Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of substance use, addiction, sexual violence and harassment, sexual content, gender discrimination, and emotional abuse. 

Addiction of any kind is a fragile, sensitive, and risky experience and disorder, and it tends to create vicious cycles of dependency, denial, and danger for those who experience it. Lily and Lo each have their own addiction, which controls almost every aspect of their lives, including their relationship with each other. Lo is always drinking, while Lily is always thinking about or seeking out sexual encounters. Lily is so focused on sex that she sometimes neglects to eat, and Lo is failing his classes in college because all he does is drink. Lo has a thermos or flask with him wherever he goes, and Lily has no hesitation about looking at porn or having sex in public. For Lily, these acts make her feel ashamed of herself and cause her to distance herself from her family: “Our indecencies became our rituals, and our families didn’t need to know about them” (6). Lily enjoys sex in the moment but often feels regretful and disgusted after it’s over. When she hires a sex worker one night, she reflects on the experience, noting,