If you’ve ever been faced with the agony of knowing something is very wrong with you physically, but no doctor can figure out the problem even after doing a batch of the usual blood and other tests, or even suggests it’s all in your head, you know how devastating that is both mentally and emotionally. That’s the horrible reality Dr. Barbara Cordell and her husband Joe faced when she and others saw him stumbling and slurring his words as if he were totally drunk first thing in the morning. And yet, he hadn’t had a drop to drink! As Dr. Cordell writes in her important book, My Gut Makes Alcohol!, Joe is one of the hundreds of people who suffer from the little-recognized Auto-Brewery Syndrome, and believe me, this almost inexplicable malady is one that nobody wants to live with as either a patient or caregiver spouse.

My Gut Makes Alcohol! has been written to enlighten both sufferers and healers. To make that work for both, Dr. Cordell has included a fascinating and eye-opening collection of first-hand patient accounts interspersed with very detailed medical information on what happens in our guts after eating and drinking anything, not just alcohol. Regardless of whether you are a patient, a spouse or doctor, what you thought you knew about digestion seems grossly inadequate once you read the author’s very comprehensive breakdown. You see, it is indeed completely possible for some people’s guts to turn into an alcohol brewery, depending on how their guts handle carbs, sugars, even the smell of solvents, chemicals or stress of any kind, just to name a few triggers. There are many more. And what do brewers use in making alcohol? Yeast!

As the author points out, when our guts go haywire, as in Joe’s and other cases Dr. Cordell shares, it’s an overgrowth of yeast in our guts that can make us act, speak and vomit as if we were dead drunk. Just imagine how that can affect people in their jobs! Or imagine being pulled over for drunken driving, or worse yet causing an accident, and insisting you have had nothing to drink. Who would believe you, especially when you end up blowing well over acceptable limits in a breathalyzer test? Auto Brewery Syndrome, ABS, is no joke and not as rare as you might think. Victims’ lives have been turned upside-down and inside out after losing their jobs, draining their finances and still having no easy solutions, even medication, to relieve or end their suffering. Dr. Cordell includes copious references to reading materials and resources, her own website at www.autobrewery.com, and mentions Facebook groups you might wish to look into for more information and support. There are also several other links to ABS you will find on Google, but I recommend beginning your investigation into this syndrome by reading this book. Doing so could save someone’s life, possibly your own. Pick it up today.

My Gut Makes Alcohol! The Science and Stories of Auto-Brewery Syndrome by Barbara Cordell is an eye-opening book that introduced me to a completely strange medical condition. It is shocking to discover that some people can have very high alcohol content in their body without being an alcoholic. For Barbara Cordell, the revelation is shocking and she captures it at the opening of this book: “I was at my pastor’s house for an Easter luncheon after church and I watched my husband Joe fall off the porch as if he were stone cold drunk. My gut clenched and then lurched; my heart sank, and my legs began to quiver. So many emotions went through my body-mind: shock, fear, embarrassment, worry, and confusion. I felt overwhelmed.” This experience set the author on the path to investigate and look for answers to Auto-Brewery Syndrome, a condition that plagued her husband.

In My Gut Makes Alcohol! The Science and Stories of Auto-Brewery Syndrome, the author shares her harrowing experience with a husband suffering from ABS and her journey with patients with the same syndrome. The author allows the shock of the discovery of this condition in her husband to come out clearly, and documents her journey with patients, uncovering stunning facts — and some not readily accepted by the medical community — and providing solutions that are life-changing. Barbara Cordell’s voice is strong and authoritative, a pioneering work that explores a disturbing phenomenon while providing surprising answers to readers. This book is as entertaining as it is hugely informative.