The Paradise: The Lies We Tell

"I am the author. A few years ago I met a man on a privately chartered engagement party bus heading to an opulent home in a high-end Northern California neighborhood. A passenger, a Vietnam War veteran charmed me as he explained he had been a lifelong alcoholic who created trouble for his children, and then wife until he turned himself around. He said he now counseled other veterans with the same struggle. I was awed by his story.

Then...After the party, I got back on the bus. The guest I s...