TIME IS ALL WE HAVE: Four Weeks at the Betty Ford Center

by Barnaby Conrad ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 21, 1986

A personal narrative of four weeks spent at the Betty Ford Center in California, for the treatment of alcoholism. Conrad, best known for his 1950's best seller, Matador, was better known to his family and friends as an easy man with the bottle. Witty, running in fascinating circles while he wrote. Conrad may have fooled himself about booze, but when his son handed him a check for $6,000 to cover a four-week stay at the center, it was time for confronting himself. Conrad gives an account of the spirit and ambience of the center, where such luminaries as Liz Taylor, Liza Minelli, Mary Tyler Moore, and Robert Mitchum had gone to cure their dependency on alcohol. (Those who pick up the book expecting to read all about Betty Ford may look elsewhere. Except for a cameo appearance at a lecture session, the former first lady is present only in spirit.) Instead, Conrad focuses upon the tough love, the sharing and caring spirit that is present in the day-to-day treatment at the center. Throughout this account, he skillfully weaves his own story of debilitation with interesting medical commentary on the progress of the disease itself. There is much talk about chemical dependency and of the heavy influence of AA techniques at the center. Regretfully, there is little mention of the obsessive-compulsive personality and to what extent it militates towards drinking, and what substitutes such personalities add to their lives to replace drink. Conrad also regretfully slides over his crucial turning points too quickly. He expends about four-fifths of the volume on his first week, leaving little room for depth to cover the important final three. Nevertheless, Conrad gives us an unusually readable exploration of a serious disease and one potential type of cure.

Pub Date: Nov. 21, 1986

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Arbor House

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1986

Categories: NONFICTION