Lori here, and I am an alcoholic.

My dad had a couple of uncles who were alcoholic, Dad was an alcoholic, and my brother is a recovering alcoholic. With a track record like that, you might think I'd be smart enough to read the handwriting on the wall. Nope, not me! But let me go back a bit. I don't remember my dad's alcoholic days, because I wasn't around for them, he had found AA and was recovered for the most part during my childhood. But, what I do remember is listening to my brother stumble up the steps drunk, puking in the garbage can, and when I got older, going with my dad to drive my brother's vehicle home. I swore -- I honestly swore -- that I would never touch alcohol. Well, I'm here, so you know that didn't happen. I was married to an alcoholic for 27 years. He drank, would quit, and would drink again, etc. To make a long story very short, my life had become unmanageable Enter alcohol: on the urging of my husband, he said it would help us to talk our problems out. And that's how I picked up that first drink. Knowing what I knew, where I came from, and what my background was, I still picked up that drink. Because, you see, for all the swearing in the world, I am and always will be an alcoholic! I know that now, and I also know I don't have to drink again, thanks to the grace of my Higher Power and all of you.

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