A very well written story. I know writing about subjects such as this can be daunting. I applaud your openness and great effort to add this story to the ATS community. There is something almost therapeutic about writng and sharing about such personal experiences.

Thanks for sharing.

This was a most compelling read about a subject that I consider to be a general social taboo, namely the neglect of children and subsequent blindness of their parents who live in an apparent state of denial when it comes to facing the effects that alcohol has / has had on their offspring.

Expecting that an alcoholic (or addict) will step up to the plate is such a very common misplaced hope that most people have, and I'm happy you included that in your tale.

I enjoyed the inclusion of the uncle priest's role, and I do believe it is the first positive thing I've read about a priest since all 'the dirty secrets' came out, thus the point that not all priests are bad.

Were it possible, I would give five stars and flags for each of those points. Well done, as usual.