Wasted
An Alcoholic Therapist's Fight for Recovery in a Tragically Flawed Treatment System
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Narrated by:
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Michael Pond
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Maureen Palmer
About this listen
Psychotherapist Michael Pond is no stranger to the devastating consequences of alcoholism. He has helped hundreds of people conquer their addictions, but this knowledge did not prevent his own near-demise.
In this riveting memoir, he recounts how he lost his practice, his home, and his family - all because of his drinking. After scores of visits to the ER, a tour of hellish recovery homes, a stint in intensive care for end-stage alcoholism, and jail, Pond devised his own personal plan for recovery. He met Maureen Palmer, and together, they investigated scientific alternatives to the rigid abstinence doctrine pushed by 12-step programs.
"Pond's insights coupled with Palmer's section on evidence-based treatments make this an invaluable resource for readers battling their own addictions or concerned about their loved ones." (Publisher's Weekly)
"A vividly written page-turner...gripping and helpful" (Gabor Maté, The Globe and Mail)
"Few books have captured so well the challenge of managing the disease of addiction while simultaneously negotiating an often unresponsive health care system" (Dr. Keith Humphreys, former senior drug policy advisor, Obama administration)
“With tactile intimacy and surgical wit, Pond invites us to share the tragedy of his addiction with a sad smile. And then reveals a singular truth about how people quit. Truly one of a kind...a masterful job of describing the indescribable.” (Dr. Marc Lewis, neuroscientist and author of Memoirs of an Addicted Brain)
©2016 MIchael Pond and Maureen Palmer (P)2019 Michael Pond and Maureen PalmerListeners also enjoyed...
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Growing up abandoned by her father and raised by a single mother, Celeste was determined to create the perfect family - but even perfect families have secrets. Her days are filled with a rewarding career, a devoted husband, and her four-year-old daughter. Celeste is the only one who knows the precarious house of cards her family is built upon - until the day her daughter falls critically ill. Then her world quickly spirals out of control, her secret threatening to destroy her marriage, family, reputation, and sanity.
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SPOILER ALERT. Sigh...
- By Kelly on 10-08-20
By: Lucinda Berry
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Thank You for Your Service
- By: David Finkel
- Narrated by: Arthur Bishop
- Length: 7 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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No journalist has reckoned with the psychology of war as intimately as David Finkel. In The Good Soldiers, his bestselling account from the front lines of Baghdad, Finkel shadowed the men of the 2-16 Infantry Battalion as they carried out the infamous surge, a grueling fifteen-month tour that changed all of them forever. Now Finkel has followed many of those same men as they’ve returned home and struggled to reintegrate - both into their family lives and into American society at large.
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Wrenching
- By Scott on 01-03-14
By: David Finkel
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The Postmortal
- A Novel
- By: Drew Magary
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 10 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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In a world where an anti-aging cure is available worldwide, immortality comes with its own unique problems. John Farrell is about to get "The Cure". Old age can never kill him now. The only problem is, everything else still can.
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Interesting concept but bleak and wearing
- By Amazon Customer on 05-15-12
By: Drew Magary
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High Achiever
- The Incredible True Story of One Addict's Double Life
- By: Tiffany Jenkins
- Narrated by: Tiffany Jenkins
- Length: 8 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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With heart-racing urgency and unflinching honesty, Jenkins takes you inside the grips of addiction and the desperate decisions it breeds. She is a born storyteller who lived an incredible story, from blackmail by an ex-boyfriend to a soul-shattering deal with a drug dealer, and her telling brims with suspense and unexpected wit. But the true surprise is her path to recovery. Tiffany breaks through the stigma and silence to offer hope and inspiration to anyone battling the disease - whether it’s a loved one or themselves.
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I Get it, You Were an Addict
- By Jim Thompson on 10-16-19
By: Tiffany Jenkins
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Out of Orange
- A Memoir
- By: Cleary Wolters
- Narrated by: Barbara Rosenblat
- Length: 11 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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The real-life Alex Vause from the critically acclaimed, top-rated Netflix show Orange Is the New Black tells her story in her own words for the first time - a powerful, surprising memoir about crime and punishment, friendship and marriage, and a life caught in the ruinous drug trade and beyond.
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Must read for OITNB fans
- By D. T. Douglas on 06-21-15
By: Cleary Wolters
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The Turner House
- By: Angela Flournoy
- Narrated by: Adenrele Ojo
- Length: 12 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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The Turners have lived on Yarrow Street for over 50 years. Their house has seen 13 children grown and gone - and some returned; it has seen the arrival of grandchildren, the fall of Detroit's East Side, and the loss of a father. The house still stands despite abandoned lots, an embattled city, and the inevitable shift outward to the suburbs. But now, as ailing matriarch Viola finds herself forced to leave her home and move in with her eldest son, the family discovers that the house is worth just a 10th of its mortgage.
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The narrator's performance made the difference.
- By KT on 06-11-15
By: Angela Flournoy
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Junkie Love
- By: Joe Clifford
- Narrated by: Timothy McKean
- Length: 6 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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From the cow fields of Connecticut to the streets of San Francisco, Joe Clifford's Junkie Love traverses the lost highways of America, down the rocky roads of mental illness to the dead ends of addiction. Based on Clifford's own harrowing experience with drugs as a rock 'n' roll wannabe in the 1990s, the audiobook draws on the best of Kerouac and the Beats, injecting a heavy dose of pulp fiction as it threads a rollicking narrative through a doomed love triangle, lit up by the many strange characters he meets along the way.
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WOW! an inside look into an junkies mind
- By TinkerMel on 05-16-17
By: Joe Clifford
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The Blue Cotton Gown
- A Midwife’s Memoir
- By: Patricia Harman
- Narrated by: Abby Craden
- Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Heather is pale and thin, seventeen and pregnant with twins when Patricia Harman begins to care for her. Over the course of the next five seasons Patsy will see Heather through the loss of both babies and their father. She will also care for her longtime patient Nila, pregnant for the eighth time and trying to make a new life without her abusive husband. And Patsy will try to find some comfort to offer Holly, whose teenage daughter struggles with bulimia. She will help Rebba learn to find pleasure in her body and help Kaz transition into a new body.
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Hope, Heartbreak, Compassion
- By Susie on 10-16-13
By: Patricia Harman
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Lit
- A Memoir
- By: Mary Karr
- Narrated by: Mary Karr
- Length: 12 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Lit follows Mary Karr's descent into the inferno of alcoholism and madness - and her astonishing resurrection. Karr's longing for a solid family seems secure when her marriage to a handsome, Shakespeare-quoting poet produces a son they adore. But she can't outrun her apocalyptic past. She drinks herself into the same numbness that nearly devoured her charismatic but troubled mother, reaching the brink of suicide. A hair-raising stint in "The Mental Marriott" awakens her to the possibility of joy, and leads her to an unlikely faith.
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Finally! One for the "Win" column
- By Kim on 03-22-10
By: Mary Karr
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Big City, Bad Blood
- By: Sean Chercover
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 10 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Disillusioned newspaper reporter-turned-private detective Ray Dudgeon doesn't want to save the world; he just wants to do an honest job well. But when doing an honest job threatens society's most powerful and corrupt, Ray's odds of survival make for a sucker's bet.
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Quintessentially Chicago
- By Eva Gannon on 09-21-09
By: Sean Chercover
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Out of a Far Country
- A Gay Son's Journey to God. A Broken Mother's Search for Hope
- By: Christopher Yuan
- Narrated by: Christopher Yuan, Nancy Wu
- Length: 7 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Christopher Yuan, the son of Chinese immigrants, discovered at an early age that he was different. He was attracted to other boys. As he grew into adulthood, his mother, Angela, hoped to control the situation. Instead she found that her son and her life were spiraling out of control - and her own personal demons were determined to defeat her. Years of heartbreak, confusion, and prayer followed before the Yuans found a place of complete surrender, which is God's desire for all families.
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phenomenal testimony!
- By Daniel on 06-01-16
By: Christopher Yuan
What listeners say about Wasted
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Anonymous User
- 07-27-21
really great book
so helpful thanks sooo much, this book has change my life. all I ever did before this book was beat myself up, thus book explains why we have these struggles. thank you so much for sharing your story.
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- Ryan Robinson
- 10-24-20
Best addiction memoir
I loved the pacing of the book, and the flow of the narrative. The author jumps to different points in his life a certain points to give back story and really flesh out the story of his life. I was engaged the whole way through, and at the end there is a lot of informative educational information. Michael is honest and open, but owns up to the fact he caused his own issues. Finally an addiction narrative that doesn't praise AA, and instead puts it out there as an option that helps many, but should not be one of the only options. Well worth the money, and have listened a couple times.
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- karen McCann
- 04-23-20
Save your credit
This was the worst narrated book I've ever suffered through. Another example of an author destroying his own work by trying to narrate. The sound effects (REALLY? A TOILET FLUSHING?) were beyond annoying and distracting.
The story quickly became a church service and I returned without being able to finish. One more toilet flush, and I was out.
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- Fusefitness
- 09-29-22
everyone should read this book
Mike's story is so helpful in seeing the complexities of addiction. It opens my eyes to how I can better support anyone with any kind of addiction
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- Lindsay Karty
- 02-19-23
Addiction is trauma and stigma
Society is very ill informed about the trauma addiction bears upon all of us. Any negative review saddens me and points to the stigma those of us who struggle faces everyday. As someone who has been battling SUD, it was comforting knowing I’m not alone. No person would ever choose to have to face this battle.
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- Z
- 09-26-24
Riveting Story, But Conclusion Lacks
The story of the fall from grace is well told by Michael Pond and honestly reads like a "Speaker Meeting" from a 12-Step Program. The descriptive, raw re-telling is sure to grab anyone's attention, especially those trying to understand the life and thought process of an addict.
Pond does a great job pointing out the root issue of a majority of 12-step program groups and how it can keep those with dual diagnosis trapped in their toxic cycles. I hoped to hear his "ah-ha!" moment where things clicked, but instead fell flat or perhaps "to be continued."
I appreciate the end shedding light on alternatives to 12-step programs and progress being made in addiction treatment; however, the very end felt like an infomercial for drug alternatives. It sheds little to no light on emotional trauma therapy in concurrence with step-to-extinction or abstinence approaches.
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- James L.
- 04-05-22
Disappointing
I Was enjoying the memoir aspect of the book until maureen took over and i had to stop listening. The book instantly transforms from an interesting chronicle on Michael’s life to a boring lesson on sobriety. I don’t recommend wasting your money.
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- Gavin
- 07-16-23
An amazing start - an awful ending!
The authors story was amazing and inspiring.
The book had me in tears as a fellow addict.
Unfortunately his partner clearly got a hold of the book, adding silly sounds effects like
Toilets flushing (yes, you read that correctly) and then adding her own self serving and irrelevant chapters at the end.
Her voice and tone is also very condescending for someone who has never actually had to quit an addiction.
The author goes on then to bash AA as a system of recovery after never really trying.
It’s a shame really as there is good info in what he has to say but he is clearly so bitter about his own lack of effort to try the AA program and goes on to blame everyone and everything, except himself for taking so long to get sober.
If he could have stuck to sharing his own story and recovery and omitted his girlfriend unneeded chapters and his own bitterness at his inability to try and get sober this would have been an amazing book.
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- Kelli
- 01-27-22
Skip it!
A long overly wordy drunk a log from a fellow that seems to believe he invented something. Ego. Fear. Entitlement. Don’t read this book and for gosh sakes, save your ears for listening to it. This one should come with a warning from audible.
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