Comments on: Liquid indulgence: a personal history of drinking

By: Scott Fisher

Scott Fisher — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 00:38:57 +0000

Great stuff here. I don’t think that a lot of young drinkers realize how shallow ostracizing non-drinkers comes across. I made a choice for personal reasons in my early teens not to drink alcohol again. For my senior year of high school I ended up going to a boarding school in Switzerland where seniors were given drinking permission if their parents signed off on it. Mine signed, but I decided that saying they didn’t was easier than explaining being a non-drinker. The first week I was there one of the “cool kids” sat next to me in the dining hall and introduced himself. When he asked if I had drinking permission and I said no he gave me a sad look and got up and left.

By: Drawn and Paneled: year one « The Idler

Drawn and Paneled: year one « The Idler — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 13:01:48 +0000

[…] I’m playing favorites. Also, some of my favorites have already been noted by the editors. I love Jill Kolongowski’s piece about us getting unintentionally black out drunk at 5 pm on a sunny patio…. The writing is smart and brave and I also like anything that is indirectly about […]

By: Year One: Editors’ picks « The Idler

Year One: Editors’ picks « The Idler — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 13:04:00 +0000

[…] as excited to share her failures as she was her successes. But for me she really nailed it with her “Liquid indulgence” piece, which stepped a little bit outside of that comfortable groove to share the kind of funny, […]

By: The F-Word: year one « The Idler

The F-Word: year one « The Idler — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 13:03:52 +0000

[…] a month later, I wrote “Liquid Indulgence: A Personal History of Drinking” after a mortifying night out. Because of Ana’s bravery, I tried to be brave, too. I told the […]

By: Angela Vasquez-Giroux

Angela Vasquez-Giroux — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 17:35:27 +0000

In reply to John J. Miller. Yes yes and yes.

By: Anna

Anna — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 19:00:06 +0000

I found parts of this to be quite heartbreaking, and also funny, but most of all….I really hope you have a son named Jimmy someday.

By: Jill Kolongowski

Jill Kolongowski — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 18:40:59 +0000

In reply to John J. Miller. Hi John! Thanks so much for the kind words and for reading. I haven't been cool for some time and no amount of sangria or whiskey is going to change that. And I think I like it :)

By: Jill Kolongowski

Jill Kolongowski — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 18:39:42 +0000

In reply to Lauren R. We get more alike every day.

By: John J. Miller

John J. Miller — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 14:37:03 +0000

Knowing damn little about good cooking, or…cooking for that matter, I generally glaze over your columns, Jill. But this one really caught my eye. I appreciate the honesty and realistic description of what drinking does to you. One of my favorite books states simply that “Men and women drink because they like the effect produced by alcohol.” So simple, and I missed it several times, and my personal history is far, far more self-indulgent than yours. If someone had described to me years ago the way your writing just described the same, simple message, I might have looked more closely at my own drinking before it turned into a problem beyond my control. I guarantee you–cool can’t touch you. I will even look more closely at your other food-related writing now! Thanks.

By: Lauren R

Lauren R — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 13:37:26 +0000

I didn’t drink in high school either! Thanks for your post–I definitely feel the invisible social pressure to drink sometimes, too. I think a lot of young writers glamorize drinking, like it will somehow make them better writers. I don’t really get it. I’d rather not be cool as well!