John Robins Opens Up About Childhood Alcoholism
In an exclusive extract from his new memoir, Thirst: Twelve Drinks That Changed My Life, comedian John Robins reveals the early signs of his alcoholism, which began when he was just seven years old.
Robins recalls his first experience with alcohol at around age five or six, when he was allowed a sip of champagne at his godmother's house. He describes how alcohol, though not a big part of his family life, loomed large in his mind from an early age. 'It wasn't a big part of our lives. But looking back, it was, even then, a big part of my mind,' he writes.
The pivotal moment came at age seven, when Robins was at his aunt and uncle's house. While watching the film My Stepmother Is An Alien, he became fixated on a bottle of Jacob's Creek wine in the kitchen. He lied about going to the toilet, drank straight from the bottle, poured a glass, and then tried to conceal the evidence by adding orange juice. His mother caught him, leading to a telling-off.
Robins reflects on this incident as his first 'alcoholic' behaviour: lying to get alcohol, drinking alone, and hiding his drinking. He stresses that he does not confuse alcoholism with moral failure, but sees it as an illness that he believes he had even then. 'I was preoccupied with alcohol because I have an illness and I believe I had it then,' he says.
The comedian goes on to describe how alcohol would dominate his life for the next 33 years. He notes that while a child stealing a sip of wine might seem unremarkable, for him it was the beginning of a long struggle. 'An alcoholic lied, drank alone and tried to hide their drinking,' he writes, adding that he does not blame that child but sees him as trying to change the way he felt.
Robins' memoir Thirst: Twelve Drinks That Changed My Life is published by Viking on 7 May. The extract is an edited version of the book, which explores his relationship with alcohol through twelve key drinks.
