Taylor Flaherty

Alcohol Addiction: Mental Disease or Choice?

As I reach for my third water bottle within the hour to cure my killer hangover, I think back to the vague events of the night before. I scroll through my camera roll at the numerous pictures taken to help my memory. Cheeks pressing together with big smiles pass by, live photos capture stumbling dancers. The next photo is one of me by myself, and from the first glance at my eyes, low and red, I get an intrusive thought, one that has haunted me for years: Am I becoming my father’s daughter? After a decade of watching his internal battle with alcohol addiction, I have suppressed numerous lingering questions that have perplexed my subconscious. The one that stumps me the most, may be the most significant one to find an answer to: Is alcohol addiction a choice or a disease?