Raising the Bottom

I just finished the book Raising the Bottom by Lisa Boucher; I listened to the entire audiobook while on my road trip. Written by a career nurse, it chronicles her spiral downward into alcoholism at a young age, her reconciliation with the disease, her relationship with an alcoholic mother, and eventual long-term success. She relates in detail about the women in her family and how the disease impacts their relationship and the family dynamic as a whole.  The book is written from a woman's perspective with the theme of how the disease affects women specifically, although I found many of the take-home points pertinent to my own recovery. She underscores how 12-Step work was essential, and how it can serve as the touchstone for all women (and men) who want to fundamentally change and have success in long term recovery.

Her chapter about physicians and the medical system in general, with its institutionalized biases in dealing with alcoholism and addiction, approaching it not as a disease but as  a moral failing- strongly resonated with me. The medical profession is stacked with ego-driven personalities who bring their arrogance and narcissism to the hospital governing committees, licensure boards, and hospital review panels. The end result of their approach to the impaired provider in need of help is is flawed and counterproductive. The stigma of addiction in the medical community as alive and well. Ms. Boucher makes the point that it is difficult to understand chemical dependency unless one has actually lived through it, recovered from it, and processed it. This, along with the pressure to be efficient and financially viable in the office or hospital, is why doctors are so quick to utilize the prescription pad as the panacea for the addict. I wholeheartedly agree. One of my favorite lines from the book states that physicians "Look for a chemical solution to a spiritual problem." I believe that single line nails it.

If you want to read a well-written success story about a woman's battle with the bottle, pick up a copy of Raising the Bottom. This guy found it to be an eye-opener into the world of alcoholism  from a woman's perspective.