I'm Glad to Be an Alcoholic!
This is my life story, at least up until I was in my mid-forties. What happened afterwards? That could certainly fill a second book, but I have no plans for one at the moment. Perhaps when I retire.
If you're interested in my book, you can buy it from any bookshop or at one of my readings.
Or you can order it directly here.
What readers are saying
musikfalter
Reviewed in Germany on 8 June 2020
Gerald tells almost my own story. The only difference is that his struggle did not last as long as mine.
We have experienced two lives – one spent drinking and one sober. And the sober life really is the better one.
We have also been fortunate enough to find a discussion group where people facing the same difficulties can bare their souls honestly, without shame and without fear that what is said will be repeated outside the group.
Thank you, Gerald, for sharing your life so openly. I warmly recommend this book to anyone affected.
We have experienced two lives – one spent drinking and one sober. And the sober life really is the better one.
We have also been fortunate enough to find a discussion group where people facing the same difficulties can bare their souls honestly, without shame and without fear that what is said will be repeated outside the group.
Thank you, Gerald, for sharing your life so openly. I warmly recommend this book to anyone affected.
I'm Glad to Be an Alcoholic!
Constanze Weigelt
Reviewed in Germany on 16 November 2014
Hello Gerald,
The book arrived yesterday. The first chapter, which you had already published online, was good. But in the chapters that follow, you put into words what many people of our generation experienced but never spoke about. Our grandfathers went to war and, if they were lucky, returned home; our parents were children of the war. We are the generation immediately after them, and without realising it we inherited some of their burdens, even though they always wanted the best for us. I really like the way you write. Even the sudden shifts in thought make readers look inward, reread a line and reflect on their own youth. This is a book for people born during the years of reconstruction, who unknowingly carried some of their parents’ emotional burdens. I hope we do not pass that burden on to our grandchildren. We are now at an age when we can begin to understand why our grandparents and parents acted as they did.
The book arrived yesterday. The first chapter, which you had already published online, was good. But in the chapters that follow, you put into words what many people of our generation experienced but never spoke about. Our grandfathers went to war and, if they were lucky, returned home; our parents were children of the war. We are the generation immediately after them, and without realising it we inherited some of their burdens, even though they always wanted the best for us. I really like the way you write. Even the sudden shifts in thought make readers look inward, reread a line and reflect on their own youth. This is a book for people born during the years of reconstruction, who unknowingly carried some of their parents’ emotional burdens. I hope we do not pass that burden on to our grandchildren. We are now at an age when we can begin to understand why our grandparents and parents acted as they did.
I'm Glad to Be an Alcoholic!
Regina Schulz
Reviewed in Germany on 29 March 2021
A very helpful book for me… I know Gerald personally.
I'm Glad to Be an Alcoholic!
Amazon Customer
Reviewed in Germany on 13 October 2015
Dear Gerald,
I was completely absorbed by your book and read it in a day and a half. By the end I was in tears and deeply moved. Your encouraging, unvarnished words make everyone stop and think. Everyone who is struggling with alcoholism and wants to stop drinking (or has already stopped), as well as family members like me, should read this book. For me, reading it was therapeutic: it helped me come to terms with my father’s former alcoholism and understand how quickly someone can become dependent. Thank you for your frank words and for the trust you place in every reader by sharing your story. This book is not a “warning” about alcohol; it is the story, including the suffering, of a man who no longer allows alcohol a place in his life and who finds the strength to say “no” to it anew every day. That takes enormous determination, which your book conveys so well.
I wish you all the best.
I was completely absorbed by your book and read it in a day and a half. By the end I was in tears and deeply moved. Your encouraging, unvarnished words make everyone stop and think. Everyone who is struggling with alcoholism and wants to stop drinking (or has already stopped), as well as family members like me, should read this book. For me, reading it was therapeutic: it helped me come to terms with my father’s former alcoholism and understand how quickly someone can become dependent. Thank you for your frank words and for the trust you place in every reader by sharing your story. This book is not a “warning” about alcohol; it is the story, including the suffering, of a man who no longer allows alcohol a place in his life and who finds the strength to say “no” to it anew every day. That takes enormous determination, which your book conveys so well.
I wish you all the best.
An author reading from the book
Would you like to invite Gerald Erdmann to give a reading from I’m Glad to Be an Alcoholic? He shares his personal experiences of alcohol dependence, sobriety and mutual support, and is happy to answer questions and join in a discussion afterwards.
