Swimming with crocodiles vs Coping with alcohol and drug problems

Swimming with crocodiles

Marjana Martinic, Fiona Measham

2008

Will Chaffey was 18 when he boarded a plane in New York bound for Australia. Though he had recently graduated from one of Boston's most prestigious private schools, a disastrous senior year meant that he hadn't been accepted into college. Instead, he took what the college counsellors grimly called "time off". Despite having no idea what he wanted to do with the rest of his life, Will had a plan for the next six months: to get as far away as possible from the dark New England winter and the stifling expectations of college and career. In Australia, Will met an enigmatic herpetologist and wanderer called Geoff. Together they formulated a plan to walk from the headwaters of the Prince Regent River to the falls of the King Cascade on the north-west coast of Western Australia – a hazardous journey never before attempted by white men. Trekking through a harsh and seductive landscape, their expedition turned into a life-and-death struggle when the boat they expected to collect them at King Cascade never arrived. Stranded in the wildest of places and running out of supplies, Will was transformed in ways he could never have anticipated.

Coping with alcohol and drug problems

Jim Orford, Guillermina Natera, Alex Copello, Carol Atkinson, Jazmin Mora, Richard Velleman, Ian Crundall, Marcella Tiburcio, Lorna Templeton, Gwen Walley

2005

What difference does culture make? Coping with Alcohol and Drug Problems: The Experiences of Family Members in Three Contrasting Cultures aims to deepen and extend understanding of the experiences of family members trying to cope with the excessive drinking or drug taking of a relative. Comprehensive and thoroughly up to date, this book draws on the results of the cross-cultural study of alcohol and drug problems in the family, and places these results within the broader context of the international literature on the subject. By investigating the similarities and differences in the experiences of family members in three parts of the world, the authors reveal results which have far-reaching implications for professional intervention and prevention. Subjects covered include: models of understanding: how families continue to be pathologised and misunderstood. how family members cope. an integrated view of alcohol and drug problems in the family. ways of empowering family members. This book aims to demonstrate the possibility of a constructive alliance between professionals, substance misusing relatives, and the affected family members by thoroughly investigating the dilemmas that face family members and the lack of support they experience. This fascinating insight into the impact of alcohol and drug problems on family members will be a valuable resource for all those who are interested in substance misuse in family and cultural contexts, and particularly those who are interested in the treatment of alcohol and other drug problems.