The broadcast of No penso tornar a beure mai més on TV3's Sense ficció has meant that a good part of my entourage is still thinking about its relationship with alcohol. In the documentary, Flora Saura warns that "the alcoholic is more like you than you think." To the point that, among the great diversity of testimonies that participate, there are four with whom I have gone out to party: Saura herself, her partner David Carabén, Daniel Vázquez Sallés and Sebastià Alzamora.
Both Tià and Dani have written about their addiction, the first in an article and the second in El príncipe y la muerte. His cases mirror that of a guy I dated, and couldn't stand. Because it is very painful to bear the self-destruction of someone you love, to be there and not be able to do anything, or not know what to do, or not have the strength, and understand that the same thing happens to him, but with himself. It is very sad to witness how he transforms with each drink he takes, unable to stop, until he becomes a stranger. You can give up and walk away; he does not.
Eider Rodríguez in Material de construcción and Aina Fullana in Els dies bons describe the family relationships with that father whose drug addiction is discreet and devastating. And very usual. An addiction that usually arises from social life. Of fun. The father in Fullana's novel reminds me of many people I've gotten drunk with. For years I was a risk consumer; He tried to alleviate anxiety and shyness with alcohol, and he did not always control the limits. Terrifying fights with partners or friends, insufferable hangovers, an obsessive shame for what I had said or done and a gratuitous discomfort when I was having a good time made me stop. Then I read The Footprint of the Days, by Leslie Jamison, and I recognized myself. With another outcome.
Alcohol causes problems. Several close friends and acquaintances have alcohol problems. Some face them, others assume them, others minimize them. No one dares to talk about it until they go through detox. That is why Flora Saura's documentary and the aforementioned books are so important. Because, without romanticizing or moralizing, they remind you that you are there, that those habits are yours, that these are your people and that you are alike. Then you wonder if you're not one of them.
