Sober 8 years since 10/15/2013, Alice grew up in the suburbs of Chicago with an alcoholic father and was raped at age 13 but that is not why she is an alcoholic.
She admired her father when he was sober. He was witty, clever, and artistic. When he drank, he was dumb, mean, abusive, and non-productive. Rape made her want to check out. But she wasn't going to drink because she did not want to be like her dad.
When she moved to California, she found alcohol and it became her friend though there started to be consequences until, eventually, she needed to drink daily.
Alcohol is the cruelest craving because it cannot be satiated.
"So, I have a body that cannot control my drinking, and a mind that cannot control my abstinence."
She reads a telling passage from a book she was writing while trying to get herself sober. She knew about AA before she came in but did not like the God part. She knew AA was either religious or weird.
Lots of keen insight into the disease and recovery.
