At first, Aldrin reveled in the ticker-tape parades and meetings with heads of state, but exhaustion had set in by late 1969.
With the touring and speeches scheduled to continue into the following year, Aldrin began to feel like a publicity pawn for NASA.
"I wanted to resume my duties, but there were no duties to resume," he wrote in Magnificent Desolation.
"There was no goal, no sense of calling, no project worth pouring myself into.".
However, his drinking had also spiraled out of control, rendering him an unreliable option to show up for scheduled engagements.
Rock bottom came when Aldrin, in a drunken rage, was arrested for smashing in the door of his girlfriend's apartment.
Disgusted with himself for being back at square one, he gave up the bottle for good in October 1978. »
