How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Dad still hits an AA meeting when he needs to. He says it's a curse—alcoholism. Says I should never even try the stuff because the curse runs in our family. "My father was a drunk, and so was his father." (1.3.19)
Ken Dietz takes drugs and alcohol very seriously, perhaps even more so than most parents of teenagers. He knows what it is like to struggle with addiction, so he doesn't want Vera anywhere near alcohol, hoping to protect her from the addiction that courses through his veins.
Quote #2
"You know, most kids these days are getting drunk and screwing boys. I'm so glad I raised you right," which makes me feel partly like never drinking again so I can continue to make him happy, and partly paranoid that he looked under my driver's seat and found my stash. (1.21.1)
Poor Ken—he's so determined to make sure that Vera never touches a drop of alcohol, but he's already too late; she's drinking every day. Even though Vera wants to make her dad happy, she's too deep in her drinking to stop.
Quote #3
I had no idea how much it would hurt my throat, but loved the way it made me feel a minute later as I sat on the toilet, pondering the tiled floor. Warm. Happy. Safe. (2.1.26)
Vera doesn't even try drinking seriously until Charlie's funeral. She sees two shots sitting on a table at his memorial service and just downs them in order to numb the pain in some way. And for a little while, it works.
Quote #4
After my third vodka cooler, I straddle his lap and drape my arms around his strong neck and whisper things in his ear that I shouldn't be whispering. I say things that I shouldn't be saying. (2.8.16)
Alcohol loosens Vera's inhibitions. And since she's an eighteen-year-old girl getting drunk and hooking up with a twenty-three-year-old, she may find herself in over her head.
Quote #5
She has no idea that when she came in the house stinking of liquor, part of me wanted to hop off this seventeen-year-old wagon and tap into her veins to suck out the booze. In one way, I hope she never understands this. (2.11.1)
Ken Dietz understands why Vera is drawn to alcohol—heck, he still has a hard time resisting it even though he's been sober for decades. This addiction will always be part of his life, and he doesn't want Vera to have the same problems.
Quote #6
In the end, I went to AA first, after one night babysitting Vera when she was seven months old. She wouldn't stop crying and it started to drive me crazy, and I thought, just for a split second—a split second that would turn out to be life-changing—that I should shake her or stuff her head in a pillow or something to make her stop. (2.11.24)
Ken Dietz finally quits drinking when he realizes that his alcohol addiction has taken over and is clouding his judgment; he almost hurts Vera while he's under the influence, even though she's just a little baby. Talk about a wake up call.
Quote #7
"Vera, I don't know how long you've been drinking and I don't know if you understand how bad it is for body or how susceptible to alcoholism your genes make you, but more important to me, you planned on driving home last night. You can never do that. Never. Do you understand me?" (3.1.56)
Vera's dad is terrified by the fact that Vera is starting to drink, especially with the history of addiction that runs in their family. But he knows that he can't control everything that she does, so he needs to make sure that she at least never drinks and drives.
Quote #8
DAD: That first night you came home drunk, I cried all night.
ME: You cried?
DAD: You're my daughter, for Christ's sake.
ME: But why'd you cry?
We look at each other until he speaks again.
DAD: I failed you. (4.4.54-59)
It's not just Vera's life and reputation on the line when she starts drinking; it's her dad's, too. All this time, he's just wanted to keep her away from alcohol in order to ensure that she has a shot at a good life. And now he feels like he failed.
Quote #9
Also, Dad has accepted that I swear, and I think I've convinced him that it's a fair trade-off. Swearing for drinking. (4.4.95)
Vera thinks therapy is useless and that it's just a time to be awkwardly stuck in a room talking with her dad, but it does help her come to an understanding with her father. And in the end, she stops drinking because of what she learns about him. Boo ya.
Quote #10
"It's not what they did to me," she said. "It's what they're doing to you."
"What?" I took a swig out of the bottle for effect, but I knew what she meant. I'd been drinking every night for a month. (4.5.31-32)
By the time Charlie stops being friends with Vera, it's clear that he's got a whole bunch of problems. He has a crazy girlfriend, delinquent friends, and a drinking problem. Things are really getting out of control for him.