Blackout_ Remembering the Things I Drank to Forget
But after two beers, I didn’t like our arrangement anymore. And I shot him a look like “If you take this fourth drink out of my hands, I will cut you.” I woke up to his back a lot of mornings. I started hanging out more with the guys from work. They still laughed when I knocked over my martini. If I had to guess the moment Lindsay knew we were in trouble, I would point to the night I was so wasted I couldn’t climb our back staircase, so he convinced me I was a kitty cat. I was in a blackout, and I crawled up the rickety steps on my hands and knees, meowing at the moon and trying to swish my nonexistent tail. But to Lindsay, this behavior was no longer cute, or funny, or endearing. It was pathetic. I went to an alcohol therapist, my big display of I-mean-it-this-time. She had an office in the Dallas suburbs, in a home with too many cuckoo clocks. “Men leave women who drink too much,” she told me, as I tugged at the fraying ends on her couch. “He will leave you.” I thought: How is that fair? Women stay with men who drink too much all the time. I thought: But if I stop drinking, what would we do together? I thought: What the fuck does this woman know? A few months later, Lindsay turned to me after dinner in a shitty Greek restaurant, and he said, “I can’t do this anymore.” And I knew he did not mean the dinner in the shitty Greek restaurant. I wasn’t devastated; I was furious. In our time together, his stock only climbed. He was betterlooking, dressed less like a business nerd and more like the East Dallas musicians I had introduced him to. Meanwhile, I felt like the fat drunk he was ditching on the side of the road. But underneath my wounded pride, I knew our split was right. I’d spent two and a half years unsure of my love for him and hating myself more and more. What I had required was unfair. I wanted him to love me enough for both of us. I needed to change. I needed to turn my life into something I didn’t need to drink to tolerate. The day after Lindsay broke up with me, I made a decision. “I’m taking your cat,” I told him, “and I’m moving to New York.”
FIVE
- Page 7 and 8: The guy isn’t bad-looking. Slight
- Page 9 and 10: WOMEN WHO DRINK I was 33, and lying
- Page 11 and 12: she did not get—but I’ve never
- Page 13 and 14: In my 20s, friends called with that
- Page 15 and 16: I discussed roofies with Aaron Whit
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- Page 25 and 26: Our home was on a major artery thro
- Page 27 and 28: She’d transformed, like Olivia Ne
- Page 29 and 30: I threw up seven times. Hunched ove
- Page 31 and 32: STARVED One of the curious aspects
- Page 33 and 34: more successful her eating disorder
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- Page 37 and 38: To make it more confounding, Miles
- Page 39 and 40: efused to be won. I drank cup after
- Page 41 and 42: DRESSING IN MEN’S CLOTHES I start
- Page 43 and 44: coffee. But that seemed like a very
- Page 45 and 46: you to imperil our amazing friendsh
- Page 47 and 48: I FINALLY GOT a boyfriend near the
- Page 49 and 50: FOUR
- Page 51 and 52: The production guy passed my desk a
- Page 53 and 54: drank myself to the place where I w
- Page 55 and 56: ehind me, and told him I was moving
- Page 57: my Harp as soon I walked in the doo
- Page 61 and 62: “Your key, mademoiselle,” said
- Page 63 and 64: My friend Meredith lived in an apar
- Page 65 and 66: “This was fun,” I said. He was
- Page 67 and 68: OF COURSE. OF course I’d gone to
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- Page 73 and 74: When the bottle was drained, I’d
- Page 75 and 76: But no, really, I had it this time.
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- Page 85 and 86: But his once-sallow cheeks were ros
- Page 87 and 88: announcing their baby. Nobody wants
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- Page 105 and 106: the tastes of a frat boy, or a grum
- Page 107 and 108: Mine was a recipe for unhappiness.
But after two beers, I didn’t like our arrangement anymore. And I shot him a look like “If you take<br />
this fourth drink out of my hands, I will cut you.”<br />
I woke up <strong>to</strong> his back a lot of mornings. I started hanging out more with <strong>the</strong> guys from work. They<br />
still laughed when I knocked over my martini.<br />
If I had <strong>to</strong> guess <strong>the</strong> moment Lindsay knew we were in trouble, I would point <strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong> night I was so<br />
wasted I couldn’t climb our back staircase, so he convinced me I was a kitty cat. I was in a blackout,<br />
and I crawled up <strong>the</strong> rickety steps on my hands and knees, meowing at <strong>the</strong> moon and trying <strong>to</strong> swish<br />
my nonexistent tail. But <strong>to</strong> Lindsay, this behavior was no longer cute, or funny, or endearing. It was<br />
pa<strong>the</strong>tic.<br />
I went <strong>to</strong> an alcohol <strong>the</strong>rapist, my big display of I-mean-it-this-time. She had an office in <strong>the</strong><br />
Dallas suburbs, in a home with <strong>to</strong>o many cuckoo clocks.<br />
“Men leave women who drink <strong>to</strong>o much,” she <strong>to</strong>ld me, as I tugged at <strong>the</strong> fraying ends on her couch.<br />
“He will leave you.” I thought: How is that fair? Women stay with men who drink <strong>to</strong>o much all <strong>the</strong><br />
time. I thought: But if I s<strong>to</strong>p drinking, what would we do <strong>to</strong>ge<strong>the</strong>r? I thought: What <strong>the</strong> fuck does this<br />
woman know?<br />
A few months later, Lindsay turned <strong>to</strong> me after dinner in a shitty Greek restaurant, and he said, “I<br />
can’t do this anymore.” And I knew he did not mean <strong>the</strong> dinner in <strong>the</strong> shitty Greek restaurant.<br />
I wasn’t devastated; I was furious. In our time <strong>to</strong>ge<strong>the</strong>r, his s<strong>to</strong>ck only climbed. He was betterlooking,<br />
dressed less like a business nerd and more like <strong>the</strong> East Dallas musicians I had introduced<br />
him <strong>to</strong>. Meanwhile, I felt like <strong>the</strong> fat drunk he was ditching on <strong>the</strong> side of <strong>the</strong> road. But underneath my<br />
wounded pride, I knew our split was right. I’d spent two and a half years unsure of my love for him<br />
and hating myself more and more. What I had required was unfair. I wanted him <strong>to</strong> love me enough for<br />
both of us.<br />
I needed <strong>to</strong> change. I needed <strong>to</strong> turn my life in<strong>to</strong> something I didn’t need <strong>to</strong> drink <strong>to</strong> <strong>to</strong>lerate. The<br />
day after Lindsay broke up with me, I made a decision.<br />
“I’m taking your cat,” I <strong>to</strong>ld him, “and I’m moving <strong>to</strong> New York.”