Alcoholism and Its Effects on a Family Essay

Does alcoholism really affect a family’s household? In the book, The Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls, the father named Rex Walls, is an alcoholic. While i was reading the book, i got interested in the fact that he’s an alcoholic, because not many people know how much, or if alcoholism affects the families household; but the 3 most common factors of alcoholism, are stress, financial burden, and emotional hostage.

According to substance abuse counselor Raychelle Lohmann, “Alcoholic parents are so intrinsically centered on their own needs they neglect their child’s needs. These children grow up without the comfort of trust”(Lohmann). The idea of alcoholism obliterating children’s trust is constantly shown in how the children respond to Rex’s one-sided question; “Have I ever let you down?” The question is first presented to Brian, his son, after Rex loses a job. Whether or not the question was sincere, Brian treats it as rhetorical and replies, “In a voice so low that Dad didn’t hear him… ‘Yes’”(78).

What is alcoholism and how does it severely affect people? It is a chronic condition characterized by uncontrolled drinking and preoccupation with alcohol. In The Glass Castle, Jeannette’s father Rex, is an alcoholic. We assume he enjoys drinking when on page nine, Jeannette recalls her father smelling of whiskey. “As he held me close, I breathed in his familiar smell of Vitalis, whiskey, and cigarette smoke. It reminded me of home.” While it is concerning that young Jeannette knows what whiskey smells like, it is not concerning enough until page fourteen, paragraph six. “In my mind, Dad was perfect, although he did have what Mom called a little bit of a drinking situation. There was what Mom

Alcoholism does not only affect a person’s physical, mental, and emotional state, but it also changes the lives of people close to the drinker forever. It ruins relationships and trust that took years to build up, and may never be able to be restored. In Jeannette Walls’s memoir, The Glass Castle, she tells the story of her childhood in which her father was an alcoholic. Jeannette’s father, Rex Walls, was brilliant and charismatic when he was sober, but when he drank, he was destructive and dishonest.

It is inferred throughout the novel that Rex uses alcohol to cope with the stresses of life—partially those that resulted from his childhood. In The Glass Castle, it is hinted that Rex was sexually abused by his mother. One afternoon while Rex and Rose Mary were out, Erma told Brian that he has holes

Men who when stark sober could “let themselves go”, men who were in dread of convention, were utterly different beings when they drank. For alcohol made most men bold. Most timid men like the feeling of boldness (Anonymous 122). As depicted in both stories, alcohol can be used as a tool to help people break out of their shell and discover traits that they never knew existed.

According to a 2017 study done by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, “More than 10 percent of U.S. children live with a parent with alcohol problems.” The author Jeannette Walls uses the book, The Glass Castle, to talk about her childhood struggles of growing up with an alcoholic father. The reason this book was appealing was because I grew up with an alcoholic father as well and I found it interesting to read about someone who had gone through similar situations. In the first 90 pages the author tells us about her chaotic family life. Her father, who is weary of civilization and authority, packs up the family camp often to roam around the desert. Due to their frequent moving her father is not able to keep a stable job,

Alcoholism is defined as an addiction to the indulgence of alcoholic liquor and the compelling behaviour which results from alcohol dependency. In the novel “Medicine Walk” by Richard Wagamese and the essay “Mother’s Milk” by Christie Blatchford, the reasoning behind and dire repercussions of alcohol abuse are evident through the characters Eldon Starlight and Christie’s mother. However, Eldon’s reason for alcoholism is much more traumatic and its effect on both himself and those around him is of greater severity as opposed to Christie’s mother. As a teenager Christie’s mother suffers from social nervousness and uses alcohol as a means of reducing her anxiety, whereas Eldon begins drinking after he was forced to leave his home as his mother chose her abusive husband over him. After Christie was born her mother began drinking at a higher degree while Eldon’s alcoholism heightens after he must kill his only friend to ensure his own survival. Occasionally Christie’s mother would quit alcohol for around a month’s time and her health would improve, contrastingly Eldon’s attempt to abstain from alcohol lasts only a couple of days and results in the deterioration of his health. Despite her alcoholism Christie’s mother lives past the age of 80 and even outlives her husband by 15 years, on the other hand due to his alcohol abuse Eldon suffers from liver failure which results in his early death. Her mother’s

¨In the morning he would wake up groaning like the demon in a Kabuki drama; he would vomit and then start sipping again. He terrified us all, lurching around the tiny room, cursing in Japanese and swinging his bottles wildly,¨ (Houston 50-51). This is a quote from the book Farewell to Manzanar. In this point of the book Jeanne’s father was an alcoholic. He would drink himself to sleep every night and just wake up and do it again. As a child it is hard to go through this because you can never really understand why a father would do this. Especially when he has a loving family that is there for him during it all. It’s hard to comprehend why someone would put themselves through that physical state knowing that it was hurting the ones they love.

Rex Walls, the father of the family had the abuse of alcohol is the major resource of the family’s suffering. It seems that alcoholism is an individual behavior, however, many family and social issues caused by it make it rather to be a social problem. Such as domestic violence, suicide, murder, drinking driving, sex assault, unemployment, child neglect, poverty and many other mental health problems are all the result of alcoholism. In the book, Rex Walls is a typical victim of alcoholism. He cannot take a

Visible symptoms of borderline sociopath include; physical aggression, the inability to sustain relationships and shows a lack of regret in his or her actions. Sometimes I truly hate myself for what I have done to my children and family and it is a constant struggle to stay focused on my recovery.

Drinking can cause a person to have a complete personality change and become violent or hostile after drinking. They may also become irritable or panicky during times when a drink is expected. An alcoholic may drink to the point of black out; this is where they don’t remember what they’ve done or said that happened during a bout of drinking. A definite red flag for alcoholism is when a person has to have to drink in the morning when they first wake up.

When he’s drunk he becomes angry, angry enough to start lashing out at those closest. It’s the reason he no longer goes out to the pub, having been thrown out multiple times for fighting. So now he simply sits in the flat on the sofa, drinking, and drinking, and drinking.

Alcoholism took too many lives in my family. No one wakes up one day and decides to be an alcoholic—it takes time like any other thing I guess. It starts with having a beer with buddies and progressively falls into copping with heartache by pouring another glass alone in an empty room. That’s what happened to my Uncle Rhett. At 17, life was nothing but an adventure for him. He was graduating next month and would be off to college by the end of the summer. He would party with friends and crack open another cold one every Friday and Saturday night down on the Island. Life was everything but tragic.

The alcohol creates diversion but it also creates tensions. When my grandparents get tipsy, they start snapping and ordering people around. I can see the wine begin to take effect on my grandma: the corners of her mouth pull down into a sour pout. Sometimes she and my grandpa say things that