ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an insight into what being an alcoholic is like from the perspective of the addict. In order to do this, it presents a life story of a recovering alcoholic who had a brief career in professional football in the UK. The chapter provides a counterpoint to the playboy; party-going, free-spirited and glamorous narrative associated with some rich and famous addicted athletes and reveals some of the darker aspects of addiction. Owen Flanagan is a well-known philosophy professor who specializes in the philosophy of mind, among other things. He attempts to give a philosophically informed account of what addiction is like, a first-person perspective of the phenomenon of addiction. The story of George explains that he is an alcoholic in recovery who was entitled to treatment at the Sporting Chance Clinic in the UK. He then entered rehabilitation at a critical point, continuing to attend Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and other '12-step fellowships' to help him stay sober.
