"You will find out that once MA's Dept. of Social Services has taken a mother's children away for any period of time, they can always take them away again, D.S.S., like at will" (200).

"Chronic alcoholics' hearts are -- for reasons no M.D. has been able to explain -- swollen to nearly twice the size of civilians' human hearts, and they never again return to normal size" (200).

"Ewell decides this is what gives profundity to the tattoo-impulse's profound irrevocability: Having a tatt removed means just exchanging one kind of disfigurement for another" (208).

Over and over, DFW reminds us of the permanent affliction of addiction. The rehabilitation and recovery process only helps stave off the further progression of the disease, but can never erase or return affairs to their original proper state. Even more troubling, the battle continues after rehab; the slide back into addiction, like having the state take the children away, is so much easier than managing to keep hold. Moreover as stated on page 201, the addicts remain in permanent want of Substance even after quitting use. There seems to be no "health," only a new disease. Saving one's physical life, does not entirely improve their mental outlook.

I find it interesting that the Ennet House Drug and Alchohol Recovery House (sic) is right next to the Enfield tennis academy, because it got me thinking about some parallels between tennis and drugs (or more specifically, sports obsession and substance addiction).

When the book was going over some of the things that addicts/mental patients learn during recovery, it kept mentioning a bunch of strategies and lessons patients are taught in order to regain control of their lives. These continous lessons of control reminded me of the strict sports lessons of James's Incandenza's father, which were then taught by James to his son, Hal (especially those regarding controlling your body). I'm drawing closer parallels between mental patients and tennis players as the novel goes on, in their similarly obsessive, struggling, carefully monitored existence.