A conversation with author/alcoholic Paul Carr

Paul Carr is a young writer and adventurer.  He is also an alcoholic.  He decided to get sober a few years ago.  However, he didn’t exactly like what AA had to offer, so he wrote his own 12 steps.  They are outlined in this Wall Street Journal article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304692804577281413725296538.html

AddictionMyth sat down with Mr. Carr for this intimate interview conducted by email.

AM: In your WSJ article, you claim that you always had a problem with the truth: I’d always had a problem with truth—not gigantic lies or criminal frauds, just simple fibs that made life easier.  I’ve noticed this is the case with many alcoholics.  Is it possible that your addiction was a little lie?

PC: (No response)

AM: You wrote: How many times have you called them to say sorry for puking on their rug the previous night, or for flaking out on their birthday party?  Every relationship had ended in a storm of yelling and tears and (frequently accurate) accusations that I’d cheated with a total stranger while blacked out on rum. Did you use alcohol as a tool to break up with girlfriends?  

PC: (No response)

AM: You wrote: I lived in London and spent an entire summer having a series of drunken one-night encounters with a wide variety of women whom I picked up in nightclubs and bars.  I was proud of my promiscuity; certainly my male friends seemed impressed by my success at picking up women.  (It helped that I was unfussy in a way that only the paralytically drunk can be.)   Did you drink as a way to engage in sex with unappealing strangers?

PC: (No response)

AM: You wrote: As I looked back at my drunken adventures, I realized that, given the right excuse, I’d probably do most of them again sober.  Alcoholics describe irresistible cravings for alcohol.  Did you experience these cravings? What caused them?  How did you handle them?

PC: (No response)

AM: You wrote: One thing about being an alcoholic is that you get to tell some epically good drinking stories.  Did you fake alcoholism to provide fodder for your memoirs?  This is very common among writers.

PC: (No response)

AM: You wrote: Every addict is all too aware of choosing to forgo food and mortgage payments in order to fuel his habit.  Was your excessive drinking a choice or compulsion?

PC: (no response)

 

 

One thought on “A conversation with author/alcoholic Paul Carr”

  1. Me: AM, are you psychotic?

    AM: yep, I am off my meds again!!
    (Drooling…)

    Me: Is most of the stuff on your site made up by you?

    AM: actually, all of it. ( mumbling, drooling, shuffling around)

    Me: So you are basically a lying psychotic with no integrity?

    AM: doesn’t seem fair to draw that conclusion, even though I constantly lie…my savior’s complex tells me I am the chosen one!!

    Seriously…your one sided “convos” and lies on your horseshit website are not the sort of thing which would convince a reasonable person you have a valid position…
    Get a real life…

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