“Denial serves a very real, very necessary purpose. It allows addicts to revel in the ecstatic joy of their vices, free of guilt; free of worry. It lets the sweet customer service rep at Belk – the one with the frequent black eyes that makeup just doesn’t quite seem to hide – continue on in her marriage, hoping her husband’s tantrums are just a phase. It helped split the nation, bloodying battlefields from Vicksburg to Gettysburg as both sides denied the reality of brother killing brother.”
