Wasted, a book and documentary, is a harrowing, wry, and riveting account of a therapist’s struggle with alcohol and his quest to find a better way of treating addiction
WASTED — the book
Psychotherapist Mike Pond built a life helping others struggling with addiction, but he could not help himself. In the first part of his gripping memoir, he recounts how he lost his practice, his home, and his family as a result of his out-of-control drinking and how abstinence-based treatment regimes failed to help him.
With tactile intimacy and surgical wit, Pond invites us to share the tragedy of his addiction with a sad smile. And then reveals a singular truth about how people quit. Truly one of a kind . . . A masterful job of describing the indescribable. — Dr. Marc Lewis, neuroscientist and author of Memoirs of an Addicted Brain
Not one to give up easily, he, along with his partner, Maureen Palmer, embarked on a quest for evidence-based treatments—science-backed therapies that don’t always demand abstinence—a search chronicled in the book’s new second half.
WASTED — the documentary
Filmmaker Maureen Palmer set out to make a documentary following her partner Mike Pond — a psychotherapist and an alcoholic five years sober — as he searched for the best new evidence-based addiction treatments. The intent was to help others battling substance use disorders.
“The brain doesn’t lie.” At the Medical University of South Carolina, Mike undergoes alcohol cue testing.
Strapped in an MRI, Mike is shown a series of pictures of both alcohol drinks and non-alcohol drinks.
He rates how much each image creates a craving: mild, moderate or severe.
Mike says he didn’t feel much of a craving at all. His brain scans suggest otherwise.
But to the couple’s shock and dismay, shortly after filming began, Mike drank again. In Wasted, Mike and Maureen’s attitudes and assumptions about addiction are tested in real time as the couple search for a treatment that will work for Mike. A theoretical journey becomes very real and deeply personal. [source: The Nature of Things, CBC]
Mike was never successful at working the [AA] program. And he’s not alone. In fact, AA does not work for the majority who try it, leaving many to feel like failures. Remarkably, most medical doctors still believe it’s the only effective treatment for addiction, insisting their patients attend meetings while they ignore — or remain ignorant of — therapies proven to help addicts and their families. — The Nature of Things
In their documentary Wasted Mike and Maureen discover a revolution in addiction research & treatment. They reveal tantalizing clues to what causes addiction and focus on compassionate evidence-based treatments that pick up where AA leaves off.
Addiction. The Next Step
In tandem with the documentary broadcast, Bountiful Films and its digital partner, Magnify Digital, launched addictionthenextstep.com — a “first of its kind hub” designed as a lifeline for parents, partners and loved ones of those battling substance abuse.
We speak with Michael Pond and Maureen Palmer.
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audio | @PondMichael @AddictionTNS @BountifulFilms @VIMentalHealth @CHLYRadio @cbcdocs https://t.co/oPgn3TAaX0 pic.twitter.com/0d2lBePwU1
— People First Radio (@peoplefirstrad) May 5, 2016
About the authors
Michael Pond has a private therapy practice in Vancouver, where he specializes in addiction treatment. He earned a degree in psychiatric nursing from the University of Victoria and a Masters in Social Work from the University of British Columbia.
Maureen Palmer is a critically acclaimed documentary filmmaker and former radio and television producer at CBC. In 2002, she co-founded Bountiful Films.
