My Alcoholism Did This to Me: Jack Spicer’s Addiction

Like many, more famous poets of the Beat Generation, Jack Spicer was a hopeless alcoholic. So hopeless in fact, that the disease took his life in the poverty ward of a San Francisco general hospital at the dreadful age of 40. Like Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and William S. Burroughs, Spicer’s life was consumed by alcohol, writing, and the countercultural politics that later defined the 1960’s. Except Spicer wasn’t known for his work when he was alive. No one will ever know if Spicer would have been more prolific, widely read, or influential if he had lived. But, one thing is for sure, Spicer’s work and untimely death has propelled him further into the literary consciousness of American poetry since he met his tragic end in 1965. If you or anyone you know is addicted to drugs or alcohol, call United Drug Rehab Group immediately to set up your consultation with the perfect substance abuse treatment clinic for the situation at hand.

Growing up depressed, homosexual, and alienated from his family, Spicer spent many of his days down-and-out. The others he spent in school, drinking, and writing– until he met his maker through a coma in the elevator up to his apartment.

Don’t be like the poet, whose short life came to an end after years of alcoholism without assistance from a drug rehab center.  If Jack Spicer were living today, he would be a perfect candidate for dual diagnosis mental health treatment at an addiction recovery facility. Today we know that nearly half of all addictions concern an underlying mental disorder, information that wouldn’t have been dreamt of during Spicer’s time. There was no way Spicer could have kicked his addiction on his own. Only with the help of a drug addiction center, would Spicer be able to treat his depression and work towards a fulfilling life of sobriety.

The experience and success of modern addiction specialists could illuminate the connection between Spicer’s depression, loneliness, alienation, and alcoholism. Perhaps, with the help of an addiction recovery center, Spicer would have lived for many more years, producing more great work we would still have with us today. Or, without his untimely end, would the poet’s work be lost in the ether of less-tragic poets we don’t seem to care enough to remember?

The addictions of the rich and the famous are usually talked about when they are fatal, rarely when they are success stories. Sometimes a celebrity’s wild actions will give them international coverage as they wig out for the entire internet to see, but that was certainly not the world Jack Spicer lived in. That wasn’t even the world of fifteen years ago. In addition, Spicer wasn’t even famous when he died. Instead his life ended as an impoverished, drunken artist.

To eliminate the romanticizing of tragic figures like Spicer, our culture needs to shift towards celebrating the recovered instead of idolizing the deceased. If you or anyone you know is addicted to alcohol, or any other drug, please call Right Path Drug Rehab so we can set you up with the ideal addiction treatment clinic for your particular situation and requirements. Don’t put it off any longer, the time for healing is now.