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In reply to the discussion: My dad was a drunk, a staggering lush who alienated every person he knew... [View all]rox63
(9,464 posts)He was the first member of his family to go to college. He ended up with a masters degree, and was an English teacher when he was able to hold down a job for an extended period, which wasn't all that often. Very smart, well-read, quite witty when he wasn't slobberingly drunk. Since he was the only child of my psychotic grandmother, I have a slight idea of the hell he must have endured growing up. I've thought for a long time that he was trying to self-medicate with alcohol. He finally got sober at the age of 62, when his doctor said he'd be dead in a few weeks if he kept drinking. Two years after getting sober (without AA or counseling, I'm sorry to say), he died of a brain hemorrhage when he suffered a burst aneurysm. During that short time of sobriety, he made some good progress in repairing his relationships with me, my mother and my brother. That was over 16 years ago. Mom still occasionally curses at the heavens for taking him from her when things were just starting to get better between them.