Reviews & comments   

All I can say right now is, I will write a more official comment soon but for now just know that I feel your book should be required reading for everyone who knows anyone with a gambling problem--especially professional counselors. I have jotted down a gazillion notes in the margins of the book! You have taught me so many things that I will share with my clients and colleagues.

Tomorrow I am going to a seminar for counselors who work with gamblers, and I will carry your book and encourage everyone to purchase, read and learn!!!

For so long I have felt that women gamblers (as women in most all diseases/disorders,etc.) are the forgotten group. Most studies and information relates to men and the women seem to be included as an aside. I feel so inspired after reading your book and feel I can go forth with a better understanding and a better approach to my women clients.

I've tried to start a women's group for the female clients I counsel but have been minimally successful (1 or 2 and then 3 and then 1 and then none--they always have a 'reason' for not being able to attend). I haven't given up and I am going to use some different methods and keep trying because this is something I really feel I want to do.  Anyway, I could go on and on and on...but the fact is you have enlightened me as no other book or video has on this subject, and I feel like I am able to approach this with more vigor knowing I'm on the right track.

Thank you so much. I will keep in touch and be glad to write a review. Just point me in the right direction.

Oh, by the way...I have to mention the one very special quote I recall was about how when someone dies...'Our deepest feelings can't always find their way from our hearts to words....' I absolutely love this. It touched my soul!!! And, so did you.

I hope one day to meet you in person. Are you available for seminars? I would absolutely love to mention your name to the NSO and MAPG to have you present here in Michigan at one of our seminars for counselors.

 

Valerie, Michigan

Hello Marilyn, I came across your website one day when I was doing some research and desperately trying to find a way to help reach out to my little brother who is a gambler. I was impressed by the reviews (particularly Don Hulen) and very moved when I read the excerpt. I ordered copies of your book and it arrived just as he was packing up to go into residential care, a monumental step. He was fortunate enough to meet you at a seminar in Phoenix about a week later (20 September 2008). Yours is the first book he has read in many years!! He too was incredibly moved and inspired by your story. You told him to tell me that you loved me for loving him so much. It was really special for him to talk with you and for you to sign his copy of your book. I am writing to you to say thank you. Thank you for sharing your own personal ride to hell and back and for continuing to give yourself to those who are in need of a little encouragement. You are incredibly brave. I have come across some awesome people as my brother is starting on his recovery journey. It amazes me that people are so willing to reach out and help a total stranger. My faith in people is buoyed. My brother has been in care for 45 days now and is coming home for a visit. He is doing incredibly well. I am so proud of all that he has accomplished and I am truly grateful for your part in it. Thank you. I am so looking forward to having my brother back, healthy, happy and whole again!

Laura from Turkey

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"In Gripped by Gambling, Marilyn Lancelot describes her horrendous journey through addiction, embezzlement and incarceration, followed by an honest account of what it took to clean up the mess. The pain and courage displayed in these pages will lift up readers and inspire them to heal their own lives."
Kimberly Kingsley, Arizona Author and Energy Coach   www.kimberlykingsley.com

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 Hi Marilyn~~~~~~I am "Chicago Jane" who often attends the Arizona Friday night women's meetings when I visit my daughter in Phoenix. Mainly I want to tell you how much I enjoyed your book. It is so well done; remarkably resists veering off onto related topics; stays focused, honest, and vividly specific and powerful. I have shared it with a few of our members here who have enjoyed it very much also. Right now it is in the hands of one of our newer members who has just been convicted of embezzling funds from her work place....I hope you are doing well, the book is finding its way into many hands, and hope you are pleased with what you have accomplished. I will be in Arizona again June 12-25 and am hopefully going to be able to attend a meeting or two. Please give my regards to the others.

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Marilyn,
Before I read chapter three, I have to tell you...from the bottom of my heart...the kindness you are showing me is overwhelming! I close my eyes and think to myself..a total stranger ..reaching out to me and a new emotion trickles from my heart, tears form in my eyes..I think to myself..this must be what Gratitude feels like. I am so thankfull! It feels Good !  ( I went to the beach and got a little rock, which is to be my gratitude rock..I saw this on the movie THE SECRET ! ) I decided to become a little creative and printed the word gratitude in small font on pink paper and am in the process of putting a gloss on it! It looks awesome!  I am using the lewiscraft podgy glue.glaze.sealer...Just thought I'd share that...*SMILES*  If this process works..in time I will mail you one...
Take Care
Darlene, Canada

 

(Darlene sent me a message a few weeks ago and said she was waiting until she had some money to buy the book and I have been sending her chapters through e-mail so she could  start to read the book. I just e-mailed her chapter four.)

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Hi Marilyn,

I wanted to thank you so much for everything that you have done for women struggling with a gambling addiction.  You don't know me, but I have visited women helping women web site for many years.  I first visited the site when I was living in Tucson, Arizona and struggling with my gambling problem.  I continued to gamble, but I continued to read all the articles , stories on the site.  During half hearted attempts at quitting, I continued to turn to help sites.  Several years later and a relocation back to my home Philadelphia, (and a descent into hell)  I finally placed my last bet on Set 24, 2004.  With your site and GA I finally feel content in my life.  I just got your book and am 3/4 through and I had to stop to e-mail you and thank you.  You may not know me, but you help me every day .

 

 Your sister in recovery,

 Lisa K.,  Philly, Pa

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In a candid, almost casual way, the author shares her journey through multiple addictions and recovery. Along the way, she recounts the all-too-common psychosocial events and traumas which occur in the lives of most female addicts/compulsive gamblers. Very readable, this book provides a good introduction to 12 Step Recovery, and is “rounded out" by a final section of short articles by professionals with expertise in the treatment of addictive disorders/pathological gambling. Highly recommended for women of all ages, and those who love them, who are struggling with compulsive gambling and/or other addictive diseases."

Bonnie J. Benzies, Ph.D.
bonnie.Benzies@illinois.gov

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Thank you so, so much for writing this book. I know I am male and live on the other side of the world but I really identified with your story. Right from your childhood, your gambling, through your prison term and then your recovery. Also I notice your passion for our GA programme came across very strongly and your desire to pass it on to others. 

I now know you Marilyn and where you came from. There must be some unknown power, that when we cross that invisible line, that power puts a chip in our brains. We all thought alike when we were gambling, told the same lies and looked for magic signs any where we could find them and if there were none we would create them. Your story about the six sevens proves this. 

Male or female, it doesn’t matter. I will recommend your book to all because it is a heart warming story of a Compulsive Gambler who went through Hell and came out the other side.

You quote the Bible a couple of times, well there is one saying that is not in the Bible (maybe it should be) “When Daniel got out from the den of lions he never went back for his hat”.  I hope and pray Marilyn that we never go back for ours.

 Now that the Los Angeles convention is drawing near I am starting to regret my decision not to be there. The couple of times I have been in the States I met some marvelous people, Jim.W. Our founder, Ray. M. who drew up our Guidance Code, Bell Shapiro, Marge Castellano and Howie. C. from Las Vegas and many more. Your dear friend Lynne. H. I think I met her first in Orange County and then about four years later in London where she spoke at a convention, I tingled all over  when I read about her and I am sure it is the same lady.

 So once again Marilyn thank you so very much, I will keep in touch, I need people like yourself round about me.

 Tommy in Scotland

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"GRIPPED BY GAMBLING"

A review by Don Hulen:

Finally!  A book about a woman compulsive gambler, an Escape Gambler.  Thank you Marilyn. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and that person is a woman or just plays slot machines you need to read this book. It is real. When I finally got a copy I read it from beginning to end. I am ADHD, and that is the first time in probably 30 years I have done that.
 

It isn't about flipping coins when you were seven or eight, betting on the ponies, playing dice or the numbers. It isn't about craps, poker or blackjack. Its a book about a woman who couldn't stop gambling. I will say it again, couldn't stop gambling. Every counselor who treats or pretends to treat Escape Compulsive gambling should read this book and have a copy in their library for required reading by patients. I have read many of the books written by problem/compulsive gamblers. I have read many of the articles written about problem gamblers.

The majority are about men who gambled huge amounts and seem to glorify their gambling.  Marilyn has written about the pain, the real pain she caused her children, her grandchildren her lover and her sister, her victim as well as herself. Witting about these experiences while pointing the finger directly at yourself is a very difficult thing to do. I know, I can't seem to do it.

I was there in the court room when they slapped the handcuffs on her and took her to prison while her children and grandchildren were crying. I was there when her boyfriend died. I was there when her son died. I was there when her grandson who is now in prison was the lead story on the news.  I was there when her daughter finally got straight. I was there when she started a meeting for women (despite adverse consequences). I was there when some of us didn't really accept women into our program but she insisted on coming and changed our program forever.

Its been over sixteen years since I met Marilyn, I thought I knew something about women gamblers, I didn't know anything until I read her book.

Don Hulen, Executive Director, Arizona Council on Compulsive Gambling

 

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From the very first sentence, this book grabbed me. I too am a compulsive gambler in recovery, and I

wish this book had been around 10 years ago, when I first began to admit to myself that “MAYBE I have a gambling problem.” I found all I could to read about gambling, but I didn’t find anything resembling this book. Perhaps if I had I wouldn’t have followed my self-destructive path for almost 3 more years. This book can let apprehensive gamblers, women OR men, know where a gambling addiction can take them. It can help families of gamblers know what to keep an eye out for; a gambler can take her or his whole family down to the depths of the addiction. If treatment professionals want to put a much needed scare into a client in denial about a gambling addiction, get this book into the gambler’s hands! Marilyn’s story of the consequences of her actions is powerful and moving. For me, though, probably as for many staying away from gambling one day at a time, the inspiring story of her recovery and the re-building of her life is even more powerful. I read the book in an afternoon! Then I spent a week on a second read. Highly recommended for anyone with first or second hand knowledge of, or even a disinterested curiosity about, gambling addiction!

Betty, Yavapai County, AZ
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Hi… my name is Joan and I am a recovering compulsive gambler. Ms. Lancelot’s story is VERY POWERFUL. It serves as both a testimony and warning as to the potential dangers lurking within gambling. She has an extraordinary way of bringing her deep, dark secret out into the light… exposing every painful detail of her ordeal along with every glorious moment in her recovery. Marilyn has shared her experience in a very raw, honest manner. I commend her for her courage and candor, and consider her book, Gripped by Gambling, a very effective tool to aid in the recovery of the compulsive gambling addict. What an amazing story of hope and healing…you won’t put it down ‘til you’ve read the last page!

Joan Spencer
Carstairs, Alberta, Canada

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Hello my friend, thank you for sharing your story with me through your book. Congratulations on giving me hope. What a gift for those of us (especially women) on the recovery path. The intimate details of your addiction, family background and struggles and your uphill climb to live a normal life is exceptionally insightful. I could identify with so much of your story, especially the addiction with your children, your marriages and love relationships. I thank God for your perseverance to complete this book. Everyone I know touched by our addiction should read it. Your book also is very worthwhile in raising our consciousness about the differences between male and female gamblers. Thank you for edifying me, for lifting me up spiritually, for believing that I will make it on the other side of this chapter in my life. Thank all the counselors/treatment providers who contributed to your book. I think it very generous of you to include their messages in your book. Much success with this book and continue to touch the lives of those affected by the gambling addiction. Wherever you are, God Is.

 

Love you much,

Deborah in a Texas Prison.

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Yes Marilyn, I did read your book and really thought it was good. We have purchased copies for our library and have them available for counselors as well. Hope it goes well for you.

Pat Fowler, Florida

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Hi Marilyn,
Just a note to let you know I have read, and feel I am a much better person for having done so, Gripped By Gambling. Through laughter, and tears, you have accomplished something wonderful. I am sure you have given many people the courage to go on. God bless you and Kathy, Bev, Gerry and Juannie. I will continue to remember all of you in my prayers. Hope this note finds you, your family and friends, healthy and happy.

Love to all, Anne (My niece from Connecticut, whom I haven't seen for more than 40 years.)
 

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Happy Easter Marilyn... It's Jude and I'm at Lynne's house...

Sitting here in Awe, I finished your book with tears running down my face and sharing with Lynne stories of the past.

You are my Recovering Lady GA Girl Friend... WOW  I am at a loss for words and that doesn't happen too often for me... What a  STORY!   I am so proud to know you and that you showed up for my 1 year birthday.  I will never forget that day I can tell you what you were wearing, I didn't believe someone would travel a couple hundred miles for a meeting or another friend in Recovery!

 

Love, Jude from California            

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Mark E., Phoenix, AZ  said, “It’s like sitting across the table from you, drinking a cup of coffee.”

 

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I just ordered your book and I can't wait to read it! Arnie Wexler became very emotional when he described the beginning of your story. He highly recommended it. I'm thankful for people like you who make their story public in the interest of helping others. I will be sure to pass along this info to our clients, specifically, a woman who is currently waiting for trial/sentencing for embezzling 4.7 million dollars from her employer to gamble. I'm sure she will find your story helpful.

Thanks again
Donna K., Canada  

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Marilyn:
I received your book and it is WONDERFUL! I was touched by your inscription and will treasure it always!!!!! I think I need to buy one of your books for all three of my offices. I just partnered with a special person in Tucson, and will buy one for that office, too. I believe we can suggest your book as necessary reading material, and as our clients are able they will probably buy one.
I see your efforts as a genuine and loving way to introduce our reluctant clients to explore the gifts available in GA.  I am so grateful to have you in my life and a friend of mine!!!!

With sincere GRATITUDE!
Humbly, Bobbe M., Phoenix, AZ
 

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I am so happy for you! I am so happy for every female gambler reading your book and learning from your experiences! The pain of gambling is horrible!!  I remember at the end of my gambling years I was physically ill, everything inside of me hurt!!  I couldn't eat, I couldn't breathe properly, and I couldn't think.  All I wanted was to gamble!    Thank you Marilyn and thank you for saving my life ....... 

Isia in Poland

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Hi Marilyn,
CONGRATULATIONS and THANK YOU!!! How very exciting. My husband is sitting right here and I told him I want the book for my birthday which is at the end of this month. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I absolutely can’t wait to get my hands on it!   So much luck to you,

 

Penny from Arizona

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Marilyn, I don't think you know what a wonderful light of hope you will be through this book. Not just for what you have survived but what you made out of your life. So many times there seems to be no reason to be enthusiastic about anything in life, and then comes the phone call. Someone saying help me, I am gambling and I feel lost. They give me a reason to live. But you give me reason to have hope. Hope that even in my "golden years" I may have much to look forward to. I do not bullshit you. In a world where I have lost trust and faith in almost everything and everyone around me, along came GA and then you. You are bigger than life, girl. I love you, and I love who you are. I will absolutely read the book and call you to share with you.

 

Love you, Susan, Tucson, AZ

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Dear Marilyn I finished your book.. I love the part where you told the story of your life and your recovery and trying to help other people. I know that this book of yours will help anyone who thinks that they might have a problem with gambling.. Your story inspired me.. there are things in it that you had never told me.. I have told a lot of people to buy it.. good for you that you wrote it. Hope it helps a lot of people..

Love and hugs Shirley from Prescott, AZ

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Congratulations on the book. I just finished reading it. I got home about 1:00 and ended at about 8:00. Obviously, I could not put it down...that is a GREAT thing and I am so very proud of this WONDERFUL accomplishment, not only for you personally, but for all compulsive gamblers in recovery. I can relate to much of the agony and defeat you endured and survived. I just finished 2 years of probation. I only gambled compulsively for 6 years. I lost everything I worked so hard for. Anyway, after nearly 3 years in recovery I appreciated, learned and was "WOWED" by your story and your selfless explanation of insanity, recovery and hope. I loved the definitions that you shared. Very well said and explained with perfect definition and purpose. I have no doubt that you are Arizona's pioneer for female gamblers in recovery and I appreciate you so much for writing this book. I loved that you never lost site that the GA program helped you become the person that you are. Way to go girl!

Jody, Prescott, AZ
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Hi Marilyn,
Your book has been a pleasure to read. Having known you for these past three years, I was already aware of some of your background, but the chapters on recovery were new for me, and gave me a more complete picture of your work with GA for women, and your own road to recovery. You write in a very enjoyable and easy to read style.

Congratulations.

Anonymous in Peoria, AZ