The craving mind From cigarettes to smartphones to love - why we get hooked and how we can break bad habits

The Craving Mind addresses how addictions in contemporary society may be overcome by practicing mindfulness. Brewer (medicine and psychiatry, UMass Medical School) begins his short book by discussing cigarette consumption, a most insidious form of dependency afflicting at least 15 percent of the US adult population. For example, many former recovered hardcore drug users remain stuck and unable to break the cycle of cigarette dependency. Brewer cites very promising results with his mindfulness approach, yielding superior smoking cessation rates compared to the American Lung Association's Freedom from Smoking approach. The work is written in a breezy, conversational format, offering a pleasurable read. After exploring smoking cravings and cessation, and the theory behind how mindfulness works, Brewer goes on to examine many insidious dependencies of the times--cell phones, Facebook, hero worship, relationships, etc. This reviewer was disappointed that the rapidly spiraling numbers of opioid-related fatalities and addiction (now eclipsing automobile fatalities and suicides), the foremost lethal addiction of the times, is not a focus for this most promising treatment approach. Summing Up: Recommended. All readers. --William Feigelman, Nassau Community College