Seniors Who Drink: His Advice Is for You

In a Wall Street Journal essay, Bob Brody writes that he drank alcohol pretty much every day from the age of 18 to just shy of his 72nd birthday. After his doctor advised him to limit himself to one glass of wine a night, Brody tried and failed—then quit cold turkey at the age of 71, though it wasn't pretty: "Early on, my nerves often felt scraped raw," he writes. "My mood pinballed from one minute to the next. My wife and I had some of our worst arguments ever, almost to the breaking point." He made it, though, and he advises seniors in his position to get help if getting sober. His main point, however, is to say it's worth it:

• "After 21 months of sobriety, I've settled into a version of stability. Abstinence brings rewards, as any recovering alcoholic will quickly attest. I think straighter, sleep more soundly and behave more maturely. And I crave as never before to understand and appreciate life—my family, humanity at large, the universe itself—in all its glorious complexity."
• Read the full essay, in which Brody acknowledges he might slip again, but hopes he doesn't. "I've learned that sobriety can be downright intoxicating."