I'm inclined to agree when you say, "I think society along with the medical profession have been sorely neglectful in not identifying the clear impacts of long-term alcohol use on the body beyond liver impacts by alcoholics." Way back in the late '80s/early '90s, I self-diagnosed myself as, if not a full-blown alcoholic, certainly a "problem" drinker: no fights, no lost jobs, no busted-up partnerships (well, there was one); the chief symptom of my too-much drinking was a near-total loss of ambition. Life had become boring. And while you were in Wisconsin, where beer drinking may have been a badge of pride, I spent my life in the theatre, where failing to "do the bars" after the curtain was tantamount to a mortal sin. What a life, eh? Thank goodness we've gotten this far! ––Ray

What I had forgotten to mention when I quoted you ("I think society along with the medical profession have been sorely neglectful … ") was the surprise I felt when, a comparatively short while ago, my decades-worn mask of sobriety was seen through by my neurologist's MA. She and I had just finished a discussion of my recent brain MRI when, as she was exiting, she paused, half-turned at the door, and said, "Ray, I hope this isn't too personal … May I ask, were you once a pretty heavy drinker?" When I asked how she could guess, she explained that heavy drinking, no matter how long ago it occurred, leaves a "trace" on the brain, a "shadow," so to speak, "nothing to be alarmed about at this late date," but the evidence is there nonetheless. I drove away wondering, and wonder still: If only I'd been told "back then," might it have made any difference?