Like many who now identify as an alcoholic, Dean insists he grew up in a “normal” family in the New Jersey suburbs. His first drinks came in his early teens, sneaking drinks from the parents liquor cabinet. But one day, while working as a dishwasher in a local restaurant, Dean stole a case of wine which he kept hidden in his bedroom closet. He would sneak out and hike far into the woods in order to drink. By 19, Dean became a daily drinker and by 21 Dean drank himself into a two-and-half month-long blackout.
