A Horrible Legacy of Alcoholism and Addiction in my Family

(HAMBURG NY USA)

I am 42 years old and I come from an Irish family with a long history of alcoholism and addiction. Unfortunately in the past 2 years I have lost a father to the disease and in the last 2 months alone I have lost a brother and an uncle. I feel that not enough research is done on this terrible addiction.

My brother was 30 when I was on the phone with my mother and she found my brother dead in bed due to an alcohol and methadone overdose. What a waste of life! He was so young and so sick with addiction that he drank daily not just one beverage of choice. It didn’t really matter what he consumed as alcohol as long as it was a depressant.

And not only did he consume massive amounts of alcohol - he experimented with multiple pills, unfortunately most of these pills were legal prescriptions (just not his). His demise came 5 days after his 30th birthday. He left behind a son , 2 sisters and a mother along with a large family.

My father drank himself to death as well. He drank 24/7 the last 3 years of his life and he did not even experience one sober moment in the last 3 years of his life. He missed out on enjoying time with his grandchildren and his children. But he didn’t care he was severely depressed and had no interest in life except to be numb.

The ironic thing about my dad was he was sober for a 10 year stretch of his life. He led AA meetings at local jails and my family was so proud of him at this wonderful time of his life.

Another family tragedy has struck my family just this past week. Yet another fallen family member and yes another male found dead on his kitchen floor in a pool of blood. Possible drug and alcohol overdose or maybe suicide.

I want to be a spokesperson for this deadly and not recognised enough terrible disease. I hope someone reads this letter and I know there are plenty of families out there who have experienced this terrible legacy. I know this because I have attended adult children of alcoholics meetings in the past and every so often I return for a reality check.

I fear for my children and I have 3 sons. I will do everything in my power to be sure this legacy of "death" is not passed down to them as with the many other members of my family.