--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Over the next three years, Mick and I…" description: "\"“Over the next three years, Mick and I would talk on and off about his drinking. To me, it hadn’t seemed like much, but I often remembered that night i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c5d/brendan-leonard-50715_quit-drinking_over-the-next-three-years-mick-and-i-wou_2727597.jpg" --- # Over the next three years, Mick and I would talk on and… ![“Over the next three years, Mick and I would talk on and off about his drinking. To me, it hadn’t seemed like much, but I often remembered that night in the camper, how it seemed like something was missing. I told him maybe it would be a good idea to quit completely. He disagreed, saying he thought…” quote by Brendan Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c5d/brendan-leonard-50715_quit-drinking_over-the-next-three-years-mick-and-i-wou_2727597.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c5d/brendan-leonard-50715_quit-drinking_over-the-next-three-years-mick-and-i-wou_2727597.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c5d/brendan-leonard-50715_quit-drinking_over-the-next-three-years-mick-and-i-wou_2727597.jpg) > ““Over the next three years, Mick and I would talk on and off about his drinking. To me, it hadn’t seemed like much, but I often remembered that night in the camper, how it seemed like something was missing. I told him maybe it would be a good idea to quit completely. He disagreed, saying he thought he could do it in moderation. It was a conversation I’d heard in my own head at age twenty-three, and one that I continued to have: I can control it. No, you can’t. Yes, I can. No, you can’t. At one point, Mick and I even argued. We let it get between us, and didn’t get together as often as we should have. Eventually, we both apologized, and things returned to normal. He quit drinking six weeks before he died. Things were going really well, his wife told me. Then one day, his heart just stopped. He was fifty-four.”” [Brendan Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-leonard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker reflects on a recurring debate about controlling alcohol, illustrating the futility of moderation and the tragic outcome of a friend's struggle with drinking. **In simple terms:** Debating control over drinking leads to tragedy. Key Takeaway Recognize limits, seek help early. Themes addiction friendship mortality Mood somber reflective Type personal cautionary When to use this quote - support groups - health counseling - family discussions - personal reflection Key Concepts selfcontrol denial loss Questions to Reflect On - How do you know when control is possible? - What signs indicate you need external help? A Different Perspective Moderation may be an illusion for some; professional help is crucial. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Drinking Hadn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drinking-hadn-2930500/) [Mick Argued](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mick-argued-2930506/) [Mick Talk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mick-talk-2930504/) [Quit drinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quit-drinking/) [Talk Drinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talk-drinking-2930502/) [Three years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/three-years/) ## Related quotes > [“I once heard a sober alcoholic say that drinking never made him happy, but it made him feel like he was going to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-king/i-once-heard-a-sober-alcoholic-say-that-drinking-never-made-him-happy/) [Heather King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-king/) > [They love me up top, I'm important in the South. I could talk them into drinking and then talk them out of a blouse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wale/they-love-me-up-top-i-m-important-in-the-south-i-could-talk-them-into/) [Wale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wale/) > [“If I hadn’t quit drinking, yeah, maybe I’d be dead or in jail. 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Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [Since I've quit drinking, I'm not sure I've found the good life, but I've certainly uncovered a better one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/koren-zailckas/since-i-ve-quit-drinking-i-m-not-sure-i-ve-found-the-good-life-but-i/) [Koren Zailckas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/koren-zailckas/) > [Economists believe there are three reasons why the Russian economy is doing so poorly. One, economic sanctions are working. Number two, low-price oil. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/economists-believe-there-are-three-reasons-why-the-russian-economy-is/) [David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/) > [“The day I became free of alcohol was the day that I fully understood and embraced the truth that I would not be giving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-hemingway/the-day-i-became-free-of-alcohol-was-the-day-that-i-fully-understood/) [Liz Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-hemingway/) > [“But I should note, for all my resistance to organized religion, that I don't believe Charlie could have quit drinking without it. It provided…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-sittenfeld/but-i-should-note-for-all-my-resistance-to-organized-religion-that-i/) [Curtis Sittenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-sittenfeld/) > [I quit drinking in 2002, mere months before my college graduation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-gethard/i-quit-drinking-in-2002-mere-months-before-my-college-graduation/) [Chris Gethard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-gethard/) > [I called my dad to tell him I was gonna quit drinking and he told me don't be a quitter!..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-called-my-dad-to-tell-him-i-was-gonna-quit-drinking-and-he-told-me/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I quit drinking. That was a big problem for a lot of years. Then after that, I just started feeling grateful again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-crystal/i-quit-drinking-that-was-a-big-problem-for-a-lot-of-years-then-after/) [Billy Crystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-crystal/) ## More by Brendan Leonard > [“I wasn’t going to miss out on any of it, no matter how low or how high it got, just because, what, I wanted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-leonard/i-wasn-t-going-to-miss-out-on-any-of-it-no-matter-how-low-or-how-high/) [Brendan Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-leonard/) > [“I didn’t drink a couple of beers and chill out; I drank as hard as I could as long as I could. I didn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-leonard/i-didn-t-drink-a-couple-of-beers-and-chill-out-i-drank-as-hard-as-i/) [Brendan Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-leonard/) > [“In addiction, just like climbing, you can’t fall off if you don’t let go.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-leonard/in-addiction-just-like-climbing-you-can-t-fall-off-if-you-don-t-let-go/) [Brendan Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-leonard/) > [“I had graduated from pointless shit like sitting on a barstool for hours at a time to pointless shit like crawling sideways across a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-leonard/i-had-graduated-from-pointless-shit-like-sitting-on-a-barstool-for/) [Brendan Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-leonard/) > [“If I hadn’t quit drinking, yeah, maybe I’d be dead or in jail. But probably I’d just be missing out on an extraordinary life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-leonard/if-i-hadn-t-quit-drinking-yeah-maybe-i-d-be-dead-or-in-jail-but/) [Brendan Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-leonard/) > [“The thing I realize, though, the longer and longer I stay sober, is that the bigger injustice would not be a life cut short,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-leonard/the-thing-i-realize-though-the-longer-and-longer-i-stay-sober-is-that/) [Brendan Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-leonard/) [Explore all 7 Brendan Leonard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-leonard/) ## More Quit drinking quotes > [I quit drinking. That was a big problem for a lot of years. Then after that, I just started feeling grateful again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-crystal/i-quit-drinking-that-was-a-big-problem-for-a-lot-of-years-then-after/) [Billy Crystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-crystal/) > [I called my dad to tell him I was gonna quit drinking and he told me don't be a quitter!..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-called-my-dad-to-tell-him-i-was-gonna-quit-drinking-and-he-told-me/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I quit drinking in 2002, mere months before my college graduation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-gethard/i-quit-drinking-in-2002-mere-months-before-my-college-graduation/) [Chris Gethard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-gethard/) > [“But I should note, for all my resistance to organized religion, that I don't believe Charlie could have quit drinking without it. It provided…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-sittenfeld/but-i-should-note-for-all-my-resistance-to-organized-religion-that-i/) [Curtis Sittenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-sittenfeld/) > [“The day I became free of alcohol was the day that I fully understood and embraced the truth that I would not be giving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-hemingway/the-day-i-became-free-of-alcohol-was-the-day-that-i-fully-understood/) [Liz Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-hemingway/) > [Economists believe there are three reasons why the Russian economy is doing so poorly. One, economic sanctions are working. Number two, low-price oil. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/economists-believe-there-are-three-reasons-why-the-russian-economy-is/) [David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/) > [Since I've quit drinking, I'm not sure I've found the good life, but I've certainly uncovered a better one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/koren-zailckas/since-i-ve-quit-drinking-i-m-not-sure-i-ve-found-the-good-life-but-i/) [Koren Zailckas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/koren-zailckas/) > [Well from a personal perspective, quitting drinking is a decision I felt good about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/well-from-a-personal-perspective-quitting-drinking-is-a-decision-i/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [I think it just has to do with getting older and getting better at what it was I was doing, and that I could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/i-think-it-just-has-to-do-with-getting-older-and-getting-better-at/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [Did you ever drink so much of a certain type of alcohol that you get so sick that you can never drink the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-stanhope/did-you-ever-drink-so-much-of-a-certain-type-of-alcohol-that-you-get/) [Doug Stanhope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-stanhope/) > [“On the off chance my caller would tell me to quit drinking, I positioned myself on the sofa with two six-packs and a bottle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/on-the-off-chance-my-caller-would-tell-me-to-quit-drinking-i/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [I quit drinking every night, at 1:30 A.M.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-adams/i-quit-drinking-every-night-at-1-30-a-m/) [Ryan Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-adams/) > [I sobered up and I got to thinking, girl, you ain't much fun since I quit drinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toby-keith/i-sobered-up-and-i-got-to-thinking-girl-you-ain-t-much-fun-since-i/) [Toby Keith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toby-keith/) > [My grandmother stepped back into the kitchen to get their drinks. I had come to love her more after death than I ever had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/my-grandmother-stepped-back-into-the-kitchen-to-get-their-drinks-i/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [Me quit drinking? only time I go to the Betty Ford Center is to laugh at the quitters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tru-muse/me-quit-drinking-only-time-i-go-to-the-betty-ford-center-is-to-laugh/) [Tru Muse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tru-muse/) [Browse all 49 Quit drinking quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quit-drinking/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Over the next three years, Mick and I would talk on and off about his drinking. To me, it hadn’t seemed like much, but I often remembered that night in the camper, how it seemed like something was missing. I told him maybe it would be a good idea to quit completely. He disagreed, saying he thought he could do it in moderation. It was a conversation I’d heard in my own head at age twenty-three, and one that I continued to have: I can control it. No, you can’t. Yes, I can. No, you can’t. At one point, Mick and I even argued. We let it get between us, and didn’t get together as often as we should have. Eventually, we both apologized, and things returned to normal. He quit drinking six weeks before he died. Things were going really well, his wife told me. Then one day, his heart just stopped. 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