Women and Drinking: The Best Kept Secret and the Dangers of Alcoholics Anonymous

https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/nr6fur/gabriellefinal_-_7_27_21_1119_AM7wzo7.mp3

EPISODE SUMMARY:

As a published author, Gabrielle Glaser is using her renowned literary works, such as American Baby and Her Best-Kept Secret, to spread awareness on important issues including alcoholism, adoption and more. In today’s episode, we spoke with Gabrielle about Her Best-Kept Secret, the issues with AA, drinking in moderation, and her latest book, American Baby. First, we asked Gabrielle about the inspiration behind Best-Kept Secret. She explained to us that one day, she stumbled upon an op-ed piece discussing the increasing numbers of women entering drug and alcohol rehab facilities. After not only reading the piece but then also hearing the story of a woman who was drunk and got into a car accident with multiple children in her car, Gabrielle began to reflect on alcohol’s role in both society and her own personal life. She realized that in recent years, alcohol use has become a bigger part of our culture. We then asked about the different data and issues Gabrielle had found when researching the history of AA. She found that statistically, AA is only 5% effective for those who try it. For women and alcohol, four of the biggest issues that can trigger alcoholism are anxiety, depression, eating disorders and sexual abuse. She also discovered that AA was founded by two white men in 1935, both of whom were wealthy and powerful figures at the time. Since AA operates on admitting powerlessness to alcohol, Gabrielle found it interesting that the program itself was founded by two men who were not powerless at all but rather had a lot of financial and social power. Also, for women, that powerlessness does not always connect back to alcohol, but rather issues at home or other outside factors. Another issue with AA meetings is the fact that many of them can become magnets for sexual predators. Since attendees do not use their real names, a sexual predator can join without being discovered. There have also been cases of leaders of AA meetings forcing women into sexual acts in exchange for giving them sponsors. Britain and Australia eventually issued guidelines regarding sexual predators in AA due to the issue, however the U.S. has yet to release any guidelines. When asked about alternative methods of alcoholism treatment, Gabrielle mentioned an opioid that many have taken to help their alcohol intake. If you take the drug an hour before you start drinking, it prevents your brain from releasing the feel-good chemicals that cause a high when you drink. Eventually, without the positive reaction to alcohol, your body unlearns its habit of drinking to feel better. There are also drugs that can be taken to help curve cravings.

We then talked about alcohol intake in moderation, and Gabrielle told us that for people who do not struggle with alcoholism but have noticed an increase in their alcohol use, it is possible to cut back without becoming completely sober. Some ways to cut back the amount of alcohol you drink include drinking later in the evening so you can have less glasses, making fun, non-alcoholic drinks to substitute the alcohol, and even putting sticky notes and reminders throughout your house to remind yourself of your own limits. Finally, we talked to Gabrielle about her newest book, American Baby. She told us that the book is about her late friend’s experience being adopted. After becoming ill, her friend had been determined to make his story go viral in order to find his birth mother. Eventually, the birth mother saw the story and was able to meet with him in person. However, once they met, the birth mother revealed to him that she had not given him up but rather fought to keep custody. When he was adopted, she tried for years to find a way to contact him to tell him about his medical history. He died a few months after they met, and after learning her friend’s story, Gabrielle began looking at adoption in the U.S. as a whole and the problems within the system.

Gabrielle Glaser

From Her Website:

I’m a writer who challenges the conventional wisdom on subjects that broadly touch people’s lives. Over decades of work as a journalist and author, I have examined how accepted practices in one era had unexpected and often devastating consequences in the years that followed.

I believe that sweeping historical trends must be explored through the stories of the lives of the people who are most deeply affected by them. To fully investigate the story, I tell in American Baby, I interviewed sources and visited archives in a dozen states from Oregon to Florida, as well as France and Israel.

My previous book, “Her Best-Kept Secret: Why Women Drink — And How They Can Regain Control,” was a New York Times bestseller. It looked at why womens’ consumption of alcohol has risen so sharply, how the 85-year-old faith-based program of Alcoholics Anonymous can be harmful to women, and which evidence-based treatments can help those who drink too much.

My work on mental health, medicine, and culture has been published by The New York Times Magazine, The New York Times, The Daily Beast, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Atlantic, STAT, and many other publications. I have appeared on many national radio and television programs, including NPR’s Fresh Air, All Things Considered, WNYC’s On the Media, and The Brian Lehrer Show, NBC’s Nightly News, ABC’s World NewsTonight, and All in with Chris Hayes. My investigative Atlantic story, “The Irrationality of Alcoholics Anonymous,” is included in Houghton Mifflin’s Best American Science and Nature Writing Anthology, 2016 edition.

I studied at Stanford University, where I received both my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history. I grew up in Oregon and live in New Jersey with my husband. I have three wise daughters.