Rachael Brownell ’90, author of “Mommy Doesn’t Drink Here Anymore,” gave a wry, honest account of  her descent into alcoholism following the birth of her children Tuesday, Nov. 10, at a book reading sponsored by the counseling center, the office of the dean of students and Panhellenic Association.

“I don’t take my eyes off of them, nor do I put down my glass of white wine. In the video I’m in and out of frame, helping our youngest into her life vest, assisting the older girls with swimsuits and towels, looking away from the camera, always with a drink in my hand,” Brownell read from her book.

Brownell came to the campus at the request of Sharon Kaufman-Obsorn, a counselor at Whitman who knew Brownell as a student and learned through a mutual friend about Brownell’s book and what she had gone through.

“I work with students who struggle with these issues and I feel like any way we can have so that they can think about this for themselves or their family members is really crucial . . . Jason Kilmer comes and he’s wonderful, but this is a different perspective,” Kaufman-Osborn said.  “I already know one person who’s been helped by her presence here.”

In addition to the book reading, Brownell conducted two workshops while at Whitman: “Women, alcohol and sexuality: an open discussion” and “Getting through the holidays with a problem drinker/alcoholic/addicted family member.”

“Drinking began as a bulwark against the onslaught of mamma drones,” she said, later reading from her book. “All I know is that I’m exhausted and lonely and can barely see straight and I’m drinking more now than ever.”

Junior Van Trinh thought Brownell’s insights could address a variety of issues with which students wrestle.

“After my friends and I left, we were talking about her and the lecture, and one of my friends was saying how although it was about alcohol and motherhood it really was relevant to a lot of things that people go through, like drug abuse and depression,” said Trinh.

A question-and-answer session and a book signing followed the reading.  The audience had many questions for Ms. Brownell, from how her children were affected by her alcoholism to tips on being a recovering alcoholic.  Having been sober for two years, Brownell admitted that recovery has not been easy, but gaining a clearer sense of her identity has helped.

“Now I’m just me. I think part of recovery has been rediscovering the joy of women’s friendships and the fact that I love to write, so I guess I would say I say I define myself as a writer and a good friend and a daughter and a sister, I just have a lot more things, descriptive things now,” she said.

Despite the serious topic, students appreciated Brownell’s ability to connect to the audience with funny takes on the heavy material.

“Her humor definitely lightened up the subject. I enjoyed the talk,” said sophomore Matt Morganroth.