“I came from a family where no one used to drink, so at first I was thinking : “Oh that’s what Romand people do! They drink on weekends, it’s fun”. But then he started drinking during the week, and then in the morning also because he was shaking. He managed to go to work from 7 to 11, but then he’d start drinking and came back at 3 completely drunk. He’d sleep, and then went out again to drink. At the bar he had his friends, and they all thought he was great and all. He needed people to admire him a little. And at home sometimes we’d yell at him, and that made him sad, he felt excluded. It’s all a vicious circle. The kids, if they ran into him outside when he was drunk, and if they were with friends, they’d feel ashamed and change sidewalk…
But deep down he was a great guy, very kind, very sensitive. And he was ashamed also, he knew he was hurting us. I felt guilty because I couldn’t find a way to help him, and I also wanted to protect the children. But he often used to tell me : “You shouldn’t think it’s your fault”. People told me to leave him, but I couldn’t. He was the father of my children, they loved him and he adored them. And he managed to stop drinking for 8 years with the Alcoholics Anonymous. During these years he studied to become a sophrologist, a naturopath, so many things. It was great, he woke up. He had a small practice, and it was very successful during 3 years. But then he started drinking again.
He ended up finding a girlfriend. I actually felt relieved, because she was taking over. I was happy that she was taking care of him. In the end he was forced to give up drinking, but his liver was already damaged, and he died from cirrhosis at 66. But I always stayed very positive in life! I think I was born under a lucky star, and I had a happy childhood in a very simple family in Argovie. Now, I’m going to enjoy my retirement. One time, I went for a hike with a donkey in the south of France. The donkey was walking slower than I was, and I wrote in my diary : I’m learning to enjoy the slowness of time.”
(Plainpalais, Uni Mail | translated from French)
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“I came from a family where no one used to drink, so at first I was thinking : “Oh that’s what Romand people do! They drink on weekends, it’s fun”. But then he started drinking during the week, and then in the morning also because he was shaking. He managed to go to work from 7 to 11, but then he’d start drinking and came back at 3 completely drunk. He’d sleep, and then went out again to drink. At the bar he had his friends, and they all thought he was great and all. He needed people to admire him a little. And at home sometimes we’d yell at him, and that made him sad, he felt excluded. It’s all a vicious circle. The kids, if they ran into him outside when he was drunk, and if they were with friends, they’d feel ashamed and change sidewalk…
But deep down he was a great guy, very kind, very sensitive. And he was ashamed also, he knew he was hurting us. I felt guilty because I couldn’t find a way to help him, and I also wanted to protect the children. But he often used to tell me : “You shouldn’t think it’s your fault”. People told me to leave him, but I couldn’t. He was the father of my children, they loved him and he adored them. And he managed to stop drinking for 8 years with the Alcoholics Anonymous. During these years he studied to become a sophrologist, a naturopath, so many things. It was great, he woke up. He had a small practice, and it was very successful during 3 years. But then he started drinking again.
He ended up finding a girlfriend. I actually felt relieved, because she was taking over. I was happy that she was taking care of him. In the end he was forced to give up drinking, but his liver was already damaged, and he died from cirrhosis at 66. But I always stayed very positive in life! I think I was born under a lucky star, and I had a happy childhood in a very simple family in Argovie. Now, I’m going to enjoy my retirement. One time, I went for a hike with a donkey in the south of France. The donkey was walking slower than I was, and I wrote in my diary : I’m learning to enjoy the slowness of time.”
(Plainpalais, Uni Mail | translated from French)