Article January 8, 2007 Issue

MY JOURNEY OUT OF ALCOHOLISM

BY JUNE SULLIVAN

One of my parents was an alcoholic. So when I started drinking in my 20s and found I couldn't stop, I accepted the label of "alcoholic" as part of my makeup—a characterization I took on without even thinking. Although I desperately wanted to do something about this destructive habit, my addiction was so strong that I was afraid I might never stop.

My drinking habit continued for 15 years, into the mid-1980s. By then, I was drinking every day, mostly after work. I got to the point where I couldn't go anywhere, even to visit family, unless I had a bottle of alcohol with me.

In social situations, drinking had become my daily substitute for comfort and courage, leading regularly to heavy intoxication. And as anyone who has ever leaned on it knows, alcohol's promises are false. Instead of the ease and strength I craved, alcohol only enslaved me, and brought about self-loathing, fear, and weakness.