Identification as the Force That Beats Clinical Therapy — Carl M.
About This Speaker Tape
Seattle, 1970s. Eleven years old and choking down a "playground cocktail" from a jar in the loser's corner of the school property. Carl M. describes a life where the colors of the world are dull and the music is shallow unless he has a drink in his hand; for him, alcohol is the only way to see the world in high definition. He details a wreckage that includes failing out of college on his parents' dime and a Navy career marked by a "urinalysis test" failure and a car crash through a guard shack.
The turning point arrives in a San Diego hotel room, where Carl attempts to drink on top of Antabuse. He describes the resulting "projectile regurgitation"—a Linda Blair spray across the room—as the physical manifestation of his fatal condition. He argues that clinical therapy fails because it ignores the "catch-22" of the alcoholic mind. Only through the identification found in a room of peers and a Higher Power can he finally hear the music without the bottle.
Discussion
Be the first to share your thoughts on this tape.