Higher Powers: Alcohol and After in Uganda’s Capital City

by China Scherz, George Mpanga, Sarah Namirembe

Higher Powers draws on four years of collaborative fieldwork carried out with Ugandans working to reconstruct their lives after attempting to leave behind problematic alcohol use. Given the relatively recent introduction of biomedical ideas of alcoholism and addiction in Uganda, most of these people have used other therapeutic resources, including herbal aversion therapies, engagements with balubaale spirits, and forms of deliverance and spiritual warfare practiced in Pentecostal churches. While these methods are at times severe, they contain within them understandings of the self and practices of sociality that point away from models of addiction as a chronic relapsing brain disease and towards the possibility of release. Higher Powers offers a reconceptualization of addiction and recovery that may prove relevant well beyond Uganda.

156 pages, Paperback

Published February 6, 2024

Reviews

[Ryan Logan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Higher Powers: Alcohol and After in Uganda’s Capital City is a brief yet powerful ethnography about alcohol use disorder in Uganda. The major focus of the book is examining four distinct therapeutic pathways taken by those looking to overcome their disorder. I appreciated the critical look at applying Western/American models which address substance use (the Minnesota Model and AA) and how, while these play a role in helping some overcome their disorder, that the individualistic approach and treating this disorder as a chronic problem does not always mesh with the relational aspects of personhood found in various African societies. The authors also highlight the role played by Christian sects and Indigenous religious/healing traditions in addressing some of the shortcomings of Western models. Additionally, as an anthropologist myself, I am thrilled to see a book coauthored by the primary investigator as well as two research partners. As an educator, I am happy the book is open access (available online) and thus reduces the cost for students in my course. There is of course a physical copy of the book that you can purchase. Overall, I’d highly recommend the book for taking a brief yet critical look at alcohol use disorder in Uganda. It’s an appropriate book for late high school, undergraduate, and graduate levels.