The children of alcoholics were often overlooked in the past. Attention was always placed on the alcoholic himself to get him into treatment for his substance abuse. However, today it is just as important to treat the child because he or she can break the “three generation” disease of alcoholism. The child must realize that he or she needs not to continue the cycle. An emphasis has now been placed on the idea that anyone can break the addictive cycle. The children of alcoholics are not destined to live their parents’ lives. So how then does Jeannette Walls break away from alcoholism? If no one treated her, how is she able to fight the statistic that children of alcoholics are three times more likely to continue the cycle and become alcoholics?
Firstly, Jeannette is able to channel the emotional effects of an alcoholic parent into positive motivation to break the cycle. The embarrassment and anger she sometimes feels toward her father drives her to leave Welch and all its troubles behind. These emotions bring her to New York City, to Barnard, to a successful career in journalism.
I climbed in next to the driver. On the way home—with Dad still singing away in the back, extending the word “low” so long he sounded like a mooing cow—the man asked me about school. I told him I was studying hard because I wanted to become either a veterinarian or a geologist specializing in the Miocene period, when the mountains out west were formed. I was telling him how geodes were created from bubbles in lava when he interrupted me. “For the daughter of the town drunk, you sure got big plans,” he said. (183)
While Jeannette does not have the parental support a child needs, she does have strong support from her siblings. Both Brian and Lori (more so than Maureen) help Jeannette to break the cycle. Because of alcoholism and other problems in the family, the children grow to be independent. This independence allows them to set examples for each other to follow.
Brian grabbed the bottle out of my hand. He emptied it into the kitchen sink, then led me out to the shed and opened up a wooden trunk in the back marked TOY BOX. It was filled with empty liquor bottles. Whenever Dad passed out, Brian said, he took the bottle Dad had been drinking, emptied it, and hid it in the trunk. He’d wait until he had ten or twelve, then tote them to a garbage can a few blocks away, because if Dad saw empty bottles, he would get furious. (113)
By emptying his father’s liquor bottles, Brian sets an example for Jeannette; alcoholism is not a path to take. Such sibling support contributes to their success in breaking the cycle. Without Brian or Lori, Jeannette would surely see the destructive nature of alcoholism, but would not have the guidance to tell her the life of an alcoholic is not a life to live.
While The Glass Castle is a memoir of hardships, it is also one of success. Jeannette is able to break away from poverty, abuse, and alcoholism. She defies statistics and is able to create a life for herself.
Walls, Jeannette. The Glass Castle. New York: Scribner, 2005.
7 comments:
i think that for some people it is so easy to fall under the influence and addiction of alcohol. for people like Jeanette's father it was a way to escape life. in my opinion this is the weak way out. luckily for Jeanette, she recognized her father's problem. through her feelings and actions against her father's addiction, she fought any urge she may have ever had in her own future to follow the same path. Maureen on the other hand did not have this advantage. because she was never home, and could not see the wrongness of her father's addiction, she could not escape it for herself.
Jeanette sees things accurately. She and Lori and Brian have the incredible ability of recognition. They are able to recognize their parents faults. They are able to recognize that this is not how life should be. They are able to recognize that they can change their lives to be how they want. The Walls children, with the exception of Maureen, see that life does not need to be as hard as is was when they were younger. Through hard work, rather than hardship, they move past the problems they faced. They used past situations and lessons to help shape who they become, rather than letting those situations define who they are.
Captain,
I truly enjoyed your post. Now that I’ve stopped bobbing my head uncontrollably in agreement, I’d like to make a quick comment.
A recent discussion in my English class was incredibly interesting. You spoke in this blog about how Jeannette was able to rise above the lifestyle that was created by the alcoholism in her family. A fellow student recognized this as well, but concluded that this fact proves alcoholism has a positive affect on the children of an alcoholic.
I shuddered at this thought.
When I realized this fact, I gave the credit to Jeannette, not to her alcoholic father. In all honesty, I was incredibly surprised that anyone could pick themselves out of such a terrible situation. I don’t think I could have. She knew that there was something better than the life she was living, and she took drastic actions to get out of it. She left!
I think my classmate forgot that Jeannette was not a statistic (as you mentioned). Most children will either become alcoholics just like their parents, and nine times out of ten, the children will be severely hurt by the situation (on emotional, physical, and socioeconomic levels). I cannot see how an alcoholic could possibly affect his children in a positive way.
Maybe I’m just one-dimensional, but Jeannette’s decision (to leave) was her own, and it was something that was spurred by the horrible conditions of her life that were created by her father. Yes, her decision was a result of alcoholism (and her decision had great dividends in the end), but my classmate must remember that correlation does not infer causation.
?!
I agree with the points you make. Breaking free of a tempting addiction first has to begin within the self, within the mind. Everything is motivation. Jeannette was motivated to get out of the house break free from the name of "the town drunk's daughter." She knew she was more than that, as did Lori and Brian. The three of them sort of formed their own support system, and helped to raise each other. After all, they had no one else. But poor Maureen was always neglected. Her age made it to difficult to inculde her in much of anything. Thus, she fell. She's almost a tragic figure. There were so many hopes for her - everyone else was escaping, tasting freedom - but she was stuck. And it seemed as if there was no way to escape...
It's interesting how you addressed the fact that Jeannette's siblings are part of the reason she avoided the path her father took. It wasn't really something I thought about before. I agree with you in your view that Jeannette was able to channel the negatives of having an alcoholic father into a positive cycle breaking thing. Overall, your post was very interesting and thought provoking.
The alcohol abuse centers help a lot to this society. To know more about this or to know about alcohol addiction and solution for this please go through this site. It is very good and informative.
----------------
elcy
Alcohol abuse affects millions. This site has a lot of useful information.
http://www.alcoholabusecenter.com
Like many people, at the start of the year, I made a resolution to decrease my alcohol intake.
Drink Less in Seven Days by Georgia Foster has really helped me stick to this resolution. Georgia is a clinical hypnotherapist and alongside the written version of the book, there are also 4 "Hypnosis Hub" recordings that readers are encouraged to access to help them with the program.
One of the great things about Drink Less in Seven Days is that Georgia (and I"m going to call her Georgia because she kind of feels like a friend) is totally non-judgemental about how much you drink, why you drink, why you feel you drink too much etc. I feel that this is an area where people carry a lot of shame and negative feelings and to have someone who approaches an emotional issue like this with absolute objectivity is helpful in driving the desired behaviours. She's on your side!
There are two main parts to Drink Less in Seven Days. The first is how your amygdala (the part of your brain that deals with emotions and fear/stress responses) can actually work against your efforts to quit or reduce your drinking. It shows you how to move your decision to drink away from this very instinctive part of your brain to your prefrontal cortex which is the part of your brain that is more concerned with considered decision-making.
I found this part of the book fascinating, particularly the parts where she spoke about silencing your inner critic.
However, it was the second part of the book, where Georgia broke down different personality types. what triggers them to drink and how to circumvent these triggers that I found most useful. (Also fascinating, if like me you love a good theory of behaviour and the ability to proclaim "Yes!!!! That's me!"). Because it makes total sense right? If you drink out of social anxiety (which is me a little bit) your methods to success will likely be different to someone who drinks because everyone around you is (also me a little bit).
The biggest take away for me was starting to understand what triggers my wanting to drink and learning alternative strategies should I decide not to. I think a really important thing about Drink Less in Seven Days is that it is NOT about quitting drinking altogether. It is about cutting down to a level that you are comfortable with, whatever that is for you. And this feels more manageable than quitting altogether.
The cru of this type of book though is does it work?
So here's the real deal. I started this program in January. It's now March and I can count the times I have drunk alcohol on one hand. During this time I have been to pubs, bars and restaurants, entertained at home and been entertained at other people's homes so it's not like I have been hiding myself away. I have been around alcohol and people drinking as much as I ever was.
Will I drink again? Almost definitely. For me, this experiment was never about giving up altogether. And I have far too much fun making cocktails for this to give it up completely! However, I feel that moving forward I will be able to drink in a more mindful considered way.
Thank you to Georgia Foster for a thoroughly fascinating book that does exactly what it says on the cover!
Here's a link to The 7 Days To Drink Less Online Alcohol Reduction Program.
John
Post a Comment