Published October 6, 2025

Cranberry Juice

Daniel G. Wilson

Sobriety has been a lonely road, but I made it out alright.

Page 2 of a 2 page comic. Panel 1 shows our protagonist in the middle of a party in a kitchen area. Behind him are several people enjoying themselves and a fridge with various trinkets and magnets on the door. The protagonist is wearing a grey t-shirt with an “x” on his right hand that is holding the drink to his face. In front of him is a light skinned person dressed in a button up long sleeve shirt with long hair. They are facing the protagonist and are yelling at him, “Don’t you know you are making people feel horrible every time they look at your hand?” A caption box at the bottom of the panel says, “how some people project their insecurities and callously forget...” Panel 2 shows our protagonist outside of a community center watching an older woman come out of that same building. Our protagonist is sitting on a concrete block that is where small trees would be planted. He is wearing a black long sleeve shirt and grey pants. There is a bulletin board beside him that has a pamphlet with the letters “AA” clearly visible. On the left side of the panel we see a woman in a black dress holding a purse, walking out of the community center. The protagonist says, “I'm here for you.” At the bottom of the panel is a caption box, “...Everyone has reasons why they abstain....” Panel 3 shows an even younger version of the protagonist crying on the floor next to an older man who is lying prone in a puddle of liquid. The Protagonist is wearing a striped shirt and has short hair. The older man is wearing a black shirt and is balding. A caption box at the bottom of the panel says, “...Some are more painful than others.” Panel 4 we are back with the current version of our protagonist. We see him sipping a class of cranberry juice. On the left side of the panel we see a word balloon that says, “Dan, you gonna sit there all night?” at the bottom of the panel there is a caption box that says, “Sobriety has been a lonely road...” Panel 5 has the protagonist in foreground on the right side of the panel looking behind him to the left. In the middle of the panel is a group of people sitting in a booth with a table. On the left side of the booth we saw a dark skinned man in a turban wearing a yellow shirt and greyish blue pants. Next to him is a light skinned woman with brown hair wearing a grey shirt. Across from them on the right side of the table we see a dark skinned woman wearing a yellow shirt and light blue denim shorts. There is a caption box in the bottom left corner of the panel that says, “... But I think I made it out alright.”

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