About the Author

Pete Soderman is a published author and lecturer, with a background in computer engineering and sales. He had a 26-year drinking career that began the day before the assassination of President Kennedy, and ended in 1990. As a result of a series of events, he found himself at an AA meeting after a friend told him it was a place where he could learn to drink normally. It isn't, of course, but he found that he couldn't agree with its principles, nor follow most of its suggestions, except for one, he didn't drink. Why was he successful when an overwhelming percentage of those who stumble into AA fail to stay sober for any length of time?

His search for the answer to that question is what this book is all about. He had to find his own way, and in doing that, he discovered that most addicts recover completely on their own, or with minimal help, and that their methods for doing so were readily accessible if one was willing to research the available scientific literature. He spent several years doing just that, and arrived at the conclusion that the established addiction treatment industry was using methods that the research community knew, and had known for years, were ineffective, and in fact counterproductive.

The bottom line, he found, was that the key to recovery for most people wasn't spiritual at all, it was cognitive! A recovering addict needed a good deal of motivation, a way to overcome urges, the skills to deal with life's normal problems without a drug, and the ability to change their focus from short-term gratification to the achievement of long-term goals. Once these became a part of one's life, falling back into addictive habits became virtually impossible, as long as the recovered individual maintained their attitude and outlook.

He helped start a SMART Recovery(R) meeting in Wilmington NC, and a few years later, another one in a small village in central Mexico, where he retired with his wife, Gethyn.