Somewhere around the last years of my drinking I decided to go to law school. ...

Since my hangovers ruled out all possibility of commuting, I focused instead on the fortuitous circumstance that a law school was handily located just two blocks from my apartment. ... I figured that, somewhere along the line, I'd have to study so hard I would naturally cut down on my drinking.

Somewhere along the line I would be transformed from a person with a nervous system so sensitive that, when sober, merely being addressed by a fellow human being almost caused me to hyperventilate, into a bold, assertive, self-confident advocate for victims of racial oppression and gender discrimination.

Somewhere along the line, I would stop being disenfranchised and clueless and start being privy to the inner workings of The Law. ///

I had always secretly suspected that everyone but me had been handed a rule book at birth.

This sense of alienation and deficiency, this intuition that I had missed some kind of essential truth available to everyone else was, in fact, the very reason I so ceaselessly craved the oblivion of alcohol.

Now, for the first time in my life, I told myself, I would be at the very heart of how things worked.

People sometimes ask me, "How could you have gotten through law school drunk?" My answer is that there is no way I could have gotten through law school if I hadn't been drunk.

Heather King - from her article Quitting the Bar, Twice : What the law taught me about faith

> She was a National Honor Society scholar, and is a commentator for All Things Considered on NPR

> Her book - Parched - by Heather King

Lynda Carter about her years of addiction to alcohol

Actress Lynda Carter explained how she fought alcohol addiction to regain control of her life during a ceremony marking the Pentagon's 13th Annual Red Ribbon Week observance.. an anti-drug event held at the Pentagon each year..

Carter told the audience she had a disease, a "genetic predisposition" for alcohol, "that sort of grabbed hold of me," she said. "It was like staring into a deep, dark hole that I thought no one would understand or still love me if I ever admitted it – or (if) the public ever knew about this very shameful part of my life.

"My family suffered... and I was very good at hiding my problem."

To deal with her addiction, Carter said she went into recovery at a residential treatment facility in Maryland. There, she said, she was determined to learn about her disease.

"I was going to treat it as an education. I was going to find out what was wrong with me that my steel will and my self-discipline as evidenced by my previous accomplishments was not working for me."

Carter said part of her treatment was discovering that she was "not alone" in her addiction.

"You're not alone if you are one of the victims of these terrible addictions," she added.

She said education, support and God were her keys to overcoming her addiction. Now in her sixth year of recovery, Carter said her life is "incredibly beautiful, more than I could ever have dreamed six years ago."

> from article in American Forces Press Service Oct. 28, 2003

Johnny Depp blames his speedy rise to fame for causing his debilitating alcohol addiction.

He was so intimidated by his celebrity status during his early movie career, he turned to drink to block out his unhappiness.

He explains: "I'd go to functions and back in those days I literally had to be drunk to be able to speak and get through it.

"I guess I was trying not to feel anything. My drug of choice back then was alcohol more than anything. Hard liquor, spirits.

"And yeah, I had a keen idea that it was not good. But you get liquored up and once you are in that spiral, you don't even get hangovers anymore. You wake up and have a drink again."

[Irish Examiner examiner.ie July 8 2005]

> photo: as Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)

I think drinking and being out of control narrows your options in front of the camera. I was just ashamed of myself, really. None of my directors ever said: ‘I’d rather you didn’t drink at work.’ And they must have known.

Originally, I was a happy drunk. But later I was miserable because it’s a depressant.

Ewan McGregor .. [Irishexaminer.com 5 Jul 2005]

Joaquin Phoenix voluntarily entered an undisclosed rehab facility.. and hoped that coming forward will encourage others with the same problem to get help as well.

"He was uncomfortable with the way that he was living his life and found the courage to deal with his [alcohol problem]," publicist Susan Patricola said.

Phoenix starred in 2004's "The Village" and was nominated for a supporting actor Oscar for his portrayal of Commodus in 2000's "Gladiator." [Assoc Press Apr 13 2005]

I know the only thing I surpass David in is I've been arrested more times

[referring to "Deadwood" creator David Milch, who has battled addiction]...

For a lot of us, it's a question of the extent to which your talent exceeds your need to self-destruct. David's talent far exceeds his; mine is pretty close to a tie at best...

I had seven counts of grand larceny as a teenager... I had to get a waiver to get into the Army.

Then my problem was drinking, not drugs, but I had a dozen arrests, including felony stupid...

[While being an actor,] I try to remember the big issues: war, racism, poverty, cancer. We're just telling a story and trying to have fun.

William Sanderson - on portraying [real-life] innkeeper E.B. Farnum on HBO series "Deadwood." Sanderson graduated from law school, but chose acting.

> from article William Sanderson on crime, Elvis and "Deadwood", LA Times Apr 17 2005 > photo from the HBO/Deadwood site

..
..

Upscale Restaurants Offer Non-Alcoholic
Drinks with Dinner

..
..

> from article : Juice for Caviar, Soda for Foie Gras
- by Kim Severson, New York Times Dec 22, 2004