He was once the boozy Brooklyn writer, having a reputation for a mighty pen and an insatiable thirst. Then Pete Hamill turned his life around. Hamill was a recovering alcoholic for almost fifty years, having had his last drink in 1972. In addition to his literary legacy, decades of amazing books and articles, abstinence was probably one of his greatest achievements. I was lucky enough to see the legendary New Yorker and extraordinary writer at the 2018 Brooklyn Book Festival. Years before Hamill had helped me begin to understand my husband’s alcoholism—and the hell my life had become—through his book, A Drinking Life–A Memoir.  Thank you for your words, Pete Hamill.  May you rest in peace.