Chapter 21 (My Power Grid)
"Never confuse movement with action." - Ernest Hemingway
My attempts to regain power over my drinking was like "rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic" as it was sinking. My actions were futile in the face of repeated catastrophic results.
Surrender to Win.
*****
Immerse yourself in my Descent into Addiction and eventual Recovery in this Autobiographical Fiction. Emerge more fully whole.
Find it on Amazon. Book it here: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO
#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books
All Drinking Aside bookends each of its 90 Chapters with Quotes by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous.
The Quote by Ernest Hemingway opens Chapter 21 (My Power Grid) of All Drinking Aside.
Chapter 22 (The Intelligence of Trees)
"Hard work is a prison sentence only if it does not have meaning." - Malcolm Gladwell
*****
ADDICTION is HARD WORK & MEANINGLESS, Malcolm.
That PRISON DOOR feels SOLDERED SHUT yet is WIDE-OPEN.
INSANITY, Mr. Gladwell, INSANITY.
*****
Immerse yourself in my Descent into Addiction and eventual Recovery in this Autobiographical Fiction. Emerge more fully whole.
Find it on Amazon. Book it here: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO
#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books
All Drinking Aside bookends each of its 90 Chapters with Quotes by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous.
This Quote by Malcolm Gladwell opens Chapter 22 (The Intelligence of Trees) of All Drinking Aside.
"A man is his own easiest dupe, for what he wishes to be true he generally believes to be true." - Demosthenes
FAR BE IT FROM ME to outpace a Greek orator, but DANG, Demosthenes, what you describe here is the Fate of Mere Mortals! We Addicts and Alcoholics in Recovery have lived in a World of SELF-DECEPTION like no other. The Addict's Brain is deceived into believing that its Substance-of-Choice is Instrumental for Survival. Addiction Dupes Us as We Dupe Ourselves (Crazy enough for you?) into thinking that this is what we really, really want and need.
STOP! Life is hard enough without these Chains. In humble gratitude, we know that "nothing matters more than that we remain sober because when we remain sober everything matters more."
*****
Immerse yourself in my Descent into Addiction and eventual Recovery in this Autobiographical Fiction. Emerge more fully whole.
Find it on Amazon. Book it here: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO
#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books
All Drinking Aside bookends each of its 90 Chapters with Quotes by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous.
The Quote by Demosthenes closes Chapter 22 (The Intelligence of Trees) of All Drinking Aside.
Chapter 23 (Fireworks of Darkness within Darkness)
"It's not denial. I'm just selective about the reality I accept." - Bill Watterson
SORRY, Bill Watterson. It's not you, it's me. Addiction WAS Funny at times. Until the attempts on my life and the attempts to save my life (Death threats & Hospitals) coalesced. In the end it was NOT Funny at all (You humor me now, Bill, now that my sense of Humor has returned. Many Thanks.).
Addiction made me feel like the Victim of an UNCHOSEN REALITY. Not Totally True, I suppose, at least until the bitter end. True RESPONSIBILITY would not be mine to own until later when I finally found Freedom in RECOVERY.
*****
Immerse yourself in my Descent into Addiction and eventual Recovery in this Autobiographical Fiction. Emerge more fully whole.
Find it on Amazon. Book it here: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO
#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books
All Drinking Aside bookends each of its 90 Chapters with Quotes by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous.
The Quote by Bill Watterson opens Chapter 23 (Fireworks of Darkness Within Darkness) of All Drinking Aside.
"Sometimes a majority simply means that all the fools are on the same side." - Claude McDonald
FADS, MASS HYSTERIA & RIOTS are all forms of Collective Behavior. Being Wary of Group Dynamics made my Early Recovery especially difficult, but experience has shown me that I, for one, could not get Sober without help. I had to REJOIN the HUMAN RACE were I to SURVIVE.
Addiction makes all Under Its Influence look and act like fools. I am still Unraveling Addiction long after complete disengagement from the Behaviors associated with it. I am on the side of Recovery. Simply put, I am Becoming Unbroken.
*****
Immerse yourself in my Descent into Addiction and eventual Recovery in this Autobiographical Fiction. Emerge more fully whole.
Find it on Amazon. Book it here: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO
#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books
All Drinking Aside bookends each of its 90 Chapters with Quotes by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous.
The opening Claude McDonald Quote closes Chapter 23 (Fireworks of Darkness within Darkness) of All Drinking Aside.
Resolve to read it. Explore your own mind within its pages. Check out the 5 Star Reviews on the Amazon page while you're there: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO Enjoy.
Chapter 24 (Triple-Digit Drunk)
"Every recovery meeting is an intervention between me and the first drink." - All Drinking Aside
I suppose the importance of Recovery Meetings can't be underestimated, especially in Early Recovery, which for me was the first five years after the preceding eight years of periodic relapse and short-term recovery. Often one hears in the Rooms of Recovery, "If you sponsor yourself, you have a fool for a sponsor," which expresses my sentiment that in Early Recovery [For me, ALL Recovery is Early, New & Fresh compared to the Stale, Old & Tired Days of Addiction.], especially, the brain is still reshaping itself after the chemical assault of what may have been many years of use, abuse and addiction.
All of which is to say that long after the drug of use has left the body, the physiological structure of the brain must undergo a long period of restructure and healing. UNDER THE INFLUENCE of the drug of choice continues long after a urine drug test declares you clean.
One last thing, stated for the umpteenth time, Addiction robs of user of human connection. Recovery is the rejoining of the Human Race.
Pace yourself. Stay connected. Rejoin the Human Race. REJOICE!
"Every recovery meeting (and other human connections) is an intervention between you and the first drink or drug." [extended cut, you are special edition]
*****
Immerse yourself in my Descent into Addiction and eventual Recovery in my Autobiographical Fiction. Emerge more fully whole.
Find it on Amazon. Book it here: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO
#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books
All Drinking Aside bookends each of its 90 Chapters with Quotes by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous.
This Quote written by me (pictured) closes Chapter 24 (Triple-Digit Drunk) of All Drinking Aside.
Resolve to read it. Explore your own mind within its pages. Check out the 5 Star Reviews on the Amazon page while you're there: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO Enjoy.
Chapter 25 (Obviously Obliterated)
"Sometimes the truth of a thing is not so much in the think of it, as in the feel of it." - Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick: 2001 A Space Odyssey
Jim Anders: A 30-Year Spaced Oddity
"My past unravels as my future unfurls"* shows my GRASP on Truth was TENUOUS at best.
Today, I am not Anesthetized by Alcohol which, when it deadened one feeling deadened all feelings. When I first got sober, the floodgates opened (sometimes not reacting to the reality at hand). Today, my emotions are more in balance, the think and feel of things intertwined.
*All Drinking Aside
*****
Immerse yourself in my Descent into Addiction and eventual Recovery in this Autobiographical Fiction. Emerge more fully whole.
Find it on Amazon. Book it here: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO
#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books
All Drinking Aside bookends each of its 90 Chapters with Quotes by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous.
This Quote by Stanley Kubrick (pictured) opens Chapter 25 (Obviously Obliterated) of All Drinking Aside.
Resolve to read it. Explore your own mind within its pages. Check out the 5 Star Reviews on the Amazon page while you're there: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO Enjoy.
*****
Immerse yourself in my Descent into Addiction and eventual Recovery in this Autobiographical Fiction. Emerge more fully whole.
Find it on Amazon. Book it here: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO
#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books
All Drinking Aside bookends each of its 90 Chapters with Quotes by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous.
This Quote by Bill Vaughn (pictured) closes Chapter 25 (Obviously Obliterated) of All Drinking Aside.
Resolve to read it. Explore your own mind within its pages. Check out the 5 Star Reviews on the Amazon page while you're there: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO Enjoy.
Chapter 26 (Pompeii in Motion)
"The world breaks us all. Afterward, some are stronger at the broken places." - Ernest Hemingway
Sometimes an EPIPHANY is the result of SCATTERED SOURCES coming together. This Quote by Hemingway is one of several sources (including the visual inspiration of Kintsugi, the Japanese Art of repairing broken pottery with gold) that made BECOMING UNBROKEN the title to my second book (Still in the works, Available Spring '22).
*****
Immerse yourself in my Descent into Addiction and eventual Recovery in this Autobiographical Fiction. Emerge more fully whole.
Find it on Amazon. Book it here: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO
#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books
All Drinking Aside bookends each of its 90 Chapters with Quotes by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous.
This Quote by Ernest Hemingway (pictured) opens Chapter 26 (Pompeii in Motion) of All Drinking Aside.
Resolve to read it. Explore your own mind within its pages. Check out the 5 Star Reviews on the Amazon page while you're there: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO Enjoy.
"The ego is not master of its own house." - Sigmund Freud
*****
I CAN'T ALWAYS BE SERIOUS (otherwise, how could I possibly remain sober?). Today's Quote from my book reminds me of something I once heard in a Recovery Meeting: "EGO is NOT MY AMIGO!"
*****
Immerse yourself in my Descent into Addiction and eventual Recovery in this Autobiographical Fiction. Emerge more fully whole.
Find it on Amazon. Book it here: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO
#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books
All Drinking Aside bookends each of its 90 Chapters with Quotes by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous.
This Quote by Sigmund Freud (pictured) closes Chapter 26 (Pompeii in Motion) of All Drinking Aside.
Resolve to read it. Explore your own mind within its pages. Check out the 5 Star Reviews on the Amazon page while you're there: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO Enjoy.
Chapter 27 (F--k You, Gentle Reader)
"Delusions of grandeur make me feel a lot better about myself." - Jane Wagner
DELUSIONS OF GRANDEUR were low on the list of Symptoms exhibited by my Addiction to Alcohol. But Best Believe my Perceptions of Reality were altered by this Chemically Induced Insanity. Denial, Anger, Fear, Depression, Self-Pity and Doubt led the Parade. Hospitalizations, Detoxes and Rehabs trailed not far behind. Monkey Off My Back but Circus Still in Town, Clean-up of the Debris began, kicked up by my unsteady feet. Like a Freakishly Bad Movie Franchise, Relapse I, II, III and IV followed.
Confusions, Illusions & Delusions,
Contusions & Infusions.
Party over, a Realistic Humility accrued once the Tail Quit Wagging This Dog.
"Nothing matters more than that we remain sober because when we remain sober everything matters more."
*****
Immerse yourself in my Descent into Addiction and eventual Recovery in this Autobiographical Fiction. Emerge more fully whole.
Find it on Amazon. Book it here: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO
#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books
All Drinking Aside bookends each of its 90 Chapters with Quotes by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous.
This Quote by Jane Wagner (pictured) closes Chapter 27 (F--k You, Gentle Reader) of All Drinking Aside.
Resolve to read it. Explore your own mind within its pages. Check out the 5 Star Reviews on the Amazon page while you're there: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO Enjoy.
Chapter 28 (Didn't You Used to Be Somebody?)
"I find that the harder I work the more luck I seem to have." - Thomas Jefferson
It took hard work to get from "DIDN'T YOU USED TO BE SOMEBODY?" to feel okay when I finally got sober.
But Won't Simply Stopping Alcohol and Drug Use and Abuse be Enough?
Quite simply, NO!
Luck is for Losers and I always Lost at the Drinking Game. When I did stop, it was always through hospitalizations, so Sobriety was a Gift of sorts. Sustained Recovery would have to be Earned. Earned through hard work.
Occasionally I have been forced to believe in the Wisdom passed down through the Ages. Thomas Jefferson is one of those Sages.
Hard work. Work hard. However, you want to say it.
No Action Too Small. As heard in most Recovery Meetings, "Work it. You're Worth it!"
*****
Immerse yourself in my Descent into Addiction and eventual Recovery in this Autobiographical Fiction. Emerge more fully whole.
Find it on Amazon. Book it here: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO
#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books
All Drinking Aside bookends each of its 90 Chapters with Quotes by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous.
This Quote by Thomas Jefferson closes Chapter 28 (Didn't You Used to Be Somebody?) of All Drinking Aside.
Resolve to read it. Explore your own mind within its pages. Check out the 5 Star Reviews on the Amazon page while you're there: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO Enjoy.
Chapter 29 ( Reuptake Alcohol, Delusional Effects)
"When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. That's my religion." - Abraham Lincoln
*****
This Quote by Lincoln SPEAKS FOR ITSELF.
Why?
Because Lincoln SPOKE FOR HIMSELF.
*****
Immerse yourself in my Descent into Addiction and eventual Recovery in this Autobiographical Fiction. Emerge more fully whole.
Find it on Amazon. Book it here: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO
#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books
All Drinking Aside bookends each of its 90 Chapters with Quotes by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous.
This Quote by Abraham Lincoln (pictured) opens Chapter 29 (Reuptake Alcohol, Delusional Effects) of All Drinking Aside.
Resolve to read it. Explore your own mind within its pages. Check out the 5 Star Reviews on the Amazon page while you're there: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO Enjoy.
"It only takes one person to change your life - you." - Ruth Casey
*****
I ALONE COULD DO IT, BUT I COULDN'T DO IT ALONE.
*****
Immerse yourself in my Descent into Addiction and eventual Recovery in this Autobiographical Fiction. Emerge more fully whole.
Find it on Amazon. Book it here: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO
#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books
All Drinking Aside bookends each of its 90 Chapters with Quotes by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous.
This Quote by Ruth Casey (pictured) closes Chapter 29 (Reuptake Alcohol, Delusional Effects) of All Drinking Aside.
Resolve to read it. Explore your own mind within its pages. Check out the 5 Star Reviews on the Amazon page while you're there: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO Enjoy.
Chapter 30 (Hammer and Chisel)
"The world is full of people looking for spectacular happiness while they snub contentment." - Doug Larson
*****
I WANTED ONLY TO NOT DIE AND TO NOT DRINK (Got more than I asked for).
*****
Immerse yourself in my Descent into Addiction and eventual Recovery in this Autobiographical Fiction. Emerge more fully whole.
Find it on Amazon. Book it here: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO
#alcoholism #addiction #recovery #books
All Drinking Aside bookends each of its 90 Chapters with Quotes by the Famous, Infamous & Anonymous.
This Quote by Doug Larson (pictured) closes Chapter 30 (Hammer and Chisel) of All Drinking Aside.
Resolve to read it. Explore your own mind within its pages. Check out the 5 Star Reviews on the Amazon page while you're there: http://amzn.to/1bX6JyO Enjoy.
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