PATIENT: I've been really missing my dad lately. I'm wondering if maybe I never did my grieving properly because I was always too drunk.
THERAPIST: You're certainly more likely to face up to things now you're getting sober. It will be much healthier for you in the long run.
PATIENT: That night - the stomach pump night - before I phoned the ambulance, I remember steadying myself at the sink between vomiting episodes, and catching sight of myself in the bathroom mirror. I realised that I was beginning to look like Dad when he was dying. I had the same black circles under my eyes. The same hollow expression. I found myself whispering my dad's last words. Be good for me.
THERAPIST: They were his last words?
PATIENT: I mean, I'm talking about his last words to me. I think his very last words were: Do, drittsekker! That's Norwegian for: Die, you bastards!