This letter is associated with the following article:
Letters
Monday, September 18, 2006 12:00 AM

Can I stop my dad from drinking? Should I try?

His doctors told him he had to quit, and he did for a while, but now he's back at it.
By Cary Tennis

Read other letters about this article

  • Tuesday, September 19, 2006 03:12 AM

    I did nothing.

    The doctors told my father that if he didn't stop drinking, he would die. A few years later, at 56, he did.

    I never confronted my father about his drinking. His third and fourth wife did that enough. the fact is, he was going to drink himself to death no matter what, and I knew that. I saw it in the future as inevitably as the sun coming up.

    I have no guilt about not "intervening", even though my stepmother asked me to. My father and I were not close enough for me to be the one.

    His tombstone reads, "We're not here for a long time, just a good time."

    So rest in peace, Daddy.

    —Kate Vaughn Read Kate Vaughn's other letters

    Flag
Read other letters about this article

Most Active Letters Threads

683

Obama's exceedingly familiar justifications for escalation

The "new" approach to Afghanistan touted by White House officials seems quite old
Glenn Greenwald Read article
543

The crazy, irrational beliefs of Muslims

Tom Friedman explains the real problem: stupid Muslims think the U.S. is about war and aggression.
Glenn Greenwald Read article
494

The commendably missing element from Obama's speech

There was no pretense that human rights is our goal, or the likely outcome, in escalating the war
Glenn Greenwald Read article
440

The face of rotted Washington

Evan Bayh demands more debt-financed war - fought by others - while boasting that he's a stern "deficit hawk."
Glenn Greenwald Read article
296

Yes, it's Obama's war now

An uninspiring speech sells a dubious policy, but progressives who feel betrayed have only themselves to blame
Joan Walsh Read article

View all »

Letters Help

Currently in Salon