Pages Read: 118-293
Summary: Augusten thinks he is just fine out of rehab. He does his job, he doesn't drink and he's even making himself go to AA meetings. His friend from rehab is living with him and seems to feel a little controlling, especially when Augusten meets a cute, off-limits fellow addict, who is nothing but trouble. Things are going alright though, until Pighead gets the hic-ups, which turn into a cold, which turns into an immune-system failure. Augusten buckles up and takes on the role of care-taker for Pighead through his final weeks. Augusten's friend moves out and when Pighead dies, it is too much for him to handle. He relapses and starts drinking again for almost a year, maybe even worse than before. Then one day, he gets a call from a jewelry store, saying that his friend Pighead had something made for him. He goes to the jewelry store and gets a gold trinket in the shape of a Pig's head incsribed: "I'M WATCHING YOU. NOW STOP DRINKING." Augusten stops drinking by himself, and becomes very sick in the process. He lies in bed hallucinating, breaking out in a fever and hives. Fast forward some time, and Augusten is working hard to stay sober again, he has a freelance advertising job, and his friend Jim is newly sober.
Analysis: A theme through this half of the book is: if it's not difficult, it won't work. The first time Augusten got sober, he found it pretty easy not to drink. He didn't even need AA meetings. Then he relapsed just as easily. The second time he got sober, he didn't have the cushion of rehab for the initial sobering and he had to force himself to attend AA meeting everyday. This hard work pays off and gives him a firmer, longer-lasting sobriety.
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