any of the painful connections or remembrances from your past. When it works, it’s the best of family life. For a few hours these surrogate families become what we always wanted them to be. It’s the McDonald’s Christmas commercials repeated over and over. But when it doesn’t work and you’re a server or bartender or manager thrown into the mix, it’s as much fun as being waterboarded. It can be an addictive cycle and draws in addictive personalities of all sorts—alcoholics and drug addicts, sex addicts, survivors of abuse, ragers, narcissists—all thrown into an unbelievably high-pressure mix.
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