Setting is 1962 with a black and white film that was made called: Days of Wine and Roses.
It stars Jack Lemmon as Joe Clay, a public relations man and Lee Remick, as Kirsten Arnesen as his secretary and later wife. They end up having a daughter named Debbie who is affected by their addiction to alcohol.
Joe goes from being a social drinker to to a full throttle alcoholic and brings his wife into the picture by getting her started by socially drinking. She likes the way it makes her feel and starts to drink to maintain that feeling. To pass the time while Joe is away, Kirsten drinks out of boredom and sets the apartment on fire almost killing herself and their child, Debbie.
Joe ends up being demoted and loses his job for lack of performance due to his drinking. He is committed to a sanitarium twice and eventually gets the help he needs to kick his habit with the help of Alcoholics Anonymous. This is after he walks by a bar and sees his reflection in the window and sees himself as a bum. What a great revelation! Joe does kick his habit and becomes a father to his daughter. However, his wife continues to booze it up in the sea of despair. In a last minute attempt, Kirsten comes to the apartment and Joe will not have the life he used to have and tells her so. It is just the two of them and Debbie with no booze whatsoever.
The ending says it all. Who did Kirsten pick? Was it a life with Joe and Debbie, their daughter or was it with the darkness of the addiction? She picked: darkness and despair.
In Chapter 4 pages: 162-163 talks about how alcohol is commonly used and abused. Health risk are associated with the liver, brain, and the heart as well as how it affects your work and social life. Alcohol is a depressant that gives you the illusion of being a stimulant. Your inhibitions are soon out the door and you are prone to do things/actions that you would not normally do. There is a large amount of alcohol related deaths each year. People who suffer psychological distress and think that alcohol is a great way to relieve their stress are more likely to develop alcohol abuse and dependence on it. Alcohol can cause many disorders, one mentioned in our book is Korsakoff's syndrome, a form of dementia by a severe lack of B1 vitamin from drinking too much and not eating. Concerned about a loved one? On page 162 of the Psychology book there is a link near the bottom of the page for a free/easy online assessment.
Where do you stand on the subject? Does alcohol have a hold on you?
Alcohol abuse happened in 1962 and earlier and it is still happening today and it will into the future.
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