Richard Müller has been away from alcohol for 14 years when he wrote this unsparingly frank and ­personal account of his journey out of alcohol ­addiction. 30 long years in which the author became increasingly dependent, hit the ground "hard" and over three inpatient and various outpatient therapies slowly and with various setbacks fought his way back into life. At some point, he makes the most ­important decision for his future life and that of his family: the decision against alcohol. With the aim of offering other addicts help with their addiction, he describes the various manifes­tations of his illness, tries to fathom the causes of ­addiction and compiles factors that can contribute to achieving and maintaining longterm stability.