We both ended up leaving home around 16, because we could not cope with the situation anymore
For a second I had a glimpse of a family where alcohol was not the priority.
For a second I had a glimpse of a family where alcohol was not the priority.
Addiction taking priority
When I said Mum drank they emphatically said ‘No no no she doesn’t’.
You’d walk home wondering what mess she was in, and what you would have to do to keep the peace.
You’d walk home wondering what mess she was in, and what you would have to do to keep the peace.
I didn’t tell anyone about the bottle, just kept it to myself as with everything else
Of course I didn’t tell anyone about the bottle, just kept it to myself as with everything else.
Of course I didn’t tell anyone about the bottle, just kept it to myself as with everything else.
The feeling of having an alcoholic parent or relative
Don’t let something like this hold you back, it is their problem not yours
Don’t let something like this hold you back, it is their problem not yours
Scarred for life
My mum kicked my dad out; my dad weren’t having none of it so he smashed my mum’s window and then started calling my mum names.
My mum kicked my dad out; my dad weren’t having none of it so he smashed my mum’s window and then started calling my mum names.
He is drinking himself to death but we still don’t talk about the problem
Even now when he is in hospital at least once a month from blacking out. Even now we know that his liver is beyond repair.
Even now when he is in hospital at least once a month from blacking out. Even now we know that his liver is beyond repair.
“It’s not her that hates you, it’s the disease”
When the bell rung at 3pm, most of my friends couldn’t wait to get out of school. For me, I dreaded that sound.
When the bell rung at 3pm, most of my friends couldn’t wait to get out of school. For me, I dreaded that sound.
There was no safety net then, not for her or us
When I look back I seem to have spent a lot of my childhood cleaning, the only way I could make myself calm in the chaos.
When I look back I seem to have spent a lot of my childhood cleaning, the only way I could make myself calm in the chaos.
I am old enough to understand this isn’t my fault. It doesn’t stop me getting angry
I can’t do anything for my mother – she doesn’t want me, she wants brandy.
I can’t do anything for my mother – she doesn’t want me, she wants brandy.
I feel mum and myself tried to cope in our own way. Mine through starvation and mum through drinking
Why do I go back to her out of fear of what she is doing to herself?
Why do I go back to her out of fear of what she is doing to herself?
