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By Tom Barnum
My exposure to alcohol has been lifelong and extensive. Every adult in my life drank significant amounts of alcohol with two exceptions. My paternal grandfather did not for his own religious reasons. And, I had a young uncle who returned from the Navy and I never saw him drink. I never was given a reason and never knew why he was the exception. Drinking beer from my maternal grandfather’s glass and knowing that drinking in the car was normal everyday behavior in my rural mid-Michigan environment, was simply acceptable in my world. Excessive use of alcohol was part of everyday life. The only restriction on alcohol consumption that I was ever exposed to, came from high school athletics. In the early and mid 1960’s if you were caught drinking, as a high school athlete, you would lose a full year of eligibility for a first offense. Since football and basketball was at the center of my self identity, alcohol consumption was limited and my behavior became very sneaky.
For more details about the book and its author, click on this image
This problem was resolved when I earned a football scholarship to play Big Ten football at Michigan State University. Details of my life and my “off the hook” behavior on a college campus in the late 1960’s are not needed. From campus to a brief NFL linebacker, North Dallas Forty experiment did not train me properly for my eventual career as a public school educator. At one point the superintendent of schools warned the other teachers and coaches to just stay away from me after work.
It took a drunk driving arrest in my mid thirties and a mandated threat from my wife, to get me into a thirty day treatment center and my fist exposure to Alcoholics Anonymous. I had never considered the possibility that I might be an alcoholic. I had never even met an alcoholic. From that time forward I attended AA, learned a few things, and hated it. I could never understand these strange happy old people, meeting in the basement of the Greek Orthodox Church on Monday nights at 8pm. These meetings allowed me to become a “Dry Drunk” for nearly fifteen years.
It took my addiction to Blackjack many years later and my eventual education about the underpinnings of addiction to allow me the chance to follow a path and live the sober life I have discovered. Sobriety Is A Team Sport is my attempt at sharing.
Tom Barnum is a former taxi squad linebacker who played for the Miami Dolphins and Minnesota Vikings. After battling alcoholism, Barnum found his path to sobriety through community support and mindful living. Now, as a dedicated advocate for recovery, he uses his personal experience to help others find their own winning team in the fight against addiction.
Again, for more details about the book he has published, click here: Sobriety is a Team Sport.
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