Jill Stark

“I realise something. My ‘fuck it, I just want to get smashed’ moments are usually about boredom and pleasure-seeking. When I get drunk, it’s a choice. For so many others, it’s about obliteration — a way to block out the pain. Yet, despite the tragic circumstances that cause already vulnerable people to seek solace in a bottle or through a needle, as a community we still treat addiction as if it’s a character failing. How often do we turn our heads as we judge the unpleasant-smelling man staggering through the train carriage? It’s funny how we view public drunkenness as socially unpalatable if it’s an old man drinking Scotch from a brown paper bag, but it’s a bit of fun if it’s a group of young women causing a commotion on a hen’s night. It makes me wish, once again, that I’d shown more compassion to my granddad. I was young, but I still judged him.”
― Jill Stark, High Sobriety: My Year Without Booze

“Butch says that the art of ‘becoming a chameleon’ — blending into your contacts’ environment — is the key to establishing rapport and earning trust. If that means sitting in the park and eating a sandwich, he’ll do that. If the contact wants to grab a coffee or go for a walk, he’ll oblige them. But more secrets are spilled over a few beers.”
― Jill Stark, High Sobriety: My Year Without Booze