An essay(with outline)on the novel by Caroline Knapp...

Thesis: Drinking: A Love Story by Caroline Knapp is a story of one woman s struggle with alcoholism. She discusses the possible link between heredity and alcoholism, how she is effected by alcohol and how her life becomes uncontrollable as a result. I. Introduction to drinking A. Her family B. How it makes her feel 1. Social reasons 2. Avoidance of self-awareness 3. Physical Symptoms II. What is an alcoholic? A. Skid row bum B. High functioning alcoholic III. Is heredity a factor? A. Her father B. Other families IV. Discomfort + drink = no discomfort A. Social situations V. Public vs. private drinking A. No holds barred drinking B. Maintaining the faà §ade VI. Denial A. The rules B. Young, professional, female C.†¦show more content†¦When an alcoholic is alone, the drinking can be done the way he/she wants to do it, with no holds barred and no one watching or judging. Public drinking and the simple matter of the purchase of alcohol are laborious issues for the alcoholic. Caroline points out that she could not visit the same liquor store too often, because the clerk behind the counter might begin to suspect she had a drinking problem. If the alcoholic goes to a restaurant just for a drink, she must order food as well, so no one will guess that 2 all she really wanted was the drink. It is a full time job--keeping the secret. Alcoholics obsess about when they will drink, how much they will drink and what they will drink, while projecting the image of everything s fine...no problem here. Denial is what keeps the alcoholic drinking. The author says all alcoholics have rules. An alcoholic considers him or herself just a normal person who just likes to drink, until they break a rule. For example, one rule may be that unless he/she drives a car with a drink in their hand, they do not have a problem. Once a person breaks that rule, he/she can change it to something else, i.e. killing someone while driving home drunk. Caroline Knapp says that even when she started to think she had a problem with drinking, there was always an excuse: young, professional female...of course she needed that drink. Think of all the pressure she was under! Who could blame her?