Goodbye Hangovers, Hello Life: Self-Help for Women

Herself a recovered alcoholic, Kirkpatrick makes it clear at the outset that female alcoholics are different from their male counterpartstheir problems are more complex and acute. Society tends to condition women into being passive, inhibited and lacking in self-identity, she observes; thus they are ""very poorly equipped with the stuff recovery is made of,'' namely the strength to be independent and self-reliant. But Kirkpatrick, who directs Women for Sobriety, outlines that organization's program of recovery, stressing meditation, nutrition and methods of heightening self-esteem, plus a six-point guide to postive thinking, chief among which is ``I am what I think.'' Also included are interviews with female alcoholics, which underline the author's message that hope exists for women with this affliction. February