11 Comments
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Subsatellite's avatar

Simply, complicatedly, true. Thanks for this, it's the most real thing I've read on here in a long while.

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Kaitlyn Ramsay's avatar

This is so good. Thank you, Julie!

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Dana Leigh Lyons's avatar

I love this so much, Julie. Thank you for being brave enough to write it down. ❤️

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Serena Camacho's avatar

Your honesty is always so refreshing.

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Madeline Holt's avatar

Beautifully written. I hadn’t thought of us in betweeners as stealing the spotlight from real addicts, but certainly as a secret drinker you are also a secret quitter in a way. Everyone says “you didn’t drink that much, did you?” Oh, babe. If you knew.

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Julie Fontes's avatar

I was on the verge of complaining to my sister about the misunderstanding, and that I want everyone to stop talking to me about it like I overcame this huge addiction. She was like, “Well, you wrote a book about it.” 😂 Which, is really an invitation for people to talk to me about “alcoholism” whether I want it to be or not.

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Trace Nuttall's avatar

Loved this!!

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Catherine Ellen Wank's avatar

Those last couple lines. Yes! Proud of you

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Grace Glava's avatar

I didn't abuse alcohol. Alcohol abused me. Fucker.

Hahaha haha I don't know why this made me laugh so hard and raise my fist in the hair while saying YES!! But I think because it is exactly right. Amen.

(Also I changed my name because one of my kids googled me the other day and came across I post I made on Laura McKowen's Substack that was titled "How did you know it was time for a divorce?" Or something to that effect. Whoops. Lesson: don't use your real name on things you don't want your 8 year-old reading online.)

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Julie Fontes's avatar

Okay, “Grace.” 😂😉It made me laugh when I wrote it. I couldn’t ask for a better takeaway than a laugh and a fist pump.

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Katie Bean's avatar

Everything about this is on point. Thank you for sharing

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