Alcoholism: Treatable Illness

Joan McGrath is a Toronto Board of Education library consultant.

Alcoholism is certainly one of the great scourges of our times, wasting
human potential and causing untold anguish and hardship not only to the
primary victims of the illness, but to their families and friends.
Strachan, a recovered alcoholic, has spent more than 45 years in the
field of alcohol studies.

Surveying the problem from both sides—that of the victim and that of
the recovered victim—Strachan concludes that much if not most of the
difficulty of treatment lies in the stigma attached to the illness.
Sufferers are reluctant to admit, even to themselves, that they are
indeed victims of the illness; and families commonly take from five to
ten years to recognize and admit the condition. “Although there can be
few people who at least in some measure have not been affected by
alcohol, either personally or in a relative or close associate, there
remains a tendency to ignore it, reject it, or at least underestimate
the gravity of alcohol dependency,” Strachan states.

The important word in this important work (an updated version of a 1967
book) is “honorable.” Strachan addresses the problems of identifying
the alcoholic, understanding the progress of the illness, and treating
the illness, culminating with “Confidence and Recovery” and noting
the success rate of alcoholics committed to the fellowship of Alcoholics
Anonymous. Self-help resources in both Canada and the United States are
listed.