Caroline Knapp....
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Minneapolis MN
Posts: 404
Caroline Knapp....
Wow. I just finished her book, "Drinking.. a love story" and I thought that I would try and find out how she is doing as the book was awesome. She described her drinking habits in complete honesty, and I saw myself in many of the same patterns.
Anyway I was shocked and saddened to find out that she died of lung cancer in 2002 at the age of 42. She was quite the person and her story was very insightful to me.
If you have not read the book, I would recommend it.
Anyway I was shocked and saddened to find out that she died of lung cancer in 2002 at the age of 42. She was quite the person and her story was very insightful to me.
If you have not read the book, I would recommend it.
Administrator
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Dancing in the Light
Posts: 61,465
I LOVED the book. I think it is super as far as women and addiction are concerned. It is brutally honest and insightful.
By the way, for animal lovers, Caroline Knapp also wrote 'A Pack of Two' about her and her dog Lucille who she adoped just after becoming sober.
Love, Anna
By the way, for animal lovers, Caroline Knapp also wrote 'A Pack of Two' about her and her dog Lucille who she adoped just after becoming sober.
Love, Anna
Member
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: portland, maine
Posts: 26
...
I read the book several years ago. A very well-written book by a clearly intelligent, insightful woman. But I have to question how "sober" she really became and what the point was in the end. She was a smoker while drinking, the smoking more than doubled, by her own account, after quitting drinking. It was obviously just substitution. What point is there to quitting drinking if you end up committing suicide by cigarette.
and staying sober while smoking is so easy. smoking usually makes me too dizzy, lazy and happy to do anything anyway.
and staying sober while smoking is so easy. smoking usually makes me too dizzy, lazy and happy to do anything anyway.
Administrator
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Dancing in the Light
Posts: 61,465
Wow, talk about judgemental!!
Excuse me, but I think Caroline Knapp was an amazing woman. She became sober, meaning that she did not drink alcohol. That's all being sober can mean. Perhaps she was not perfect, and I'm assuming that you are. How lucky for you.
And, as far as staying sober while smoking being so easy, maybe some smokers will have a word or two to say about that.
Anna
Excuse me, but I think Caroline Knapp was an amazing woman. She became sober, meaning that she did not drink alcohol. That's all being sober can mean. Perhaps she was not perfect, and I'm assuming that you are. How lucky for you.
And, as far as staying sober while smoking being so easy, maybe some smokers will have a word or two to say about that.
Anna
Agnostic with faith
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Lisbon, Portugal
Posts: 94
Hi there,
I'm a smoker, and every time I tried to stop I'd usually more than doubled the amount of cigarettes. It never stoped me from relapsing though. I'm presently smoking 2 packs a day and have been sober for almost 2 months which is way more than I ever did before.
I'm starting to decrease the number of cigs per day and I don't feel any cravings for a drink. I guess I could say that there's no correlation between smoking and drinking as far as I'm concerned.
And I certaintly do not feel dizzy nor lazy and happy to do anything. It sounds like smoking makes a person not functional. That's absurd. I'm actually working, and sober... drinking kept me from functioning, smoking isn't.
Pedro.
I'm a smoker, and every time I tried to stop I'd usually more than doubled the amount of cigarettes. It never stoped me from relapsing though. I'm presently smoking 2 packs a day and have been sober for almost 2 months which is way more than I ever did before.
I'm starting to decrease the number of cigs per day and I don't feel any cravings for a drink. I guess I could say that there's no correlation between smoking and drinking as far as I'm concerned.
And I certaintly do not feel dizzy nor lazy and happy to do anything. It sounds like smoking makes a person not functional. That's absurd. I'm actually working, and sober... drinking kept me from functioning, smoking isn't.
Pedro.
Member
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Toronto
Posts: 16
Caroline Knapp's writing is absolutely marvellous. I also recommend Merry Recluse.. put together after she died, a series of essays on everything from dogs to grieving parental deaths -the latter being a focus of mine because both my parents are dead and I am in my mid-thirties. Not very many of us younger orphans around yet.
I too was shocked and saddened when she died. I have never smoked, through luck more than anything, and I know to never try because of my addictive nature. Did her smoking contribute to her death? Probably. Did her smoking compounded with years of drinking contribute to her death? Most likely. I catch myself "judging" her too - what a shame to get sober and then drop dead.. because of the smoking, right? What I'm getting at is it's my own fears of "have I already done irreparable damage and will die soon" that cause me to try and focus on her smoking.
Just some thoughts.
Darragh
I too was shocked and saddened when she died. I have never smoked, through luck more than anything, and I know to never try because of my addictive nature. Did her smoking contribute to her death? Probably. Did her smoking compounded with years of drinking contribute to her death? Most likely. I catch myself "judging" her too - what a shame to get sober and then drop dead.. because of the smoking, right? What I'm getting at is it's my own fears of "have I already done irreparable damage and will die soon" that cause me to try and focus on her smoking.
Just some thoughts.
Darragh
Member
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: SE Oklahoma
Posts: 108
I really need to find this book immediately. I am going to call the local library to see if it is available. I have seen others on other forums post about it and how great it was.
Thanks for reminding me.
Thanks for reminding me.
Member
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Northern CA
Posts: 1,432
I've had more than one person highly recommend this book. So I guess it goes on my reading list! Thanks for the suggestion, jmhs.
I confess to being very judgmental about smoking after watching my mother go through throat cancer (now in remission, thankfully)--surgery, chemo, radiation, the whole works. It is a really awful thing for the whole family to experience. Cigarettes have had serious health impacts on my family-probably as bad as alcohol, at least in terms of direct medical issues.
Substitution? I suppose. People with compulsive behaviors often find that one pops up when another one is managed. That may reflect that the behaviors are related to underlying issues (duh!). Obviously it would be healthier to address all of our unhealthy behaviors -- in sequence if not all at once -- and not to deny the well-known harm smoking causes to the smoker and those around her. It would be great if recovery programs would stress the universality of abstinence approaches to these different behaviors. But that doesn't discount the author's sobriety or anyone else's.
Don S
I confess to being very judgmental about smoking after watching my mother go through throat cancer (now in remission, thankfully)--surgery, chemo, radiation, the whole works. It is a really awful thing for the whole family to experience. Cigarettes have had serious health impacts on my family-probably as bad as alcohol, at least in terms of direct medical issues.
Substitution? I suppose. People with compulsive behaviors often find that one pops up when another one is managed. That may reflect that the behaviors are related to underlying issues (duh!). Obviously it would be healthier to address all of our unhealthy behaviors -- in sequence if not all at once -- and not to deny the well-known harm smoking causes to the smoker and those around her. It would be great if recovery programs would stress the universality of abstinence approaches to these different behaviors. But that doesn't discount the author's sobriety or anyone else's.
Don S
Member
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: SE Oklahoma
Posts: 108
Hi Don:
My mother also experienced throat cancer and it was a horrible experience. She never smoked or drank a day in her life - doctors first thought it was thyroid cancer. They found a hot spot on her next and she just had it removed on Friday. It was benign, however, the doctor stated that if it was not benign - there options would be limited or none. Pretty scary. I hope your mom is doing well.
My mother also experienced throat cancer and it was a horrible experience. She never smoked or drank a day in her life - doctors first thought it was thyroid cancer. They found a hot spot on her next and she just had it removed on Friday. It was benign, however, the doctor stated that if it was not benign - there options would be limited or none. Pretty scary. I hope your mom is doing well.
Member
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Posts: 77
Enjoy the book you guys! I just have about 20 pages left...it is really great. There's even a part in the book where she talks about wanting/trying to quit smoking....if only she had the foresight to see what it would do to her.... 
Renee
Renee
Member
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: SE Oklahoma
Posts: 108
I am 20 pages into the book and so far it is good, can't put it down. I am headed to my Aunt's for her birthday - they don't drink so I am safe there and plan on reading on the way - husband is driving :-)
Knucklehead
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Davenport, WA
Posts: 4,005
I'm not a smoker, probably only because I seem to be allergic to nicotine, guess I'm lucky. But for anyone interested, LifeRing has some good info on smoking and recovery, and a support site for quiting.
http://www.unhooked.com/nosmoke/index.html
Paul J (Day 4)
http://www.unhooked.com/nosmoke/index.html
Paul J (Day 4)
Member
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Northern CA
Posts: 1,432
Wow! That page is chock-full of info. It's pretty clear from the sources cited that quitting smoking ought to be part of quitting drinking. The behavior is linked to heavy drinking, the drug stimulates the 'drinking' part of the brain....
I'd urge ALL smokers here to read it!
Here's the introduction:
Most alcoholics or drug addicts have several addictions, and smoking is the most common other addiction by far.*
Many alcoholics in recovery do not realize that their cigarette smoking is probably an even greater threat to their health and survival than their drinking was.* Did you know that more alcoholics die of diseases related to smoking than of diseases related to drinking?* Smoking has also been linked to a long series of health problems, such as rheumatoid arthritis and* osteoporosis-related hip fractures, in addition to cancer and heart disease.
New studies have shed much light on cross-addiction between nicotine and alcohol.* Nicotine increases the craving for alcohol. For many alcoholics, smoking is also a behavioral trigger for drinking, and getting clean from cigarettes is a major step toward reducing cravings for alcohol.** Many alcoholics in recovery have successfully quit smoking after they quit drinking.* Studies have shown also that alcoholics can quit drinking and smoking at the same time, and modern treatment centers are increasingly based on this principle.*
Before the 1930s, treatment of alcoholism and drug addiction commonly also included treatment of nicotine addiction.* Smoking was generally viewed as a contributing factor in alcohol and drug relapses.* But with the rise of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), concern with smoking as a recovery issue faded into the background.* Bill W., the* co-founder of AA, was a chain smoker who died of emphysema. Today, the treatment industry and the recovery community are returning to the original positions.* Smoking is recognized as a drug addiction on a par with other substance addictions, and is being treated accordingly.
For the recovering alcoholic even more than for the ordinary smoker, kicking cigarettes may be a question of life or death.* If you're an alcoholic or drug addict in recovery who wants to quit smoking -- no matter when or how -- this page is a page of support for YOU.
I'd urge ALL smokers here to read it!
Here's the introduction:
Most alcoholics or drug addicts have several addictions, and smoking is the most common other addiction by far.*
Many alcoholics in recovery do not realize that their cigarette smoking is probably an even greater threat to their health and survival than their drinking was.* Did you know that more alcoholics die of diseases related to smoking than of diseases related to drinking?* Smoking has also been linked to a long series of health problems, such as rheumatoid arthritis and* osteoporosis-related hip fractures, in addition to cancer and heart disease.
New studies have shed much light on cross-addiction between nicotine and alcohol.* Nicotine increases the craving for alcohol. For many alcoholics, smoking is also a behavioral trigger for drinking, and getting clean from cigarettes is a major step toward reducing cravings for alcohol.** Many alcoholics in recovery have successfully quit smoking after they quit drinking.* Studies have shown also that alcoholics can quit drinking and smoking at the same time, and modern treatment centers are increasingly based on this principle.*
Before the 1930s, treatment of alcoholism and drug addiction commonly also included treatment of nicotine addiction.* Smoking was generally viewed as a contributing factor in alcohol and drug relapses.* But with the rise of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), concern with smoking as a recovery issue faded into the background.* Bill W., the* co-founder of AA, was a chain smoker who died of emphysema. Today, the treatment industry and the recovery community are returning to the original positions.* Smoking is recognized as a drug addiction on a par with other substance addictions, and is being treated accordingly.
For the recovering alcoholic even more than for the ordinary smoker, kicking cigarettes may be a question of life or death.* If you're an alcoholic or drug addict in recovery who wants to quit smoking -- no matter when or how -- this page is a page of support for YOU.
Member
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Northern CA
Posts: 1,432
Originally Posted by goneriding
Hi Don:
My mother also experienced throat cancer and it was a horrible experience. She never smoked or drank a day in her life - doctors first thought it was thyroid cancer. They found a hot spot on her next and she just had it removed on Friday. It was benign, however, the doctor stated that if it was not benign - there options would be limited or none. Pretty scary. I hope your mom is doing well.
My mother also experienced throat cancer and it was a horrible experience. She never smoked or drank a day in her life - doctors first thought it was thyroid cancer. They found a hot spot on her next and she just had it removed on Friday. It was benign, however, the doctor stated that if it was not benign - there options would be limited or none. Pretty scary. I hope your mom is doing well.
That was about three years ago. She is cancer-free. She has also quit smoking!
Here's the amazing part: my father, a 2-pack-a-day man married to her for over 50 years, never stopped smoking in her presence throughout all of this. Until he had a moderate stroke, and woke up one day and apparently just forgot that he was a smoker. So we've never reminded him!
Don S
Member
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Southampton
Posts: 1
Just finished book and just found out about carolines death
I cant believe this. I have finished reading carolines book today, and thought I would go on the web to learn more about this wonderful person then noticed that she died in 2002. To say I was upset is an under statement. I feel like iv lost a friend. This book has helped me so so much but I could cry now. Gutted!
Forward we go...side by side-Rest In Peace
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Serene In Dixie
Posts: 36,740
tisser7....Welcome....
I like to think we have purposes in our time on this planet ...She certainly left us
a positive message of hope and living without alcohol...
I like to think we have purposes in our time on this planet ...She certainly left us
a positive message of hope and living without alcohol...
Last edited by CarolD; 05-22-2011 at 03:33 PM.
Currently Active Users Viewing this Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
