Read Chapter 1 | Reviews

Do you want a life without addiction?

Whether you are battling an addiction to drugs, nicotine, alcohol, food, shopping, sex, or gambling, 7 Tools to Beat Addiction is a hands-on, practical guide to overcoming addiction of any kind. If you or a loved one is struggling with addiction, but do not think a 12-step or other formal treatment program is the right solution, this book can help.

In 7 Tools to Beat Addiction, internationally recognized addiction expert Dr. Stanton Peele presents a program for addiction recovery, based on years of research and clinical study and grounded in science. His program builds on the proven methods that people have actually used to overcome addiction, with or without treatment. 7 Tools to Beat Addiction offers in-depth, interactive exercises that show you how to outgrow destructive habits by putting together the building blocks for a balanced, fulfilling, responsible life founded on the following tools:

• Values
• Motivation
• Rewards
• Resources
• Support
• Maturity
• Higher Goals
• This no-nonsense guide will put you in charge of your own recovery.

Peele tells us in this surprising and practical book:

• Most people overcome addiction to alcohol or drugs on their own, without joining a support group or entering treatment.
• Alcoholism and other addictions are not diseases.
• There is a huge industry of treatment centers and organizations which have a vested interest in perpetuating old myths about addiction and recovery.
• There are specific tools anyone can use to help themselves to overcome any addiction with or without professional assistance.

Read Chapter 1 | Reviews

This no nonsense guide put addicts in charge of their own recovery. The book provides a road map to self-cure. What this book does not do is browbeat people into thinking that they are diseased, broken for life, and powerless.

Peele’s positive message is that addiction is changeable and that indeed, most people overcome their addictions, usually on their own. Peele’s point is that you are the primary agent of your change.

“This volume presents a revolutionary approach to the treatment of addictive disor ders.  It provides clear helpful suggestions for controlling these problems and should be of enormous help to people struggling with them.”
—Aaron T. Beck, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania

"This refreshing approach to practical self-change is a valuable alternative for those who are seeking an alternative to the 12-Step approach and the disease model of addiction. I recommend it highly."
—G. Alan Marlatt, Ph.D., Professor and Director, Addictive Behaviors Research Center, University of Washington

“In 7 Tools to Beat Addiction Dr. Stanton Peele offers a provocative, take-charge message--one that is consistent with scientific evidence--for how to overcome addictions. Dr. Peele's work has influenced my professional work and changed my personal life for the better.
— Anne M. Fletcher, MS, RD, LD. Author, Sober for Good

“[Peele’s] words offer encouragement and optimism unavailable in other approaches. Mental health professionals and the loved ones of addicts can gain a completely new perspective filled with insight, compassion, and genuine understanding Instead of writing another book about treating addiction, Dr. Peele has fashioned a manual for building a meaningful life.”
—Mitchell Earleywine, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Southern California; author of Understanding Marijuana

“Dr. Peele combines knowledge, compassion, and common sense to create a book that will surely bring hope and help to all people suffering with alcohol and other drug problems.”
— Patt Denning, Ph.D., Coauthor of “Over the Influence: The Harm Reduction Guide for Managing Drugs and Alcohol.”

We have used your books and the tools it gave us and my boyfriend has now been free of his cocaine addiction for 14 months. I have also passed your books on to others in need. Things have been going very good for us. I have opened a store, my boyfriend has a new business that is doing great, and we finally have visitation with his children. I want to thank you for your books. At a time when everyone thought that there was no hope, you showed us another path. My boyfriend went through rehab three times and it never worked.

— A reader.

I read The Truth about Addiction and Recovery a couple of years ago when I was having difficulty with alcohol abuse.  I'm glad I read it instead of going to AA as my psychologist recommended.  In my vulnerable state of mind, I feel AA would have completely brainwashed me.  I still overindulge in alcohol occasionally but it doesn't cause me near the number of problems it used to.

— A reader.

Dear Stanton,

Your book changed our lives.
Dan started having a glass of wine maybe once a week about two months ago and tried a beer but didn't really like the taste anymore.
You are completely right in your book.  We've tried to replace negative habits/traits, etc., with positive ones and things are so much better.  He really wasn't an 'alcoholic' and, in retrospect, I don't think he was even 'addicted'.  I think he was using alcohol to mask difficult things, but there are so much less difficult things now, that there's no need to do this. 

— Kendra