Alliance Affiliated Books

Books by Medical Professionals

These books are a collection of works written by Alliance directors, advisors, and members.

The Benzodiazepines Crisis: The Ramifications of an Overused Drug Class

John F. Peppin, Joseph V. Pergolizzi Jr., Robert B. Raffa, and Steven L. Wright.

This book was written by a team of 12 medical professionals at the request of and with input from the Alliance.  This is the most authoritative work ever produced on benzodiazepines and their effects and problems.  From clinical presentation through neuropharmacology and treatment, this work presents the analysis of over a thousand research papers on benzodiazepines from every viewpoint.   The evidence presented overwhelmingly describes the pattern of over-prescription of these medications and the resultant development of dependence in nearly half of the patients who use them for more than 4 weeks.  Many of the authors were initially resistant to this conclusion, but were moved by the evidence to support it.

Conceived by the Alliance, this has been a multi-year project.  Our own Dr. Steven Wright is not only a major contributor to the book, but is also one of its editors.  The authors have generously designated their royalty payments from the sale of this remarkable book as contributions to the Alliance in support of our ongoing mission to halt the spread of the benzodiazepine crisis.

Learn more and order book here

HOOKED: A concise guide to the underlying mechanics of addiction and treatment for patients, families, and providers

Arwen Podesta

Navigating the physical, medical, emotional, and social aspects of addiction can be overwhelming to patients, families, and even treatment providers. Many publications deal with this topic; however, most are thin pamphlets or thick scientific treatises. This short book concisely and clearly answers the questions that students, patients, and their loved ones ask: What is an addiction? Why do we care about it? Why do some people get addicted and others do not? What do we do about addiction? This book is medically minded but accessible to all readers, and it will answer these questions and more.

Learn more and order book here

Naturally Occurring Benzodiazepines, Endozepines, and their Receptors

Robert B. Raffa, Diana Amantea

Understanding and addressing the current opioid crisis requires knowledge of endogenous opioids (endorphins and enkephalins), but there is now evidence for a benzodiazepine crisis. Are there endogenous benzodiazepine-like substances—and what do they do? How do they affect antianxiety drugs and their adverse effects? Do they explain enigmatic prolonged benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome? This book raises important questions about the clinical consequences of ignoring the existence of or understanding the potential influence of endogenous benzodiazepines on the therapeutic effect of benzodiazepines, their adverse effects, and the problems of withdrawal from them and other benzodiazepine receptor agonists.

Learn more and order book here

Patient Stories and Advocacy

Benzo Free: The World of Anti-Anxiety Drugs and the Reality of Withdrawal

D E Foster

Ever heard of benzodiazepines? How about z-drugs? Perhaps you know their brand names, like Ambien, Ativan, Klonopin, Lunesta, Valium or Xanax. Millions of people around the world take these drugs every day and very few know much about them, let alone what it’s like to withdraw. My hope is to help change that.

For those who experience benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome (BWS), incessant questions run rampant, but answers are few. I searched high and low to find information during my withdrawal, and in the midst, Benzo Free was born. By the time I finished writing the first draft, I’d spent four years reading and cataloging over a thousand separate articles, books, and scientific studies.

Learn more and order book here

Seeds Of Hope: A Journey Through Medication and Madness Toward Meaning

Jocelyn Pedersen

Faith and a positive attitude are all Jocelyn needs to get through significant loss and difficulty in her life, until the unthinkable happens…

Introduced by a trusted friend and physician to a terror so insidious it threatens to extinguish everything she believes in, author Jocelyn Pedersen reaches into the darkness to discover unimaginable hope and strength. Follow her fight for survival in this evocative memoir.

Learn more and order book here

Repairing the Benzo Blunder: A Mosaic of Recovery

Marjorie Meret-Carmen

In this Memoir Marjorie Meret-Carmen chronicles her painful 10 year journey through Benzo dependence and withdrawal. While caring for her husband during his long decline and eventual demise from dementia, she was having trouble sleeping and having panic attacks during the day. Her doctor prescribed Ativan/Lorazepam (a Benzodiazepine) to help her.

This Memoir chronicles Marjories’s journey through the labyrinth of dependence, grief, the agony of withdrawal, and recovery. She bares her soul with journal entries, poetry, and confessions of hopelessness.

Learn more and order book here