Wasted: Tales of a GenX Drunk

Wasted: Tales of a GenX Drunk is a 1997 memoir about alcoholism, binge drinking, and hookup culture at Georgetown Preparatory School, written by Mark Judge.[6][7][8] Judge recounts his early formative experiences growing up in suburbs of Washington, D.C. under Catholic school education.[1][2] The author describes his secondary education at Georgetown Preparatory School as filled with heavy drinking and experiences of teenage alcoholism.[9][10][11] The book criticizes Alcoholics Anonymous for its lack of acknowledgement of physiological causes of alcoholism as a disease process.[2]

Wasted: Tales of a GenX Drunk
AuthorMark Gauvreau Judge
CountryUnited States
SubjectAlcoholism
Binge drinking
Hookup culture
GenreMemoir
PublisherHazelden
Publication date
1997
Media typeHardcover
Pages259
ISBN978-1568381428
OCLC36458263
Followed byIf It Ain't Got That Swing (2000) 
[1][2][3][4][5]

Prior to authoring Wasted, Judge was a journalist and freelance writer in Washington, D.C., briefly teaching at Georgetown University.[12][13][14] He explained his writing process behind the work on Wasted, saying he wanted to create a frank and comedic book about alcoholism.[3] He observed that authors of prior recovery coaching books took pity upon themselves, and he wanted to make a book devoid of complaining so as to appeal to Generation X.[3]

Wasted was reviewed by several publications, including The New York Times,[1] Buffalo News,[2] The Washington Times,[3] and Psychiatric Services.[4][5] The New York Times characterized Judge's book as a "naive and earnest" work about alcoholism.[1] Buffalo News said the book had, "the drama of a made-for-television movie".[2] The Washington Times commented that the author had been motivated by loneliness.[3] Mother Jones placed Judge's work within the genre of books about teenage alcoholism.[15]

Wasted received increased attention in 2018 during the Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court nomination, in the wake of statements by psychologist Christine Blasey Ford that implicated Brett Kavanaugh and Mark Judge in possible sexual assault.[16][17][18] Demand for Judge's work significantly increased after reporting by The Washington Post on his books and the statements by Ford.[19] Washington Monthly and Arkansas Times concluded that "Bart O'Kavanaugh" in Wasted was likely a reference to Brett Kavanaugh.[20][21]

Summary

Wasted: Tales of a Gen-X Drunk is a memoir of the author's experiences with alcoholism.[22][23][24] The author takes a cynical view towards Alcoholics Anonymous.[2] He describes his early life growing up in relative suburbia in the state of Maryland, close to Washington, D.C.[1][2] He recounts attending Catholic educational institutions where drinking alcohol was socially acceptable at a young age.[1][2] Judge's behavior led to clashes with both the priests and the nuns at his Catholic schools.[1] Judge engages in theft of school supplies from nuns.[1] The author impersonates priests by wearing their attire.[1] Alcoholic behavior was easy to maintain while his parents were absent from his life both by being away from the primary domicicle, and by being inattentive to their son.[2]

The author describes how his father would drink alcohol every day, which had a negative impact on him.[2] He paradoxically maintained a view in his youth that alcoholism was not a condition influenced by role-models, and at the same time tried to seek his father's approval.[2] Judge relates how he felt after his first ever alcoholic drink, at the age of 14.[2][25][15] This initial alcoholic experience at such a young age took place in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, at the beach house of a peer of Judge's.[3] He says he experienced a "warm cocoon of oceanic bliss", where he felt what he viewed as a physiological response of pleasure.[2] He developed a taste for alcohol, and his drink of choice was beer.[1] Judge reflects that he did not realize the addiction and development of alcoholism that he was manifesting at the time, writing, "Only years later would I understand what was happening."[1] He subsequently admits that he had indeed become an alcoholic himself.[1][26] By the time Judge had turned 15, he and a friend provided falsified identification for the purchase of alcohol to his fellow students at a secondary education Catholic institution.[3] Judge writes that at age 15 a friend of his who worked as a bartender regularly supplied him with alcoholic beverages for consumption.[3]

Georgetown Preparatory School in 2009

Wasted describes in detail the author's secondary education memories, particularly those involving heavy alcohol usage by his peers and himself at Georgetown Preparatory School.[2][6][27] The author writes that the social environment of his peers at the school was, "positively swimming in alcohol".[10][9][11] Judge recounts a hookup culture involving binge drinking, especially during a period of time at the school known as "Beach Week".[6][7][8] Judge defined "Beach Week" at Georgetown Preparatory School as a "week-long bacchanalia of drinking and sex, or at least attempts at sex".[8][28][29] The author discusses a phrase, "100 Kegs Or Bust", in relation to excessive alcohol drinking during his times at Georgetown Preparartory School.[30][27][31] Judge remembers a student he refers to as Bart O'Kavanaugh who passed out and threw up in a car.[32][33][34] The author recounts going to drink alcohol with his friends at bars for many evenings in a row.[2] He presents in-depth memories of orgies and attempts to have sex fueled with alcohol at residences along the beach shoreline.[2][35]

Judge recounts episodes of heavy drinking and blackouts during his four years of study at Catholic University of America.[35] The author is able to graduate from university in spite of heavy alcohol use.[2][35] Judge acknowledges in the book that in his later twenties, he regularly blacked out while drunk, and awoke in locations with no memory of having arrived there.[3][35] The author describes a panic attack episode at a wedding of a peer, which brought him to the realization that he needed to stop drinking alcoholic beverages.[3][35] He tried going to Alcoholics Anonymous for the first time, in January 1993.[3] After quitting drinking, Judge recounts suffering from a significant amount of depression.[3] Judge argues in the book that alcoholism is a disease process, and compares it to opiate and heroin.[2] He brings forth research in the book attempting to demonstrate that the brain and liver of alcoholics predispose them to addictive tendencies not seen in otherwise healthy and normative humans.[2] Alcoholics Anonymous is criticized repeatedly in the book, due to its reliance upon psychological themes to combact alcoholism.[2] The author criticizes Alcoholics Anonymous for not emphasizing physiological and biochemical causes of alcoholism.[2]

Composition and publication

Prior to writing Wasted, Judge had worked as a journalist and freelance writer in the Washington, D.C. area.[2][14] Judge briefly taught at Georgetown University but left in the 1990s.[12] Regarding the specific writing process and motivation for Wasted, the author denied it had anything to do with a desire to make excuses for his prior alcoholic lifestyle.[3] Judge said, "I wanted the book to be very funny and to put the blame on myself."[3] He explained the appeal of his book to those of his generation, as differentiated from other books in the same genre, "A lot of recovery books are very 'poor me.' GenXers are tired of hearing other Xers whine."[3]

Wasted was first published by Hazelden in hardcover format in 1997.[36][37] An eBook was released by the same publisher in the same year.[38][39] After the publication of Wasted, Judge went on to author a second book about his time at Georgetown Preparatory School.[40][41] Judge published God and Man at Georgetown Prep in 2005.[12][42] The memoir detailed how he published the school's underground newspaper which had information on wild parties.[12]

Critical reception

The New York Times called it a "naive and earnest" book about alcoholism and criticized the juvenile writing style of the book, concluding, "In the end, Wasted does stand as a cautionary tale – not necessarily for alcoholics, but for anyone who wants to write about alcoholism."[1]

The Buffalo News reviewed the book, writing, "Mark Gauvreau Judge's memoir of his 'toxic addiction' to alcohol has all the drama of a made-for-television movie."[2] The book review called Judge's work indulgent and disorganized, concluding, "What we really have is a sentimental tale of arrested development and a longing for the days when we still could drink with our Catholic school buddies."[2]

The Washington Times reviewed the book, and commented upon the author's state of mind, "All Mark Judge knew was how loneliness pounded inside his head like an unforgiving hammer."[3] Judge's work was the subject of a book review in the academic journal, Psychiatric Services.[4][5] Mother Jones commented upon the book, placing it within the genre of memoirs about alcoholism experienced during adolescence, "Like many works of the genre, it devotes a lot of ink to the kinds of debauchery that leads to Alcoholics Anonymous and recovery."[15]

Wasted received increased attention in 2018 during the Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court nomination, in the wake of statements by psychologist Christine Blasey Ford that implicated Brett Kavanaugh and Mark Judge in possible sexual assault.[16][17][18] Judge wrote to the U.S. Senate to say he had "no memory" of the incident described by Ford.[43][44][45] Judge said he did not wish to testify.[46][47][48] Wasted and the author's subsequent book about the same educational institution, God and Man at Georgetown Prep, were highlighted in The Washington Post after the statements by Ford.[19][49] Multiple U.S. Senators acquired copies of Judge's books on his time with Kavanaugh at Georgetown Preparatory School, to prepare for questioning of Kavanaugh and Ford before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary.[50] Both the demand for Judge's work in light of the comments by Ford, in addition to the reporting by The Washington Post, drove renewed interest in works by the author about his time at Georgetown Preparatory School.[19][49] Demand for Judge's subsequent book about the topic, God and Man at Georgetown Prep, drove the price of the book up to US$550 online.[19][49] James Van Dyke, the president of Georgetown Preparatory School, released a public letter after reporting on Judge and Kavanaugh and the history of alcoholic drinking at the educational institution, stating he was attempting to change the culture at the school.[51]

Analysts commented that the Bart O'Kavanaugh in Wasted was a reference to Brett Kavanaugh.[52][53][54] Arkansas Times wrote it was "obviously a nom de plume" for Brett Kavanaugh.[20] Mother Jones wrote "Kavanaugh appears to make an appearance in the book under the name 'Bart O’Kavanaugh'."[55] The Associated Press wrote that in Judge's book Wasted, "he makes passing reference to someone with a strikingly similar name".[7] Washington Monthly concluded, Judge had "inadequately anonymized Brett Kavanaugh as 'Bart O’Kavanaugh'".[21]

On September 27, 2018, the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary held an additional day of public hearings to discuss Ford's allegations.[56][57][58] Ford and Kavanaugh were the only witnesses scheduled.[56][57][58] US Senator Patrick Leahy asked Kavanaugh in the testimony about incidents of alcohol-induced blackouts and vomiting described in Wasted, referring to "Bart O'Kavanaugh" in the book.[59] Leahy asked Kavanaugh during the US Senate testimony, "Are you the Bart O'Kavanaugh that he's referring to? Yes or no?"[59] Kavanaugh responded, "You'd have to ask him."[59] The day after the testimony by Kavanaugh, demand for Wasted significantly increased such that there were zero available copies online.[59] According to The New Yorker, the "last known available copy of the memoir in the U.S. available on the Internet" was purchased the day after Kavanaugh's testimony, for US$850.00.[59]

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References
  1. Newman, Michael (June 29, 1997), "Wasted: Tales of a Gen-X Drunk. By Mark Gauvreau Judge. Hazelden.", The New York Times, p. BR20, retrieved September 19, 2018
  2. Barr, Elizabeth (June 29, 1997), "A Pampered Boy's Life, As Seen Through a Buzz (book review)", The Buffalo News, p. G7 – via NewsBank
  3. Kennedy, Joshua (July 8, 1997), "Book explores alcoholism in young adults – 'Wasted' author had first drink when he was 14", The Washington Times, p. A2 – via NewsBank
  4. Geller, J.L. (1997), "First person accounts with a different slant. Review of seven books", Psychiatric Services: 1471, doi:10.1176/ps.48.11.1471
  5. Geller, MD, MPH, Jeffrey L. (September 1, 1999), "Book Review - Wasted: Tales of a GenX Drunk", Psychiatric Services, 50 (9): 1238–1239, doi:10.1176/ps.50.9.1238CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. Herreria, Carla (September 18, 2018), "Mark Judge, Key Witness To Alleged Brett Kavanaugh Assault, Refuses To Testify", HuffPost, retrieved September 21, 2018
  7. McFadden, David; Khalil, Ashraf (September 20, 2018), "Georgetown Prep, the leafy private high school at the center of the Brett Kavanaugh scandal, is thrust into an uncomfortable spotlight", Business Insider, Associated Press, retrieved September 21, 2018
  8. Chen, Vivia (September 18, 2018), "Brett Kavanaugh Was a Bad Teenager", Law.com, retrieved September 21, 2018
  9. Kavanaugh's yearbook raises eyebrows, WTVA, September 19, 2018, retrieved September 21, 2018
  10. Mark Judge, Kavanaugh's high school classmate, details high school parties in past writings, KPAX-TV, September 19, 2018, retrieved September 21, 2018
  11. Collinson, Stephen (September 18, 2018), Brett Kavanaugh nomination descends into chaos, CNN, retrieved September 21, 2018
  12. Selk, Avi (September 17, 2018), "What the man accused of being part of Kavanaugh's alleged sexual assault had to say about women's sexuality", The Washington Post, retrieved September 18, 2018
  13. Velshi, Ali; Ruhle, Stephanie (September 19, 2018), Who Is Brett Kavanaugh's Friend, Mark Judge? (video), MSNBC, retrieved September 22, 2018 – via YouTube
  14. Judge, Mark G. (January 1989), "Censors at Work", The Progressive, 53 (1), p. 40 – via ProQuest, Mark G. Judge is a free-lance writer in Washington, D.C.
  15. Mencimer, Stephanie (September 15, 2018), "Brett Kavanaugh's High School Friend Isn't Helping the Nominee's Case", Mother Jones, retrieved September 21, 2018
  16. Stahl, Jeremy (September 18, 2018), "Mark Judge Must Be Called to the Stand", Slate, retrieved September 21, 2018
  17. Paul, Deanna (September 21, 2018), "Kavanaugh's accuser might be better off with a criminal trial. So might Kavanaugh.", The Washington Post, retrieved September 21, 2018
  18. "Privileged information: Will what happened at Georgetown Prep stay there?", The New Zealand Herald, September 21, 2018, retrieved September 21, 2018
  19. Cummings, William (September 19, 2018), "Buy Kavanaugh classmate Mark Judge's book about Georgetown Prep for $550", USA Today, retrieved September 21, 2018
  20. Dumas, Ernest (September 19, 2018), "Tables Turned", Arkansas Times, retrieved September 21, 2018, Judge, a right-wing journalist, published a memoir in 1997 titled Wasted: Tales of a Gen X Drunk about life with his buddies at a rich boys' prep school in Georgetown. One character, obviously a nom de plume, is an often drunken classmate whom he calls 'Bart O'Kavanaugh,' who at one point vomits and passes out in a car after leaving a party.
  21. Longman, Martin (September 18, 2018), "Brett Kavanaugh's Awful Character Witness", Washington Monthly, retrieved September 21, 2018, In fact, Judge, who is an alcoholic in recovery, wrote a memoir about his teenage and college years back in the mid-1990s called, Wasted: Tales of a Gen X Drunk. He followed that up with another memoir in 2005: God and Man at Georgetown Prep. In the former, he inadequately anonymized Brett Kavanaugh as 'Bart O’Kavanaugh' when describing an incident where his friend 'puked in someone’s car' and 'passed out on his way back from a party.'
  22. Kelly, Erin (September 18, 2018), "Who is Mark Judge? Here's what we know about Brett Kavanaugh's classmate", USA Today, retrieved September 21, 2018
  23. Papenfuss, Mary (September 17, 2018), "Kavanaugh High School Pal Writes in Memoir Of Being Wild Drunk With Girls", HuffPost, retrieved September 21, 2018
  24. Haltiwanger, John (September 19, 2018), "Mark Judge: Meet Brett Kavanaugh's high-school friend and the other man named in Christine Ford's allegations against the Supreme Court nominee", Business Insider, retrieved September 21, 2018
  25. Cruz, Caitlin (September 17, 2018), "Mark Judge, Brett Kavanaugh's Friend in the Alleged Incident, Has Made Questionable Comments Online", Bustle, retrieved September 21, 2018
  26. Soave, Robby (September 16, 2018), "Brett Kavanaugh's Sexual Assault Accuser Has Come Forward, and Her #MeToo Story Might Disqualify Him", Reason, retrieved September 21, 2018
  27. Desjardins, Lisa, "How the sexual assault accusation against Kavanaugh unfolded, in one timeline", PBS Newshour, retrieved September 21, 2018
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  30. Fisher, Marc; Stein, Perry (September 21, 2018), "'100 Kegs or Bust': Kavanaugh friend has spent years writing about high school debauchery", The Washington Post, retrieved September 21, 2018
  31. Roberts, Joshua (September 19, 2018), "Mark Judge: Meet Brett Kavanaugh's high-school friend and the other man named in Christine Ford's allegations against the Supreme Court nominee", New Haven Register, Reuters, retrieved September 21, 2018
  32. "From the Anonymity of Academia to the Center of a Supreme Court Confirmation", The New York Times, September 19, 2018, retrieved September 20, 2018
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  34. Accuser's schoolmate says she recalls hearing of alleged Kavanaugh incident, WXXV, September 19, 2018, retrieved September 20, 2018
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  38. "Wasted: Tales of a GenX Drunk", WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center, 1997, OCLC 43803238
  39. Judge, Mark Gauvreau (1997). Wasted: Tales of a Gen-X Drunk. Hazelden. ISBN 978-0585148533.
  40. Dahlin, Robert; Hix, Charles (February 11, 2005), "Spring/Summer Religion Books – Book Review: God and Man at Georgetown Prep: How I Became a Catholic Despite 20 Years of Catholic Schooling", Publishers Weekly, retrieved September 19, 2018
  41. McCloskey, John (October 2, 2005), "God and Man at Georgetown Prep by Mark G. Judge – published by Crossroad Publishing, NY, 2005 A Book Review by Father John McCloskey", National Catholic Register, ISSN 0027-8920, retrieved September 19, 2018
  42. Duin, Julia (April 19, 2006), "Prep school concedes to abuse charge", The Washington Times, p. B3, retrieved September 19, 2018 – via InfoTrac
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  44. Stern, Michael J. (September 21, 2018), "Why isn't Mark Judge testifying about Kavanaugh? He is an alleged witness", The Guardian, retrieved September 21, 2018
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  46. Howard, Jacqueline (September 19, 2018), "Kavanaugh: What studies say about alcohol, memory loss", KVIA, CNN, retrieved September 21, 2018
  47. Hohmann, James (September 19, 2018), "The Daily 202: Senate Republicans playing hardball with accuser in push to swiftly confirm Kavanaugh", Danbury News Times, retrieved September 21, 2018
  48. "Kavanaugh Accuser Wants FBI Investigation Before She Will Testify", Independent Journal Review, Reuters, September 19, 2018, retrieved September 21, 2018
  49. Buy Kavanaugh classmate Mark Judge's book about Georgetown Prep for $550, WGRZ, September 19, 2018, retrieved September 21, 2018
  50. Dickerson, John (September 23, 2018), "What are the repercussions of a potential Kavanaugh, Ford open hearing?", Face the Nation (video), CBS, event occurs at 6:03, retrieved September 23, 2018
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  52. "Former Girlfriends And Longtime Friends Come to Brett Kavanaugh's Defense", Inside Edition, September 18, 2018, retrieved September 21, 2018, Kavanaugh’s best friend in high school, Mark Judge, actually wrote a memoir entitled Wasted about his high school days. The book featured a character named Bart O’Kavanaugh, whom many believe to be based on the Supreme Court nominee, who 'passes out drunk and throws up in a car.'
  53. Bolton, Alexander (September 18, 2018), "GOP offers to ban cameras from testimony of Kavanaugh accuser", The Hill, retrieved September 21, 2018, Judge’s memoir about alcohol addiction, Wasted, makes a reference to a 'Bart O’Kavanaugh,' which has been interpreted as an allusion to Kavanaugh.
  54. Pollitt, Katha (September 17, 2018), "Before We Even Begin to Have a Conversation About Forgiving Brett Kavanaugh", The Nation, retrieved September 21, 2018, it didn't take long for someone to notice that his 1997 memoir, Wasted: Tales of a GenX Drunk, describes a youth spent in blackout drunkenness in the company of high-school buddy 'Bart O’Kavanaugh,' who 'passed out on his way back from a party' and was seen puking 'in someone’s car the other night.'
  55. Levy, Pema (September 17, 2018), "Brett Kavanaugh Gave a Speech About Binge Drinking in Law School", Mother Jones, retrieved September 21, 2018, A friend who was allegedly present for the assault, Mark Judge, actually wrote a book about being an alcoholic in high school. Kavanaugh appears to make an appearance in the book under the name 'Bart O’Kavanaugh,' in which he 'puked in someone’s car' and 'passed out on his way back from a party.'
  56. Shabad, Rebecca (September 27, 2018). "What to know about the Brett Kavanaugh-Christine Blasey Ford Senate hearing". NBC News. Archived from the original on September 28, 2018. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  57. "Kavanaugh accuser Ford describes her alleged attackers' 'laughter' in gripping testimony". CNBC. September 27, 2018. Archived from the original on September 28, 2018. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  58. "Kavanaugh, Ford hearing live blog: Supreme Court nominee and professor testify on sexual assault accusations". Fox News Channel. September 27, 2018. Archived from the original on September 27, 2018. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  59. Kaufman, Seth (September 29, 2018), "Good luck finding a copy of Mark Judge's 'Wasted: Tales of a Gen X Drunk'", The New Yorker, retrieved September 30, 2018

Further reading
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