Review of “Unhooked: How to Quit Anything” by Susan Shapiro, Frederick Woolverton;

Two weeks ago, statistics were raised throughout the American media regarding heroin use in New Hampshire. The number of deaths due to heroin overdose has doubled since 2013; in spite, even, of the life-saving anti-overdose drug Naloxone (Narcan) being administered in 2,000 incidents in 2,015. This increase in tragic overdoses has clearly affected the people of New Hampshire. Their small communities and cities have been adversely affected by the physiological and psychological phenomena of addiction. We can all think of someone who has struggled with or been affected by another person’s addiction. This book is helpful in understanding the struggle of addiction, specifically to substances that many people are not exposed to.

Unhooked: How to Quit Anything delivers loosely on the promise of the title. There is a checklist for ending any addiction, but it is underwhelming. Where this book really excels, though, is exploring addiction. The balance of the book is a series of narratives chronicling the many ways that addiction can affect people. By looking at a variety of cases, the picture of addiction and the seditious nature of substance dependence can be more thoroughly understood and addressed in each of our lives. The author puts the dilemma, “many people assume that an addict only refers to someone who uses hard drugs or alcohol. Yet I define an addiction as a compulsive reliance on any substance or activity that harms or deters your ability to function.” This definition includes a wide variety of habits, some many people consider quite healthy. Exercise, shopping, coffee, diet soda, chewing gum, ice cream, and the internet are all addressed as addicting.

I found myself detached from the case studies until chapter 8, where soft habits like binge eating are addressed. The author discusses a self-destructive habit he developed, eating a pint of Haagen-Dazs Vanilla Chocolate Chip ice cream at 10:00 PM. That’s something I can directly relate too. Ice cream has always been my comfort food. The chapter helped me tremendously; the author explores so many different cases, each of us is sure to find something in this book that can help us to live a life independent from addiction.

Everyone can benefit from learning about addiction. You will learn how to recognize destructive patterns in the lives of others. You will learn how important it is to support a recovering addict, and which ways you can help. You will learn to recognize the substance you depend on, and how to begin to lessen their influence on your life.

The most helpful nuggets in this book are to think about addiction in your own life in two ways. First, in order to recognize addiction, consider the behaviors that you hide from the people who love you most. Ice cream after everyone else is asleep. Video gaming while your significant other is at work. Secret shopping trips and purchases. If you find yourself lying to someone you love about what you spend time doing, maybe you need to ask the question, “am I dependent?”

That framework and question put many behaviors into the category of addiction. In order to reduce dependence on the behavior, we all know that first you must decide to change the behavior. But once you get past that hurdle, it can be hard to know how to do anything besides “stop” the said behavior. It is much more productive to have a positive task at hand to concentrate on in place of the changing addictive behavior.

To that effect, the second nugget is to find what’s missing in your life. Figure out what it is that you want most and have been unable to obtain. Write that down. If you can’t put your finger on exactly what you want, the author recommends an exercise. Write “your fantasy obituary to get in touch with what you hope your life accomplishments will be.” Recognize that your addiction is probably what’s standing in the way of you getting what you want most deeply.

We are all social animals, wanting to feel connected with one another, and to feel important. Addictions are the product of bonding to a substance or behavior, to paper over a negative feeling. When you feel alone, regretful, guilty, or sad, an addiction can develop as an alternative way to shut off negative emotions. This process bonds you to the behavior or substance; where a healthy coping mechanism might be talking to a friend, you will turn to your new crutch. Addictions are not a good substitute for achieving your dreams. You are worthwhile; vaccinate yourself against the troubles of addiction and read Unhooked: How to Quit Anything.

Check out Unhooked: How to Quit Anything on Amazon.com. Thank you for reading; if you would like to see a book reviewed, let us know in the comment section below!