ONE FAMILY'S RECOVERY JOURNEY Tuesday, November 9, 2021

The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous says that "the alcoholic is like a tornado roaring his way through the lives of others. Hearts are broken. Sweet relationships are dead. Affections have been uprooted. Selfish and inconsiderate habits have kept the home in turmoil." We do a better job of treating people with addictions than the family members. The person with the addiction often receives residential or outpatient treatment, individual therapy, referral to community support. But what about the people who love the person with the addiction? What about the children? Claudia Black, world renowned author of "It Will Never Happen to Me" and "My Dad Loves Me, My Dad has a Disease" says, "No one deserves to operate from a place of fear and shame. We deserve far greater options." This podcast follows one woman's brave journey of living with her husband's alcoholism for years. Rosemary was married with 3 children when her husband began to exhibit signs of alcoholism. She describes encounters with the police, hiding in the basement with her young son, and years of verbal abuse. "My kids don't remember him sober." She recounts these lost years with a sense of unreality, familiar to trauma survivors and wonders why she tolerated unacceptable behavior for so long. She describes the chaos and anxiety, the denial, and the traumatic wounding that happens within the alcoholic home, as well as the devastation that follows each relapse. Rosemary is brave and vulnerable as she shares what motivated her to take her three children and leave the alcoholic home. This is a story of a mother's love for her children and a desire to protect them. She shares how breaking the silence, supportive friends and Alanon helped her develop a strong, independent sense of self. She recounts a new sense of freedom and hope for the future, for herself and her children.