Woman of the Year in Iceland
For her courage, an autobiographer with a story of abuse has won wide recognition and respect in Iceland.
Thelma Ásdísardóttir, a 38 woman from Hafnarfjördur who experienced repeated sexual abuse throughout her childhood and recently published her story, was selected "Woman of the Year" by the magazine New Life (Nýtt Líf).
Thelma's story shocked the nation when her book, "Picture of daddy - Thelma's story", co-written by Gerdur Kristný, came out this fall. The abuse began when Thelma and her sisters, two older and two younger, were five, and continued for over a decade. The abuse, sexual, physical and emotional included their father prostituting Thelma and her sisters in exchange for alcohol and drugs.
Link to a December 1 news report for the Iceland Review online. Read more about Thelma's co-author.
And here's a link to an Iceland woman's blog discussing the book and the story.
Posted by Jon on December 2, 2005 at 12:17 AM in Alcohol (general), Alcoholism, Drugs (general), Iceland, Literature | Permalink
Icelanders say NO to alcohol in grocery stores
The Iceland Review reports (3 Oct 2005) that 62% of Icelanders are opposed to selling alcohol in grocery stores, if it includes the sale of hard liquor, according to a survey by PSN - Communications. Currently, beer, wine and hard liquor are sold in outlets run by the State Alcohol and Tobacco Company of Iceland. Find the full story here.
Posted by Cynthia on October 4, 2005 at 02:20 PM in Alcohol (general), Iceland | Permalink
Iceland (bibliography)
Gunnlaugsson, Helgi, and John F. Galliher. Wayward Icelanders: Punishment, Boundary Maintenance, and the Creation of Crime. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 2000. [Chapter 3, “Prohibition of Beer in Iceland.”]
These citations originally appeared in recent “Current Literature” sections of The Social History of Alcohol Review. Jon Miller and David Fahey compiled and edited them. They were also available on the Alcohol and Drugs History Society’s old website, http://athg.org.
Olafsdottir, Hildigunnur. Alcoholics Anonymous in Iceland: From Marginality to Mainstream Culture. University Press, University of Iceland, 2000.
Olafsdottir, Hildigunnur. “Den Islandske Alkoholplotikkens Nedtrapping. Fra Styring til Behandling og Forebyggelse.” [The concession of the Icelandic alcohol policy. From control measures to treatment and prevention.] Nordic Studies on Alcohol and Drugs 16 (1999), 116-127.
Olafsdottir, Hildigunnur. “The Entrance of Beer into a Persistent Spirits Culture.” Contemporary Drug Problems 26:4 (Winter 1999), 545+. [On the 1989 repeal of beer prohibition in Iceland.]
Olafsdottir, Hildigunnur.. “Alcoholics Anonymous, Alcoholism Treatment and the Icelandic Society: Fluctuating Boundaries.” In Irmgard Eisenbach-Stangl and Pia Rosenqvist, eds., Diversity in Unity: Studies of Alcoholics Anonymous in Eight Societies (Helsinki, Finland: Nordic Council for Alcohol and Drug Research, 1998), 55-74.
Olafsdottir, Hildigunnur. “The Dynamics of Shifts in Alcoholic Beverage Preference: Effects of the Legalization of Beer in Iceland.” Journal of Studies on Alcohol 59:1 (January 1998), 107-114.
Posted by Jon on June 14, 2005 at 02:00 PM in AA Research, Alcoholism, Beer, Iceland, Licensing and Legislation, Prohibition | Permalink
Relaxing Reykjavik's drink laws
BBC News reported on 4 February 2005 that it went to Iceland to discover how they coped with the relaxation of the drinking laws. A recent survey found nearly 70% of rank and file officers in the UK are opposed to all hours licensing - they say it will create more alcohol-related disorder. Six years ago in Iceland, similar changes were introduced in the capital Reykjavik. The BBC went to the city to investigate whether the changes to the licensing laws there have worked. Find the full story here.
Posted by Cynthia on March 18, 2005 at 02:19 PM in Drinking Spaces, Iceland, United Kingdom | Permalink
Harry G. Levine's "Temperance Cultures"
Here is a link to a lightly-edited version of "Temperance Cultures: Alcohol as a Problem in Nordic and English-Speaking Cultures," in Griffith Edwards, Malcom Lader, D. Colin Drummon, eds, The Nature of Alcohol and Drug-Related Problems (New York: Oxford University Press, 1992), pp.16-36.
This is just one of a world of offerings from Levine's electric library, Hereinstead.com. Filed into 26 categories, I believe this link sets a record for the most cross-referenced item on the website. Congratulations, Harry!
Posted by Jon on January 23, 2005 at 02:20 PM in Alcohol (general), Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Temperance, United Kingdom, United States | Permalink | Comments (0)