Alcoholism: Disease, or Choice?

Savanna Scalzo
Mrs. D’Arco
English 10
4/22/09
Alcoholism: Disease, or Choice?
“The medical definition of alcoholism is a chronic and fatal disease characterized by tolerance, physical dependence, and pathological organ changes, (Pace, “Alcoholism is a Disease”).”   In the novel Lush, by Natasha Friend, the protagonist, Samantha, has an alcoholic father.   “Having an alcoholic parent can be very traumatic for children and teens, (Teter, “My Father the Alcoholic”).”   For most of her life, Sam keeps her father’s drinking problem a secret, until she finds trust in someone in her local library, with whom she shares her secret with.
In this novel, the social issue presented is alcoholism.   The main characters father is an alcoholic.   For most of her adolescent life, Samantha hides her fathers disease from everyone.   She never has friends over her house, and she never shares information of the problem her father has with anybody.   Sam always wanted to tell someone about this drinking problem, but she was never sure who.   For a long time Sam stuck it out and didn’t tell anyone about her fathers issue, but after a while her father got really out of control.   He started hitting her brother, and her mom, and he was always yelling and trying to argue with somebody in her house.   Sam then decided she was going to write a letter to someone in the library asking for their advice.   Sam’s father being an alcoholic affected her life greatly.   It made her
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keep secrets from her best friends.   It also made her go to a party and drink alcohol because she thought it would help her relieve the stress of her problems.
“The issue of alcoholism was very realistically portrayed in this novel.   Many teens have alcoholic parents, and there are even meetings and support groups for teenagers, (Teter, “My Father the Alcoholic”).”   These meetings help children of alcoholics express their issues and share their experiences with each other.   The way the author presented the...