Chapter 10, Denial, (pg 149-166) Summary and Analysis

In AA, Knapp and other recovering alcoholics learn that denial is essential to alcoholism. She then tells the story of Tess. Tess had gotten really drunk one night in Boston. She ended up going home with a man she didn't know. The next morning she woke up in a hotel room beside the man she had slept with. Embarrassed, Tess got all her things together in a hurry and left the room. After driving in her car for a little while, Tess realized that she was bleeding from between her legs. She realized that she was having a miscarriage. Instead of going to the hospital, like she knew she should have, Tess stopped at a liquor store. She could not handle the situation and had to continue drinking to cope with it. When she finally...