Man of Many Masks

Alcoholic? What did I know about alcoholism? As far as I knew, alcoholics were men and women living on the streets who drank to relieve the pain of their condition. I had never heard the term used to describe anyone close to me, except maybe my Uncle Jim. He drank every weekend but held a steady job at the local factory for nearly 25 years. And during my summer visits to my grandmother in Georgia, I would also hear about Uncle Bo beating Aunt Ruth during one of his binges. But alcohol was not a part of my everyday life as a child. So how could I possibly imagine that someone with an Ivy League education, an MBA from one of the top business schools in the country, and a résumé with a string of Fortune 100 companies, would be an alcoholic? My denial was as deep, cunning and insidious as the disease itself.