The New York Times bestselling author of Labor Day and After Her returns with a poignant story about the true meaning—and the true price—of friendship. Drinking cost Helen her marriage and custody of her seven-year-old son, Ollie. Once an aspiring art photographer, she now makes ends meet taking portraits of school children and working for a caterer. Recovering from her addiction, she spends lonely evenings checking out profiles on an online dating site. Weekend visits with her son are awkward. He’s drifting away from her, fast. When she meets Ava and Swift Havilland, the vulnerable Helen is instantly enchanted. Wealthy, connected philanthropists, they have their own charity devoted to rescuing dogs. Their home is filled with fabulous friends, edgy art, and dazzling parties. Then Helen meets Elliott, a kind, quiet accountant who offers loyalty and love with none of her newfound friends’ fireworks. To Swift and Ava, he’s boring. But even worse than that, he’s unimpressed by them. As Helen increasingly falls under the Havillands’ influence—running errands, doing random chores, questioning her relationship with Elliott—Ava and Swift hold out the most seductive gift: their influence and help to regain custody of her son. But the debt Helen owes them is about to come due. Ollie witnesses an accident involving Swift, his grown son, and the daughter of the Havillands’ housekeeper. With her young son’s future in the balance, Helen must choose between the truth and the friends who have given her everything.

The now-classic guide to alcoholism returns with new, enlightening research that confirms the revolutionary ideas first trailblazed by this book in a time when such theories were unheard of—now featuring a new foreword, new resources, and the same reliable insights and easy-to-read style. “This book is truly informative, powerful, and an invaluable resource on overcoming alcoholism.”—Angela Diaz, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H. Ten of millions of Americans suffer from alcoholism, yet most people still wrongly believe that alcoholism is a psychological or moral problem that can be “cured” once the purported underlying psychological problems or moral failings of the alcoholic are addressed. Based on groundbreaking scientific research, Under the Influence examines the physical factors that set alcoholics and non-alcoholics apart, and suggests a bold, stigma-free way of understanding and treating the disease of alcoholism. You’ll learn: • How to tell if someone you know is an alcoholic. • The progressive stages of alcoholism. • How to help an alcoholic into treatment and how to choose the right treatment program. • Why diet and nutritional therapy are essential elements of treatment. • Why frequently prescribed medications can be dangerous for alcoholics. • How to ensure a lasting recovery. An essential resource for anyone hoping to better understand the nature of alcoholism—whether you are looking to support a loved one or learning how to best care for yourself—it’s no wonder this innovative work has been hailed as “the best book ever written on alcoholism” (AA Beyond Belief). This special updated edition of Under the Influence will continue to earn its standing as a classic in the alcoholism field for years to come.

"From New York Times bestselling author and economics columnist Robert Frank, a revelatory look at the power and potential of social context. As psychologists have long understood, social environments profoundly shape our behavior, sometimes for the better, but often for the worse. Less widely noted is that social influence is a two-way street: Our environments are in large part themselves a product of the choices we make. Society embraces regulations that limit physical harm to others, as when smoking restrictions are defended as protecting bystanders from secondhand smoke. But we have been slower to endorse parallel steps that discourage harmful social environments, as when regulators fail to note that the far greater harm caused when someone becomes a smoker is to make others more likely to smoke. In Under the Influence, Robert Frank attributes this regulatory asymmetry to the laudable belief that individuals should accept responsibility for their own behavior. Yet that belief, he argues, is fully compatible with public policies that encourage supportive social environments. Most parents hope, for example, that their children won't grow up to become smokers, bullies, tax cheats, sexual predators, or problem drinkers. But each of these hopes is less likely to be realized whenever such behaviors become more common. Such injuries are hard to measure, Frank acknowledges, but that's no reason for policymakers to ignore them. The good news is that a variety of simple policy measures could foster more supportive social environments without ushering in the dreaded nanny state or demanding painful sacrifices from anyone"--

Elkin outlines a clear, effective approach to treatment o alcoholic families, based on the family systems intervention of such practitioners as Mara Selvini Palazzoli, John Weakland, Jay Haley, and Milton Erickson. The book is written for alcoholics and their families, and its informal style makes it enlightening reading for anyone interested in America's top health problem.

When this book first appeared, it opened a new and innovative perspective on Hawaii's history and contemporary dilemmas. Now, several decades later, its themes of dependency, mis­development, and elitism dominate Hawaii's economic evolution more than ever. The author updates his study with an overview of the Japanese investment spree of the late 1980s, the impact of national economic restructuring on the tourism industry in Hawaii, the continuing crises of local politics, and the Hawaiian sovereignty movement as a potential source of renewal.

Terry O'Reilly, host of the popular radio show Under the Influence, provides the best stories about smart marketing for small business. In Terry's gifted presentation, This I Know is more than applied business techniques. It offers a unique view of contemporary life through the lens of advertising. Skillfully revealing the machinations behind the marketing curtains, O'Reilly explains how small business can harness the tricks of the trade that the biggest corporations use to create their own marketing buzz.