And a positive response to the Whelchel piece
Dear Mr. Thorburn,
I appreciated the clear point-by-point educated guess as to why the killing
rampage took place.
I have a grandson, age 21, who hangs around with life long-friends who,
being Irish, take a kind of perverse its-inherited – attitude that
drinking is cool. This grandson cannot afford to drink and I would like to
influence him to understand what he is getting into. Pictures of brain
deterioration, for example. Statistics about holding jobs, etc.
Can you recommend a book, documentary, some source material, that I can
obtain to start his education on this subject? It would be much appreciated.
I lived with an alcoholic step-father for many years – though they didn’t
call it then back in the ’50s – and much family havoc was unnecessarily
caused.
Thank you, and thank you for your thoughtful article.
Stephanie
Hi Stephanie,
You assume you can reason with your grandson. Reason is impossible with someone who has a damaged brain.
You, and everyone around your grandson, need to understand alcoholism well enough so that you can all disenable with a clear conscience. My books provide the requisite education.
We offer a package deal for all four books plus a two-hour audio-cassette, a $73 value for $50 plus tax and shipping. You can save on postage if you feel like dropping by my office in Granada Hills.
BTW, I cannot help commenting on your idea to quote statistics to your grandson about holding jobs, etc. Job-loss is a latter-stage symptom (which includes multi-drug use early on). Destruction of wealth is a latter-stage symptom. Just think of all the great entertainers and sports legends who proved to have the disease of alcoholism. Think, too, of Ted Turner, alcoholic.
I explain the seeming paradox of the highly-functional over-achieving alcoholic in my work.
Good luck Stephanie!