"In the end, he was alone..."

Derek Lowe, on the death of his brother, from alcoholism:

Each year, my brother slipped further and further away from the possibility of a normal life.

Eventually, there wasn't much left of the person I grew up with. He died in stages. His memory, his motor skills, his speech and his personality had all been eroded by drinking. Despite his own attempts to break free, despite stays in rehab and AA, despite terrible convulsive bouts of delirium tremens and nearly dying of pancreatitis at least twice, he was never able to find a way out. In the end, he was alone, on a couch, in a littered room that he was unable to summon enough strength to clean.

All I can do is honor his memory, especially the memories of the times before he was a damaged shadow of what I think of as his real self - the days when there was still a real self left. And I can hope to warn others of what could be waiting for them. If any of you reading this think that you might have a problem with alcohol, then you very well might. And the sooner you try to do something about it, the better your chances of succeeding.

Don't wait. Don't end up on that couch. Please.

My condolences, Dr. Lowe.