a DWI, threats from the boss, a nagging wife or husband, or sometimes even a short stint in a detox or rehab] he can also stop or moderate) The real alcoholic – he may start off as asocial or heavy drinker. But, at some point in his drinking career he begins to lose control of his alcohol consumption once he begins to drink. The book describes the alcoholic as areal Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It says He is seldom mildly intoxicated and always more or less insanely drunk. And they goon and on with a rough description of the real alcoholic. Page 22 further describes the physical reaction alcoholics have to alcohol once ingested. Then on page 23, first paragraph, it tells us our real problem is mental rather than physical. They tell us the first drink sets us in the cycle of spree drinking. BUT, the real reason the spree started is because of our mental block in regards to the first drink. If our minds didn’t tell us it’s ok to take the first drink we would never end up drunk. Page 24, paragraph 1, tells us we have no choice whether we drink or don’t drink when the book says in italicized writing: “The fact is that most alcoholics, for reasons yet obscure, have lost the power of choice in drink. Our so-called willpower becomes practically nonexistent. We are unable, at certain times, to bring into our consciousness with sufficient force the memory of the suffering and humiliation of even a week or a month ago. We are without defense against the first drink.” (page 24, ¶ Again, if it wasn’t for our minds telling us the lie that we can drink alcohol safely then we wouldn’t have anything to worry about when it comes to stopping drinking. As a matter of fact, if we didn’t suffer from the mental affliction of the alcoholic illness then maybe we could “just
