"Psychotherapist Michael Pond recounts his personal battle with alcoholism. He built a life helping others struggling with addiction, but he could not help himself. In the first part of his gripping memoir, he recounts how he lost his practice, his home, and his family as a result of his out-of-control drinking and how abstinence-based treatment regimes failed to help him. Not one to give up easily, he, along with his partner, Maureen Palmer, embarked on a quest for evidence-based treatments - science-backed therapies that don't always demand abstinence - a search chronicled in the book's new second half. Michael Pond has a private therapy practice in Vancouver, where he specializes in addiction treatment. He earned a degree in psychiatric nursing from the University of Victoria and a Masters in Social Work from the University of British Columbia. He is the author of The Couch of Willingness : an alcoholic therapist battles the bottle and a broken recovery system. Maureen Palmer is a documentary filmmaker and former radio and television producer at CBC. Visit addictionthenextstep.com, the book's companion site, for tools to help those facing problems with substance abuse."--Provided by publisher.
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