Analysis Of An Officer And A Junkie

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At first while I was looking through the list of book we can read for extra credit, the title caught my attention. “An Officer And A Junkie” by Michael Winder. I imagined it was going to be a story of two men; an officer and a junkie, and not of one guy who was an officer and a junkie. When I think of an officer the image that comes to mind is a strong man with high values and a tough outer appearance, but when I imagine a junkie it almost the complete opposite; a dirty skinny guy with no sense of values and a sick outer appearance that could never become an officer. From reading the summary of the book online the man, Michael Winder wrote this brutally honest memoir about his battle with substance abuse and the conceicues and lasting affects …show more content…

38) He knew that it wasn’t solving the problem, but alcohol just helped his issues so it became his gateway to drugs. Although I thought it was weird that no one noticed that he had a drinking problem since he drank a beer every opportunity he could and his school life was suffering. While visiting his brother, Jason, at Amsterdam’s he shares his excitement of their “…liberal drug policy or the legendary red light district.” (pg. 39) Michael is looking for an escape from his life. By this point he seems to be depressed and an alcoholic, but doesn’t want to look pathetic to others so he hides it. During his trip, he has his first “trip” with marijuana. His brother constant disapproval of all of his life choices and his overall personality causes Michael to ignore his brother’s judgment and ruin his relationship even …show more content…

This book is a warning and a lesson to be learned by others to not dismiss someone for not looking like a drug addict. Michael should have gotten help a long time ago, but because of the way he looked everyone believed he was fine and had full control of his alcohol. Only the people closer to him knew that he was in trouble but he distant himself and came up with excuses so that they wouldn’t pay attention to the negative parts of his life. He was able to finish the academy and was accepted into law school, others read this and think that he is a smart guy with a great moral compass. Personally, my view of alcoholics and junkies will change forever. Although, I can’t assume that everyone that drinks a few drinks once in a while would be an addict, but I won’t ignore obvious signs just because they don’t look the

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