At the Movies

I picked up my first drink at 13 years old. It was the day before starting high school and we had just moved back to the city. I knew no one and felt very alone and insecure. Someone had given my parents a case of homemade beer which hadn't quite fully fermented yet. I decided I would like to try one. I don't recall how many I drank (probably no more than 2 or 3) but I went into a blackout and tried to drown myself in the canal across the street from our home.