Essay by MALBOLSIA September 2004

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Professor Fahey

English 1A

2 March 2002


Alcoholism was present in my family and friends. My grandpa would start drinking only on

weekends socially. Then the drinking started everyday when he was passed over for a


My grandma would get depressed because Grandpa was unhappy. She then started drinking

also. The drinking increased so much that she started to hide vodka and gin in her bedroom.

One night, her stomach was hurting. She said the pain would not go away. My mom took her

to the hospital and she stayed overnight. The next day, she told my mom that she was seeing


D.T.s [delirium tremens]." My grandma said that D.T.s are for alcoholics and she realized that

she was one also! She eventually got help soon afterward and stopped drinking.

Do you know what alcoholism is? Do you know the causes of alcoholism and the methods of

treatment? Most people don't.

Alcoholism is a serious disorder. It can affect our lives in many ways. Forty percent of

highway deaths are alcohol related (Channing, What to do 3). Alcohol is a large factor in

suicides and is spousal abuse (Channing, What Everyone 9). The leading cause of teenage death

is alcohol related (Channing, What Everyone 9). Prolonged excessive drinking can shorten

the life span by ten to twelve years (Channing, What Everyone 12).

"In the U.S., alcoholism is involved in a quarter of all admissions to general hospitals, and

it plays a major role in the four most common causes of death in males, ages 20 to 40: suicide,

[auto] accidents, homicide, and cirrhosis of the liver" (Mayo).

Alcoholism can affect many people of all ages, races, gender, and economic...