Review: Alcohol Explained
Alcohol Explained, by William Porter
manufactured by Amazon.ca, Bolton, ON, n.d.
William Porter is, by his own description, “a middle-aged lawyer” who gave up drinking after 25 years. On his website (Alcohol Explained) he says he began drinking and smoking at the age of 14, first giving up smoking and later giving up drinking. He lives in London, UK, and continues to practice law there. By the publishing information above, you might guess that his book is self-published. In addition to this book, William Porter has another book called Alcohol Explained 2. The first five chapters of Alcohol Explained are available on the website.
My interest in his work is due to my role as a pastor and counsellor of Christians. I have never had a drink of alcohol in my life, so I approach the subject with no personal experience. For practical, spiritual, and wisdom reasons, based on Biblical principles, I’ve always advocated total abstinence from alcohol. From a Christian perspective, I believe one can make a very strong case for total abstinence from the Bible. On Proclaim & Defend, several articles advocate that position, including one or two by me. This review will turn your attention in a different direction, to an argument from the science and psychology of alcohol.
If I can sum up William Porter’s thesis, alcohol has a powerful effect on the human body, uniquely creating an increasing dependency or craving for alcohol that other drinks simply don’t provide. The effects of alcohol, properly understood, should motivate anyone to do all he can to stop drinking (if he is) or never start (if he isn’t).
The book discusses, in relatively short, readable chapters, the physiological effects of drinking, the effects on the subconscious, the craving that these effects produce, and other effects that come from alcohol, including relaxation (not entirely a good thing), sleep loss, dehydration, and more. Porter discusses strengths and weaknesses of the disease theory of alcoholism and of Alcoholics Anonymous. Other notable chapters cover “Fading Affect Bias,” which is the tendency of the mind to forget the worst part of past experiences and remember the best parts. This produces a false memory of the “good old days” of one’s drinking, forgetting the accompanying “bad old days” of depression, craving, and withdrawal from alcohol that are all part of the process. In another chapter he discusses the stages of alcoholism, which would be helpful for a reader to analyze his own situation. “Do I have a Problem?” — that is the question.
The last part of the book talks about methods of stopping, first describing “Stopping Cold Turkey” and the agony of making the attempt this way. He recommends what he calls “A Better Way of Stopping,” with much helpful advice tied in to the analysis of drinking that forms the first part of the book.
William Porter doesn’t write from a Christian perspective. From his remarks, I think he wouldn’t call himself a Bible-believing Christian. However, he is an educated, analytical thinker about the effects of alcohol and speaks from experience on how to stop if you are struggling with alcohol. My assessment of his method (as an outsider) is that his suggestions can help, but faith in Christ, with the Holy Spirit power that salvation brings, would result in a firmer positive response for overcoming the drinking habit.
I ran across this book initially on Audible.com, listened to the whole thing as I drove back and forth to work. After listening, I wondered, “What do drinkers think of this book?” I went to Amazon, read many reviews (the average rating is 4.6 out of 5 (2460 ratings) as of this writing. Reading through the reviews, many drinkers or former drinkers speak highly of Alcohol Explained, saying that it describes the drinking experience exactly. I talked to a believing friend about the effects of alcohol I’d learned from the book and he agreed that what I described matched his former experience.
On those recommendations, I ordered the print version of the book as a resource for my ministry.
Now I would like to recommend the book to you. If you have a problem with drinking, you should read this book. It might give you some practical hope. If you drink, but don’t think you have a problem, you should read this book. Perhaps it might show you the wisdom of Proverbs: (Pr 20:1) Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, And whoever is intoxicated by it is not wise.
Pastors, you also should get this book, to better understand the issue and to aid your counseling. This resource will strengthen your ministry in this area.
Don Johnson is the pastor of Grace Baptist Church of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada.