Knapp’s work tells about the period when the author had an unhealthy drinking habit for about 20 years. It introduces many aspects of being an alcoholic and its consequences. What is more critical, Knapp talks about her experience and recovery path in so many details that the book is helpful as a guide to treat a patient with a similar problem. In 2016, the overconsumption of alcohol led to approximately 3 million premature deaths worldwide, which was more than the deaths resulting from tuberculosis, HIV, or diabetes (WHO, 2018). Drinking: A Love Story is the story about the relationship between a human and alcohol, the transformation of a person as an addict, and their way to sobriety.
The writer’s addiction caused harm not only to her health but also to her personal life and career. She talks about her double life as a sober newspaper writer at daytime and a drunken lady at nighttime bars. Knapp claims she could successfully combine her writing job with drinking habits. However, in reality, she felt empty and hopeless, unable to stop harming herself. She admits the situation by saying, “but inside I was falling apart. The discrepancy was huge” (Knapp, 1996, p. 30). Knapp had a hectic relationship with several men who would often get her into trouble. Thus, alcohol deprives the stability in life and deploys personality.
The predisposition to alcoholism seems to be highly inheritable, and Knapp’s case is not an exception. She says, “in some family’s alcohol washes across whole generations, a liquid plague,” referring to the transmission of the additive behavior from parent to a child (Knapp, 1996, p. 46). Her father was an alcoholic and a heavy smoker who left the family early and died because of lung cancer. Knapp was not only a drinker but also a smoker like her parents. She recovered from alcoholism but met her end from lung cancer caused by long-term smoking. Thus, the presence of one addiction often ends in another bad habit.
The writer informs the readers about some physical symptoms of alcoholism. They include vomiting, increased heart rate, and lowered blood pressure. Knapp talks about unhealthy eating habits resulted from regular hangovers. Her loss of appetite led to severe weight loss and body exhaustion. In addition, she mentions having frequent headaches and difficulty sleeping. If to look at the physical appearance changes, her face became pale, eyeballs red, and, underneath her eyes, she developed large dark circles. To add up, Knapp (1996) states, “I could see little burst blood vessels all over my chest,” illustrating the appearance of rash on her skin, which, according to her therapist, was because of booze (p. 40). The author also tells the reader about alcohol’s harm to every single organ in the human organism. Most affected areas are usually the liver, heart, and reproductive and immune system. Moreover, alcoholism raises the risk of cancer development by the drinker. The writer died from a tumor, and drinking was most likely its cause to the same extent as smoking.
The psychiatric effects of alcohol on the abuser are immense, and they lead to more severe consequences than the physical ones. Knapp reports she had gradual behavioral and character changes at the time of drinking. For instance, she became extremely nervous, shy, pessimistic, and unconfident of herself. She often had mood swings, anxiety, and feeling of unconditional sadness. The author is very deliberate in describing her affection for the poisonous drink and the behavioral changes caused by this unhealthy relationship. Knapp speaks about a glass of red wine being her only companion, which she could always confide in. After drinking, she felt emotional relief and that the sorrows had gone. The author escaped loneliness and burdensome moments of her life through drinking (Knapp, 1996). It is clear from the reading that she was losing her inner self and even developed an alternative identity. Most alcoholics deny themselves and the fact that alcoholism abruptly changes their personality.
Many people do not recognize obsessive drinking as a disease. The problem is often taken lightly by addicts and their relatives. As a result, it is difficult to cure the patient since people only ring the bell at the late stage of alcoholism. The book’s author further suggests, “the alcoholic’s body simply responds differently to liquor than a nonalcoholic’s” (Knapp, 1996, p. 54). She talks about the release of dopamine as a response of a brain to alcohol. Dopamine makes the person feel pleasure and satisfaction from drinking. However, in the long-term, the brain cannot produce dopamine without alcohol, and a person becomes addicted to it (Knapp, 1996). Nevertheless, as the story progressed, Knapp continued to suffer from the post-effect of alcoholism and her helplessness in the situation. She admitted that alcoholism was a disease, and it needed to be treated.
Knapp had family issues from early childhood, and she started drinking when she was still a teenager. Essentially, it is challenging to treat people who began drinking at a young age. She often felt abandoned and unheard by her parents, which led to loneliness. Additionally, her drinking habit worsened when she lost both of her parents because of cancer. The rehabilitation center was helpful in Knapp’s recovery and a constant visit to the meeting of anonymous alcoholics. As an instance, the writer recons, “I began to realize that the meeting at the end of the day provided relief the same the drink used to” (Knapp, 1996, p. 231). It was vital to get support from people with the same issue and to know she was not alone.
The writer had managed to recover from the addiction to alcohol after a long struggle. An important thing to note is that even after being sober for several years, Knapp found it wearying to resist the smell of the standing beverage near her. Therefore, it is critical to observe the person who used to be an alcoholic during his sobriety period. It is relatively common for the ex-alcoholic to return to the old bad habits.
To conclude, Drinking: A Love Story describes Knapp’s long and painful battle against substance addiction. The relationship between the author and alcohol is shown as a toxic ‘love.’ It well presents an alcoholic’s state at a time of weakness and her compulsive obsession over a liquor. The writer speaks about the side effects of drinking, such as uncontrollable addiction, mood change, low self-esteem, identity loss, and physical symptoms like headache, high heart rate, low blood pressure, and skin eruption. She suggests some treatments which doctors and relatives of patients might find helpful. For example, periodical visits to anonymous alcoholics’ meetings helped Knapp overcome social isolation.
References
Knapp, Caroline. (1996). Drinking: A love story. Dial Press.
World Health Organization (WHO). (2018). Global status report on alcohol and health [PDF document]. Web.