SO FAIR A HOUSE: The Story of Synanon

Synanon is the house that Chuck Dederich, an ex-alcoholic with determination, intuition and vigor, has built for drug addicts who want not only to be ""clean"" of their habit but to live clean as well: Begun in 1958, his movement and therapy are too young for official certification as to results (a five-year period of cure is in order for this), but definitely not for medical and community approval and support. Dr. Casriel, who studied drug addiction on a National Institute of Mental Health grant, presents a capable, professional exposition and appraisal of Synanon's history, therapeutic methods, and results, mainly through the words of its founder, through its practitioners as they go through the steps of confronting and helping a member, and through case histories, including a capsule biography of a cured addict who has gone through the Synanon process and left to take up life in the general community. The method and reaction to going ""cold turkey"", the treatment of the total personality and the members' reactions and growth are explored. A persuasively affirmative presentation, which, like Synanon itself, may provide a seedbed for further growth.