She was engaging in compulsive behaviors that would give her a rush. The euphoria caused by either doing something that she shouldn’t or what would come from the alcohol or nicotine helped her feel alive. Most of her personal experiences left her feeling sad and full of despair. She started eating compulsively when she was still young. Being an overweight teen did not help her feel accepted with others. This is where the cycle started.

Turning her compulsive eating over to God helped her escape that cycle, but it opened up doors for other addictions to enter, such as smoking and drinking. The drinking cost her many relationships and she also was devastating her family. Seeing what she was doing to her mother really opened her eyes up. She started engaging in healthy behaviors and has realized that her life is so much better without the addictions clogging her thoughts. The addictions were keeping her from living and from achieving her goals. Giving up her addictions opened up avenues in her life where she could start living a real authentic life. She no longer has to worry about how she got home the night before or worry about getting to work with a hangover.

I am so glad that Linda shared her story. Reading about her life from her childhood made me feel like I knew her and I was suffering along with her. As she got into her bad behaviors, I felt so sad that someone who had gone through so much was throwing her life away. As she overcame her addictions, I felt like I was cheering alongside her. Connecting to her spiritual side and God really helped save her.

I think that readers will be able to relate to Linda’s story. If they have compulsions and addictions, it will be wonderful for them to know that they can be overcome and life will get better. For someone who is in a relationship with a person like this, it will give them better insight into their behavior. It will also show them that their addictions can be overcome; however, the person with the addictions has to be the one to make that choice. This person also might need to leave their life to be able to do so.

'I QUIT' is a must read for people who are addicted; people who are dealing with friends and families of addicts; and people who work with people who have addictions. Everyone who reads this will gain tremendous insight. Thanks so much to Linda Joy Allan for being willing to let us into her world."

Like so many of us, she finds comfort in food, therefore she eats...binges, repeatedly. Needless to say the pounds attach themselves to her once "average" body. At this point, she has to contend with being overweight and in her fragile state of mind the weight factor was the fuel added to the fire.

Next Allan is introduced to smoking cigarettes. After failing one diet plan after another Allan becomes desperate to lose weight and a friend tells her that cigarettes will cure her appetite. Whoa - although this may be true to some extent (this is not based on personal experience) what is that in comparison to the potential of developing cancer? Is it really worth the risk? Apparently for Allan, apparently for a lot of people.

In our society weight can make or break you. From the celebrities to the commoners, we are all painfully aware of our weight and are willing to go the extra mile to reach status quo. Image is everything in the world we live in today. Sad but true.

Finally, to drown everything out, the hurt, the pain, the feelings of worthlessness, the guilt, and the shame, she lavishes herself in liquor. Alcohol, in my opinion had the greatest negative impact on her life because it took her out of her senses. At least, with food binging and smoking she still has the ability to make a conscience decision. However, alcohol robbed her of her ability to make a sound conscience decision . She would start off with just one drink, then another, then another. She would wake from a drunken stupor and have no recollection of the events that happened after those first few drinks.

Allan is an ordinary woman with extraordinary perseverance. She takes the phrase "I Quit" to another level. For all the addicts, let Allan be an inspiration to you. She called on an inner strength that empowered her to kick the habit out the park. She's an ordinary woman, who endured some major obstacles in her life, many of them you may be able to relate to as well, but she found a way to overcome. Will you?"

Allan’s twelve-year drinking problem started in Hawaiian nightclubs at age nineteen. At her birthday dinner celebration, she caused family tension by repeatedly ordering beers, refusing to eat, and going to a bar. Her mother joined her there, saying she would stay all night if necessary to get her home safely. Seeing pain and tears in her mother’s eyes, Allan realized her deep concern. Perceiving her mother’s unconditional love stimulated a change in her perspective. “I can’t explain what happened that next morning,” Allan writes. “All I can say is that it felt like an epiphany.” She never drank again.

Fourteen years later, a terrific cold stopped Allan’s twenty-eight-year smoking habit for four days. Her next cigarette tasted horrible and caused nausea. The following day, she didn’t smoke before practicing her singing lesson. After practicing, she felt like she had already had her cigarette because she was used to smoking before practicing. Whenever she would think about a cigarette, she would stop the thought. These techniques prevented resumption of smoking.

Unlike many former addicts, Allan has no craving for her addictive substances. She mentions that something, in her case God, needs to replace addictions.

With a B.S. from Golden Gate University in management, Allan works for the city of Santa Barbara, California as an administrative assistant. I Quit is her first book. Radio show interviews of this public speaker include Esme Murphy’s Minneapolis’ WCCO830 program.

Allan’s life shows that receiving and recognizing support from deeply caring people, like her parents, can help overcome addictions. Her transformation provides hope for adults with this problem. People will better understand an addicted relative or friend after reading about Allan’s struggles.

The author’s devotion to helping others is a drastic change from attempting to kill her boyfriend. Going to the gym, being thin, and having a college degree provide more satisfaction than her addictions ever did." (September)