Drunkard: A Hard-Drinking Life
Last Updated on Friday, 11 June 2010 10:10 Written by admin Friday, 11 June 2010 10:10
- ISBN13: 9780525950653
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Product Description
An extraordinarily honest memoir about the life of a functioning alcoholic and the realities of recovery from a veteran columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times
Neil Steinberg loves his wife. He loves his two young sons. He loves his job and his ramshackle old farmhouse in the suburbs. But he also loves to drink, a passion that rolls merrily along for twenty-five years until one terrible night when his two worlds collide and shatter.
Drunkard is the story of one man’s fall down the rabbit hole of alcoholism, and his slow crawl back out. Sentenced to an outpatient rehab program, Steinberg discovers that twenty-eight days of therapy cannot reverse the toll decades of vigorous drinking take on one’s soul. In clear, distinctive, honest, and funny prose, Steinberg comes to grips with his actions, rebuilds his marriage, and reclaims his life.
Unlike outlandish tales of addiction’s extremes, Steinberg’s story is a regular person’s account of the stark-yet-common realities of a problem faced by millions around the world. Drunkard is an important addition to the pantheon of critically acclaimed, bestselling memoirs such as The Tender Bar, Drinking: A Love Story, and Smashed.
Drunkard: A Hard-Drinking Life
Tags: Brand New, chicago sun times, Drunkard, funny prose, HardDrinking, Life, Mark, Neil Steinberg
I am a member of Alcoholics Anonymous – someone who believes in the program – and I think it takes time to realize the program is spiritual and not religous and kind and not a dictatorship. Only another person who has walked the walk can understand the insanity of repeating the same behavior, sneaking drinks, drinking in the morning, etc.. But it is not a coincindental that Mr. Steinberg does not buy into AA. He is arrogant and does not have the humility necessary to follow the program of Alcoholics Anonymous. He is exactly the type of person AA was created for and by – a white male. I understood him but I didn’t like him very much. I wish him well, and I only hope he eventually finds the comfort and friendship I have found in Alcoholics Anonymous.
Rating: 3 / 5
I have to up front admit that I didn’t read this book cover to cover. I read it over a period of a couple of days at my local bookstore, and I skimmed parts. I just want to state that up front. I would say I read 70 % of the book, though. I think it is a very honest book, and well written. The author is a Jewish-American journalist (the only reason I mention that is because some people claim that there is less alcohol abuse among Jews, and some claim that there is a lot of hidden alcoholism among Jews; you decide). He lives in north Chicago and has a good job. The book starts out with the author in jail for having slapped his wife during a fight. He blames alcohol. Ok, fine.
The one thing about this book that I didn’t understand was that upon intake at the rehab center, they ask him how much he drinks a day, and he states “3 to 5″. If that is not untrue, to me, that would put him within moderate drinkers, at least in some cultures (Germany, Britain, France, etc.). Maybe he was lying or being ironic. He does admit to drinking occasionally in the morning, and downing bottles of wine and harder alcohol, which of course are associated not with hard drinking, but with alcoholism.
And yet, I just kept wondering, is this guy really an alcoholic, or just a heavy drinker. For instance, I think domestic violence can occur concomitant with alcohol abuse, but of course, there are many people who engage in the one and not the other, so I think it would be unscientific to state that the drink caused the violent incident (and note, he only hit her once, during a verbal altercation [I am not trying to minimize this, but I am just stating, it was not a chronic behavior with the author). Many abusive men don’t drink, and many hardened alcoholics would never hit their wife or girlfriend. So I found the conclusion that his drinking “caused” that one slap to be unscientific. It seems to me that these are two very separate issues.
What follows is that he ends up being “processed” by the U.S. 12-step industry (I call it that), based on his choice and wishes, though. I realize his drinking was not normal by any means, especially by U.S. cultural standards. But is having 3-5 beers on your way home from work, and then a wine in the train (and not driving !) really alcoholism ? I just wonder. In Germany, where I lived for years, that would be considered moderate to heavy drinking, I think. Ditto in Britain and most of continental, Catholic Europe. Plus, he held down a job and never had work-related issues from his drinking (he even admits or hints that drinking might have helped him at work). I mean, he is a journalist, and he does mention the long traditon among journalists and writers of drinking, also in Chicago newsrooms (Royko, etc.).
Of course it is all his choice and I wish him well in his choice. But I just have these lingering doubts, based on the information he provided.
Still an entertaining, honest, courageous (really !) book, and a book with a sense of humor.
Rating: 4 / 5
and so felt a bit disappointed when I reached the end of Neil Steinberg’s account of his descent into alcoholism. . Steinberg’s story never really grabbed me. He’s almost too detached, too analytical. I wasn’t looking for Greek tragedy but I thought that somewhere along the way the author would admit to a few tears, to a sleepless night or two. I felt cheated.
Rating: 3 / 5
GOOD SERVICE – BOOK ARRIVED IN A TIMELY FASHION – I’M A HAPPY CUSTOMER WHO WILL BUY FROM THIS SELLER AGAIN
Rating: 5 / 5
I heard Neil Steinberg being interviewed on a local radio show and decided to purchase the book. I was really both surprised and disappointed in what I read. Actually, it is a very quick and easy read and did keep my attention. However, discussion of AA and his making a monetary profit seems to go against the AA steps and traditions. I found this more of a “drunkalogue” much as you hear people’s stories in an AA meeting. He didn’t really connect with the spiritual foundation of the program and declaring his wife as his Higher Power I find absurd. I know that people do often struggle with the concept of a higher power, and I’m glad for his sobriety, but giving his Al-Anon wife so much control is dangerous. They each need to work on themselves, through their own programs of recovery. Just my opinion!
Rating: 2 / 5