing. . . . Glaser makes a persuasive case that Alcoholics Anonymous, which enjoys a near monopoly in the recovery sphere, is structurally and functionally unsuited to many women.” “Glaser has written an engaging account of women and drink, citing fascinating studies about modern stressors…and evidence that some problem drinkers can learn moderation….Bound to stir controversy.” “Glaser approaches [her topic] with investigative rigor and thoughtful analysis.” "That so many American women stand at the edge of a liquid cliff is a surprising and scary problem that Gabrielle Glaser illuminates powerfully. For those who have a loved one standing there, you will find hope here." “With humor, thoughtfulness and skillful research, Glaser paints a picture of mature female drinking today. You’ll see yourself or your friends on almost every page.” “A well-researched look into the differences between how men and women drink, what their motivations are for drinking, and how they should cope with drinking problems.” “Her Best-Kept Secret reveals the existence of an epidemic with profound implications for women and their loved ones. This compassionate yet authoritative book explains why millions of ordinary women are turning to alcohol to handle the strains of daily life—and what they can do about it.” “An important addition to feminist literature that calls upon women to reject a spurious equality `whose consequences in broken families, broken hearts, and broken futures, are all too real’ and face up to the problem of alcohol dependency before it takes over their lives.” “Insightful and provocative.”