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Title: To Slake a
Thirst: The Matt Talbot Way to Sobriety
Author: Philip Maynard
ISBN: 0-8189-0843-2
Paperback: xxiv + 184 pp. |
| It is said that Matt Talbot was
an alcoholic by the time he reached his teens. He lived to drink. But
all that changed one day when he was 28. He was broke; his weekly
paycheck had already been passed to the bartender. He stood outside
the pub for several hours, waiting for one of his friends to invite
him in. No one did. He went home and told his mother: "I'm taking the
pledge," to which she replied, "Don't take it if you can't keep it."
With no A.A., no sponsor, no weekly meetings to attend, he had to rely
on God alone. He found a way to sobriety that not only enabled him to
give up drinking from that time on, but led him to adopt a way of life
such that, at his death in 1925, word of his holiness spread
throughout Ireland and his cause for canonization was begun almost
immediately. He was declared venerable by Pope Paul VI in 1975. This
is his story and his method. It has been set forth here to provide an
answer to those for whom other programs have not worked or who have
been looking for a way that addressed more specifically their own most
deeply felt spiritual needs. |
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More than being just a "born Catholic,"
Philip Maynard has had the unique experience of growing up
in a home in which his father, Theodore Maynard, and his mother,
Sara, wrote many lives of the saints. It was only natural that
these heroes of the Church should become his heroes in a special
way. Later, he was able to overcome alcoholism only by turning to
the example of Matt Talbot, the Irishman who is a hero to many
reformed alcoholics and himself now a candidate for sainthood.
Maynard is a lawyer who writes on estate planning matters. He
lives in Baltimore with his wife Agnes, and his two sons, Kevin
and Peter.
Reviews
"Maynard has reduced the life of Matt Talbot (an alcoholic
Irish Catholic who died in 1925) to its essence, evolving from
it a program that he calls the Matt Talbot Way to Sobriety. In
a word, 'the way' is to develop through a life of prayer and
good works a relationship with Jesus Christ, finding in him
the one whose living water quenches thirst. Befriending Christ
gives a positive motivation to quit drinking. It worked for
Talbot, whose life was transformed by the love of Christ to
the point of great personal holiness; he has been declared
'venerable' by the Church. it also worked for the author, who
himself stopped drinking, and for countless other alcoholics.
'Rather than passively praying to God to stop you from
drinking,' writes Maynard, 'you actively reach out and take
what God has been offering you all along. What you take is not
sobriety, but rather the love of Christ.' The path requires
seven daily steps: a daily offering, dedication of prayers of
the day, Christ-centered prayer (such as the Jesus pryaer),
spiritual reading, short prayers during the day, evening
prayer, and Christian living. The same tenets can be applied
to other compulsive behaviors whether overeating or drug
abuse. This well-written book may help persons who have tried
AA or Rational Recovery without success, but who still want to
stop drinking. A handbook, it is also a primer in prayer."
--Karen Sue Smith in Church, Winter 2001
"The Church honors All Saints on November 1st as models of
virtue that we can emulate, not worship. Anyone dealing with
alcoholism or another addiction might find a soulmate in the
20th century Irish saint, Matt Talbot. This modern saint, who
lived a life of drunkenness in Dublin pubs until the day he
chose Christ over the bottle, is profiled in the book To Slake
a Thirst: The Matt Talbot Way to Sobriety. Different from
Alcoholics Anonymous, the 'Matt Talbot' way shows another path
to beat addictions by making Christ the center of each day. It
may not work for everyone, the author says, but it is another
way to strengthen one's spiritual as well as physical health."
--Catholic Extension Magazine, November 2001
"I must confess I knew little if anything about Matt Talbot
until one of his devotees, Philip Maynard, a Baltimore lawyer
and estate planning expert, brought him to my attention in a
book he has just written that should be a great boon to any
Christian preparing to do battle with demon rum. Matt Talbot,
an Irish layman known as 'the saint in overalls,' and an
active candidate for beatification any time now, is regarded
as a special example for reformed alcoholics, and it was
through his unique Christ-centered approach that Mr. Maynard
found his own path to recovery from alcoholism. Mr. Maynard's
book is a do-it-yourself manual that, its author says, should
be followed step by step, but he cautions it is not
necessarily for all alcoholics or drug addicts.... Down and
out at age 28 after 15 years of steady, hard drinking, Matt
Talbot finally decided he had to quit, and even though he
wasn't the most devout or knowledgeable of Catholics, he knew
somehow he needed to draw on his faith if he were going to
kick his destructive habit.... At first, Matt took the pledge
for three months, then for a year, and finally for life. He
began a life of prayer and penance that continued until his
death.... The Matt Talbot way to sobriety that Mr. Maynard has
constructed doesn't require the severe penance the Irish dock
worker imposed on himself, but it does persuasively call for a
kind of spiritual self-discipline and consistency that Mr.
Maynard, calling on his own life experience, believes is
essential to recovery. Few of us are untouched by alcoholism
and its tragic effects in some way, either personally or
through family members or friends. Mr. Maynard's book could
make a break-through difference in many lives." --Christopher
Gaul in the Baltimore Archdiocesan newspaper, The Catholic
Review, December 21, 2000
"I have taken some time to read through your book and I am
very impressed. I now understand why the Matt Talbot Way is
different from other ways.... I like very much the positive
and profoundly particular spiritual approach that you are
taking. In fact in parts of the book, you are describing a
spirituality that is very serious and mature. I can imagine
how attractive many people would find such an approach. May
God use [your book] as an instrument to help many many people
draw closer to Him and to cooperate with the grace that is
offered to all of us. may this espcially be true for people
who find themselves caught in particular attachments."
--George Aschenbreunner, S.J., Jesuit Center for Spiritual
Growth, Wernersville, PA
"Spirituality: Some fine advice on prayer, one among many
unexpected 'finds' in a new book by Baltimore-based attorney
Philip Maynard. Title: To Slake a Thirst: The Matt Talbot Way
to Sobriety. Himself a recovering alcoholic, the author brings
experience and observations, touching on various tasks, e.g.,
'Getting Started' and 'Spiritual Motivation.' Part Two looks
at the life of Matt Talbot. Of note: The third section
examines how the same principles useful in attaining and
maintaining sobriety can be used to control weight and
cigarette use." -- Crux of the News, December 11, |
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