The Hard Things In Life, The Things

Fall In Love With A Dog, And In Many Ways You Enter A New Orbit, A Universe That Features Not Just New Colors But New Rituals, New Rules, A New Way Of Experiencing Attachment.

Academic Achievement Was Something I'd Always Sought As A Form Of Reward. Good Grades Pleased My Parents, Good Grades Pleased My Teachers; You Got Them In Order To Sew Up Approval.

Trying To Describe The Process Of Becoming An Alcoholic Is Like Trying To Describe Air. It's Too Big And Mysterious And Pervasive To Be Defined. Alcohol Is Everywhere In Your Life, Omnipresent, And You're Both Aware And Unaware Of It Almost All The Time, All You Know Is You'd Die Without It, And There Is No Simple Reason Why This Happens, No Single Moment, No Physiological Event That Pushes A Heavy Drinker Across A Concrete Line Into Alcoholism. It's A Slow, Gradual, Insidious, Elusive Becoming.

When I Drank, The Part That Felt Dangerous And Needy Grew Bright And Strong And Real. The Part That Coveted Love Kicked Into Gear. The Yes Grew Louder Than The No.

Before You Open The Lunch Menu Or Order That Cheeseburger Or Consider Eating The Cake With The Frosting Intact, Haul Out The Psychic Calculator And Start Tinkering With The Budget.