Title: How Smoking Quit Me
Author: James J. McGill
Publisher: Venture Publishing LLC
ISBN: 978-1-946955-94-4
Pages: 52
Genre: Non-Fiction / Education
Reviewed by: Lisa Brown-Gilbert
Hollywood Book Reviews
Breaking the addiction to smoking is never an easy task. There are so many excuses for not quitting while conversely, there are just as many justifications to quit. However, whereas some may quit successfully boasting of awe-inspiring feats of willpower others may find that they remain stuck in a continual fluctuation struggling to break the addiction with a self-imposed evil that seems almost inescapable.
Nonetheless, there is hope for those trapped in quitter’s perpetude and author James J. McGill offers readers living proof of it, by sharing the details of his personal journey to becoming addiction free for over thirty years, with his succinct but purposeful book, How Smoking Quit Me.
Author McGill’s work stems from an authentic place, as he is no stranger to the struggles that come with attempting to break the tobacco addiction. Suffering from common experiences like; the yo yo attempts to quit, encountering the horrors of physical withdrawal symptoms, losing loved ones to the effects, and even having to once face a pre-cancer diagnosis. Consequently, this book offers hope and inspiration to others to open their minds and hearts, follow his guidance, and overcome their addiction struggles, just as victoriously as he did.
This is a concise work which espouses not only the salient basics to quitting, but also carries a strong spiritual aspect as well. Mr. McGill proposes that true help comes not from amazing feats of willpower, but by calling on your higher power for help as he did to ultimately and successfully stop. Therefore, maintaining the concept throughout the book; problems come to a halt when you let God into your life by explaining how he was able to access his higher power and the ways in which it helped him.
Furthermore, while embracing a spiritually based focus which is as insightful as it is empowering, author James J. McGill also perceptively examines aspects like triggers and denial. He puts forth fundamental principles which could be successfully applied by lay people as well. Some of the principles are as follows: do not verbally or mentally condemn smoking; and considering tobacco as neither your friend nor your enemy. Altogether, How Smoking Quit Me brings the reality of smoking addiction into sharp focus. This is a narrative which is wise and cautionary while wielding a comforting, empowering tone, which comes through in the author’s writing style. For those looking to quit, this is definitely a worthy read.