Wow, thanks for linking that, painful as it is. We can try to draw lessons from this I suppose, and understand the importance of taking people seriously when they seem troubled, trying to get them help in any way we can, etc. But despair of the depths he seems to have experienced just do not hold out great hope of cure.

Sadly, since men seem to be less adept than women at forming close friendships, I imagine that many of them who suffer like this do end up as alcoholics. If they are lucky, the right types of friendships in AA could serve as a surrogate family I suppose. Although I imagine that I personally would be very poorly equipped to help.

It's pretty easy to be enraged at the person who perpetrated his suffering. I hope, very much hope, that the person was truly abnormal, a Steinbeck's Monster, born without a conscience the way some people are born without a big toe. That way, we can hold out hope that Zeller's ordeal was a freak occurrence of nature, without moral meaning. Like drowning in a hurricane. If his predator was merely an outlier of the normal population, however, it makes me nauseous to imagine the type of people we might be crossing paths with every day.

It also seems like his parents may have been very poorly equipped, both for understanding, and for communicating, the belief system that they professed, as well as lacking in judgment regarding his protection. It would also be easy to be furious with them, not knowing their story.

Not sure why I typed all that, just trying to find some understanding where there perhaps is none, sorry.

hi bill recovered alcoholc. And because like him you could not possibly understand the pain I am going thru .I stay drunk until I got honest not only with what happened .but also getting into the solution and finding out that just because I was messed with did not give me the right to sleep with a bunch of women to validate my manhood. Thank god for a 12 step program freedom from alcohol is one thing not regretting the past but using it to help some one else from un treated alcoholism. Resentments have the power to kill even more than alcohol this poor bastard was an example of gods grace and mercy. Thank you for the post.