Picking Up the Pieces
Introduction
Picking Up the Pieces follows Rachel, a college student who struggles to recognize the severity of her binge drinking. As she puts it, it’s not alcoholism until after college. College is like the excuse to binge drink. As Rachel navigates the consequences of her drinking, the documentary explores the difficult questions surrounding alcohol misuse, denial, and the line between social drinking and addiction.
Alongside Rachel's story, several individuals in recovery reflect on their own experiences with alcoholism and the challenges they faced before seeking help. Through their perspectives, the 2010 film offers a candid look at binge drinking, recovery, and the long-term impact alcohol addiction can have on individuals and their families.
Binge Drinking in College
On many U.S. college campuses, binge drinking isn’t just "part of the experience." It leads to injuries, sexual assault, failing grades, and lasting harm, impacting students who drink—and those who don't.x
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Quotes
"I was always a completely different person; I think that’s why I probably enjoyed it. It starts out as like a social lubricant and it always ended up with me acting like an idiot."
"Alcohol is a drug. It will kill you the same way that any other drug will, it just takes a lot longer to do it."
"I would black out and really wouldn’t remember anything that I did the night before. Wake up in the morning and kind of wonder what I did and sometimes I would have pieces of the memories and sometimes the pieces of the memories weren’t all that great … things that I probably wish that I hadn’t remembered."
"I'm not an alcoholic because I don't rely on alcohol. I don't turn to alcohol for X, Y and Z. I don't say, I had a shitty day, so I need to get drunk tonight."
"I had a restraining order against him, and I told him to leave and he wouldn’t … I really couldn’t defend myself and all I can really remember is him having me against the wall strangling me … he was raping me and I was defenseless. I felt broken, desperate, beat down."
"I don’t know why I had always saved broken pieces of glass, but I just do. I guess I feel like it’s kind of symbolic, like a mirror is so perfect and it’s all together and it’s just like a perfect reflection of the world. But then just one trip and the whole thing can just be shattered."
"I would never say that I’m recovered. They call it recovery or a recovering addict. It’s [an] ongoing process."
"At this time in your life you’re young [and in college]. We’re all going out. I’m a drinker, you’re a drinker, everyone’s a drinker. Drinking is what kids do and when there’s too much involved it can get fatal."
"Mistakes make you who you are, but it’s only if they don’t take away who you are. Making mistakes can take not only pieces of you away, but can take you away completely, can just completely remove you from this earth."
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Brenda H.
BA Psych, Grad. Cert. Addictions & Mental Health
Driven by a deep personal connection to these topics, I created AMH Resources to bridge the gap between academic knowledge and everyday support. I watch, read, and summarize a wide range of free resources to help you navigate the overwhelming amount of information available and find what resonates with your journey.