The Zailckas Smashed : A Story Of A Drunken Girlhood

Simply remarking that such a decision is dangerous fails to suffice as concrete evidence of the negative effects of underage alcohol consumption, and so statistical evidence must be given. Approximately five thousand underage drinkers die each year; the most prevalent cause is, not surprisingly, motor vehicle accidents. What many do not understand is what other factors constitute the other approximately three thousand; sixteen hundred to homicides, that is, murders and other deliberate killings, as well as 300 to suicide, usually caused by an exacerbation of underlying depression or other psychological difficulties. The remaining thousand are usually caused by such grisly circumstances as falling, burning, and drowning. While this may seem a relatively small number in the vast amounts of the twelve to twenty year old age group, estimates are that within the past month one-quarter of underage persons used alcohol, while two-thirds of those were binge drinkers. Not only does underage drinking increase the chance of dying in related incidents it encourages other destructive behaviors: engage in sexual activities, carry a plethora of illegal substances, and correlations have even been found that links underage drinking to poor performance in school. Other observations have been made that negatively link underage drinking with mental

In the first chapter, we read about Bill’s story. Bill’s story describes his journey as an alcoholic and the struggles he faced in both his personal and professional life. Bill’s story genuinely gives a true insight into the struggles and challenges of addiction. His story is written in a way in which you are able to feel his isolation, loneliness, hopelessness, and loss. I personally found Bill’s story impactful and insightful. Through Bill’s words, I was able to gain an inside perspective into his thoughts and feelings about his ordeal and how he shifted from having no hope to having an entirely new world of hope revealed to him through what was essentially the start of Alcoholics Anonymous. The second chapter of our text seemed to me to be a call to anyone who was experiencing a

These days there are a number of social issues in the community, such as drug abuse, teenage pregnancy and alcohol abuse. Alcohol abuse is rampant in today’s society, Australian Drug Foundation states that, “Alcohol is the most widely used psychoactive, or mood-changing, recreational drug in Australia.”(Healey, 2002, p. 11). Underage drinking and binge drinking are some of the problems associated with alcohol abuse.

Over the past few years, there has been this big debate about whether the drinking age should be lowered to 18 or if it should stay at 21. Those in favor of lowering the drinking age to 18 argue that someone who is old enough to serve their country should be allowed to have a drink. Those who are in favor of keeping the minimum legal drinking age at 21 because of consequences regarding psychological development and health problems later in life. However, there is a bigger problem concerning alcohol. The problem is the excessive amount of drinking or commonly known as binge drinking, done by primarily college students and by raising taxes on any and all alcoholic beverages can lead to significant reduction of dangerous binge drinking and simultaneously reducing the dangerous effects of binge drinking.

“According to the CDC, about 90% of all teen alcohol consumption occurs in the form of Binge Drinking, which experts say peaks at the age of nineteen.” (qtd by Listfield). Binge Drinking is the consumption of excessive amounts of alcohol in a short period of time. The author, Emily Listfield, defines that the standard alcohol consumption over a two hour period is considered to be four beers for women and five beers for men. This has become a great distraction for college students nationwide and a major dilemma on college campuses. Nearly two hundred thousand students visit emergency rooms each year due to the abuse of alcohol, and more than one thousand seven hundred students die. In the article “ The Underage Drinking Epidemic”, Listfield identifies the problems that underage drinking can cause, the dangers that could happen, and four solutions on what parents can do to keep their kids from binge drinking.

Alcohol has always been one of the most profitable industries in the business world. More than $400 billion worth of alcohol purchased in the US alone in 2013 according to an economic website. Alcohol is a common figure where it can be easily spot in every household to grand restaurants, however, it is a huge factor contributed to the death rate each year. It has ruined an innumerable number of people lives due to excessive drinking or affect by an alcoholic person. In his book, “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian”, Sherman Alexie emphasizes how significance alcohol can affect a teenager life, where Junior, the main protagonist has lost 3 family members because of alcohol. He shows that alcoholic should not be taken as a

This book helps teeneagers decide, when they get older, whether or not if they should drink alcohol or not. If so, it teaches the life and dangers of a

In today’s society, alcohol has become one of the main necessities for people to create relaxation, confidence, and the ability to be social. In the short story “A Bartender Tells What Man Did to Booze, and Booze to Man”, an anonymous bartender gives an up close and personal account of his observations about the effects alcohol has on men. He emphasizes the change in their character after a few drinks. Koren Zailckas from Smashed shares a memoir of her life describing her relationship with alcohol abuse and the problems that it caused for her. Although certain types of alcohol are used to support good health, it is the excessive consumption and misuse that leaves people dependent resulting in significant social, physical, and mental

According to Andrew Herman, “Each year, 14,000 die from drinking too much. 600,000 are victims of alcohol related physical assault and 17,000 are a result of drunken driving deaths, many being innocent bystanders” (470). These massive numbers bring about an important realization: alcohol is a huge issue in America today. Although the problem is evident in Americans of all ages, the biggest issue is present in young adults and teens. In fact, teens begin to feel the effects of alcohol twice as fast as adults and are more likely to participate in “binge-drinking” (Sullivan 473). The problem is evident, but the solution may be simple. Although opponents argue lowering the drinking age could make alcohol available to some teens not

In these cultures young people learn from their parents about drinking and the responsibility that comes with it. Engs suggests that we need to change the current prohibition law and teach “responsible drinking techniques” for people that choose to consume alcohol. Engs states facts, suggests alternative solutions, and relates the past from the present; this is why her article is believable.

* I believe that when reading the title, date and place of publication I can safely say that this article is going to be about binge drinking among underage drinking at colleges. Also the issue of lowering the drinking age to under 21.

Using comedy, they discussed what underaged drinking meant, the effects it has, and the risks it comes with. Though they kept the audience hysterical, both men provided us with hard and shocking facts about alcohol consumption, as well as debunked many common drinking myths. One of the most surreal moments of the night was when they asked the audience for volunteers to share their story on how alcohol affected them or a loved one negatively. As more stories were shared, I felt the crowd shift into a certain realization. As young adults, we are able to recognize the harsh truth of the actions many of us make everyday. It was extremely important to take that moment, to hear primary stories from people like us, to empathize as a student body in order for us to think twice before we make a conscious decision to consume alcohol illegally. Before we let that person drive home under the influence. Before we allow ourselves to be consumed by a product that does nothing but harm our bodies. It’s crucial to our young minds to be shown a new perspective on something so generally and wrongfully accepted. “Shot of Reality” helped our student body understand the effects of drinking, and possibly saved many of us from the devastating consequences drinking can

Smashed: Story of a Drunken Girlhood is Koren Zailckas' account of life as an alcoholic. It traces her life from her first drink, when she was fourteen, to her last, at twenty-two; Smashed chronicles Zailckas' struggle with alcohol abuse, in an effort to explain the binge drinking phenomenon that plagues America's youth.

In “The Shining”, written by Steven King, the reader is exposed to an issue that a lot of families face in the real world that of which is alcoholism. The story’s main character, Jack Torrance, struggles from this issue due to his troubled past regarding an abusive and alcoholic father as well as his struggle of becoming the very man he loved, yet hated as a child. By exposing the reader to alcoholism, they are instantly aware of the outcomes of it and how it can affect someone. King uses this method to help enhance the story, to allow the contents of the book to become real and relatable to the reader, and most importantly, to allow the reader to actually sympathize with the main characters.

Underage alcohol drinking can have devastating effects on teenagers. It can affect teens' grades, health and many other things as well. The reasons why teenagers consume alcohol are pretty clear. What aren’t clear are the solutions to eliminating, or at least reducing the number of underage drinkers. It is vital that we do something to at least suppress this problem. By taking action, we can greatly reduce the number of underage drinkers and it could also save not only their lives, but also someone else's life as well. Underage drinking can cause many health problems as well as educational problems in a teen’s life; therefore our country needs to decrease the number of underage drinkers by increasing both the price of alcohol as well as the legal drinking age.