Bill Rohde
asked:
Why doesn't she discuss the biology of addiction? The problem with learning theory is that one can easily find as many or more people with the same backgrounds and motivations as the addicts that Ms. Szalavitz talks about who do not learn how to be drug addicts. Details of her own treatment are sadly lacking. How many people got clean after reading this book?
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Unbroken Brain: A Revolutionary New Way of Understanding Addiction,
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Valerie Brown
She does address the biology! She goes over brain areas and chemicals involved in addiction, then how those can relate to similar brain changes in other learning disorders . She also discussed a lot of her own treatment, usually at the beginning of each chapter. Went into a lot of detail about her court hearings and experience with court ordered rehab. I don't think this book is intended to be a personal memoir to help people get clean. Its a criticism of our national drug policy and clinical treatments, and a compilation of her research and opinion on the cause of addiction being a learning disorder, which she provides substantial evidence for throughout the book.
LJ
I sure would have liked her to cite sources when she repeatedly uses "studies have shown" or "research indicates." I want the sources in text. Otherwise it's a lazy technique.
Dawn Hodgins
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