It Takes 2 to Tango, Maybe 3: A Serendipitous Discovery in the Treatment of VLT Gambling Addiction
by Clyde Manswell, M.D.,
Published by Your Nickel’s Worth Publishing
Review by Catherine Fuchs
$14.95 ISBN 978-1-894431-83-5

Dr. Manswell’s book It Takes 2 to Tango, Maybe 3 reveals the complexity of treating gambling addicts. This is the true story of two women who are close friends and gambling buddies. Over time, both women come to be patients of Dr. Manswell’s. This book documents their lives and their struggles with the addiction of gambling.

Those who do not suffer from this affliction will be surprised by the creative ways gamblers readjust their lives to accommodate their gambling habit. Gambling addicts will work overtime, cut out regular vacations, and eat jelly sandwiches just so they can finance their trips to the casino. What is even more interesting is that the gamblers themselves are unaware and even surprised when their adaptive behavior is first pointed out to them.

The book is not only inspirational it is a page-turner. You will want to know, what is the “ultimate discovery” that these two gambling friends ultimately find that helps them to finally beat their gambling addiction. With Dr. Manswell’s help and professional insight, he takes the reader along the 10 year journey that he and these women persevered through to recovery.

At one point when the casino changes their payout method from the sound of clinking coins dropping into the tray to spitting out paper printouts, one of the women comes to the realization that this minor change actually diminished her interest in gambling. Though this was not the ultimate key to her recovery, it does reveal the huge complexity of the addiction process. Dr. Manswell continually holds a compassionate mirror up to these women, showing them how their lifestyles have changed over the years and how they do have the resources inside of themselves to change. He even ventures into their dreams, which evolve and shift as the women begin to develop real personal insight into their own behaviour.

This short but powerful book is a fascinating read for both the professional and those with only a layman’s interest in psychology.

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