Tag powerlessness

This Time Is Real: How Tonggui Ye Finally Quit Smoking

A kitchen window open to a bright snowy morning, curtains lifting, a glass of water and white tulips on the table.

Tonggui Ye, an engineer, started smoking at about 18 and was up to two and a half packs a day, quarreling with his wife about it all the time. His longest try at quitting lasted half a day. In January 1997 he told her, "I'll quit smoking from now on" — and did.

addiction, family conflict, powerlessness, smoking, starting over