Book Review: Goodbye, Mr Wonderful – Alcoholism, Addiction and Early Recovery

Goodbye, Mr Wonderful – Alcoholism, Addiction and Early
Recovery
Chris McCully, Jessica Kingsley Publishers
ISBN 184310265X, £13.95

STAR RATING: 4/5

I can vouch for the truth of this book, because much of it is my
story too. Perhaps it is common to all addicts. Or maybe it is
coincidence – one of the book’s themes – along with the
intangibility of reality as seen through the eyes and memories of a
recovering alcoholic, writes Colin
Standfield.

This is an excellent read for professionals working with addicts
(and not just alcoholics), particularly for those who have not been
addicted themselves. It is instructive, too, for those close to the
alcoholic, and not simply as a list of excuses for the
condition.

It shows how addiction works, and how you can begin to overcome it.
But I would not recommend it to current addicts because of its
high-flown, poetic language – an Oxford MA in English, I struggled
with some passages; and this is the first book I’ve read that used
“quotidian” three times. A simplified translation as a companion
piece would work wonders.

Colin Standfield is development officer for Battling Addictions
Together