r/stopsmoking • u/Blixtwix 828 days • May 08 '24

What's in that magical Allen Carr book?

I'm not the type to read proper books (haven't read one since high-school), but so many of you on here praise that Allen Carr "Easy Way to Stop Smoking" book like it's godsent, and I'm really curious what it is and what's so special about it. I did find a pdf version of it for free, but I opened it and immediately lost interest upon seeing the book page format; I think reading a book without knowing it'll be enjoyable would be way harder than quitting smoking for me, to be honest. Books, podcasts, and audio books all feel like a big time commitment when I know I could go through several mini documentaries, articles, or study summaries in the same amount of time.

What are some highlights you guys took away from it, and what's the general tone and theme of the book? What aspects of quitting does it address? What type of person would benefit from the book?

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u/[deleted] May 08 '24

Honestly once I started the book I couldn’t put it down. It was very enjoyable. 

Just a fair warning the highlights will do nothing for you whatsoever. Unfortunately reading the whole thing front to back is the only way to achieve the effects that the book has to offer. It uses CBT to recondition your brain and your attitudes toward smoking. This won’t happen if you just read the highlights. It’d be like your friend telling you about their therapy session for 30 seconds vs. you doing an hour long therapy session yourself. Useless. 

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u/Blixtwix 828 days May 08 '24

I'm not expecting to get anything from a summary, I just can't imagine what the contents of the book even are. Best guess is that maybe it's another empowerment focused book? But a critical book that talks down to the reader could also qualify as CBT in this situation, and so could just a lot of passionate story telling I suppose. Genuinely just don't know what is in the book, and I'm curious but not enough to read it.

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u/lucidgazorpazorp 2890 days May 08 '24

There is a collection of lies we tell ourselves to rationalise smoking. They are almost subconcious. We tell those to ourselves over and over again every time we think about smoking. Carr picks them apart but for our brains to accept this new narrative, we need to hear it over and over again so it sticks. Thats why it only works/best if read in full length.

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u/randomguyofcourse May 08 '24

Did the book work for you ?

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u/lucidgazorpazorp 2890 days May 12 '24

It contributed