Alcoholic Family

A detailed Summary of Alcoholic Family

Growing up with an alcoholic father is not very easy for anybody, especially a ten year old boy in the heartland of America. This is the situation for Scott Russell Sanders. He had to live with an alcoholic father for his entire life. "In his good-night kiss we smelled the cloying sweetness of Clorets, the mints he chewed to camouflage his dragons breath." (Sanders, P. 424) as you can see, this was a very traumatic experience for him.

Throughout Sanders' experience he was not alone. He had a younger brother and sister. Since Sanders was the oldest though, he felt more responsible for his fathers condition. At such a young age he did not know the difference between a disease and a disappointment, Sanders felt that in order for his father to feel better, he must do everything perfect for his father, thus to not upset him. "Through hard work, relentless work, I would achieve something dazzling-in the classroom, on the basketball court, in the science lab, in the pages of books-and my achievement would distract the world's eyes from his humiliation." (Sanders, p. 433) For a young boy who did not know any better, he states "guilt burned liked acid through my veins." (Sanders, p. 433) Fortunately, Sanders' father was not a violent

drunk, occasionally a threat would be thrown out on the table but never acted upon. Sanders' mother was usually the one to take the brunt of Greeleys drunkenness. She would accuse him of drinking and of course he Greeley would deny what she is claiming. After he heard enough he would leave. "He always did come back, a day or a week later, but each time there was a sliver less of him." (Sanders, p. 429) Eventually, there came a time when Greeley out did himself. He collapsed at his house due to not only his liver failing, but also his kidneys and heart. After weeks in the hospital, doctors told him that "one binge would finish him. Unfortunately it took such a drastic, emotional experience to make Greeley realize his problem, but for the next fifteen years he stayed sober. That only lasted until he retired. Sanders says "I watch the amber liquid pour down his throat, the alcohol steal into his blood, the key turn in his brain." (Sanders, p.431) Greeley began drinking again and this time it lead to his death.

For a person such as Scott Russell Sanders, writing a story about his childhood must have been pretty hard. It is, though, very important that he wrote about this. Also writing provides a release for him, it relieves

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Approximate Word count = 830
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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Alcoholic Family

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