There are estimated to be 589,101 dependent drinkers in England. Author Jessica Andrews shares her story of growing up with an alcoholic father.

Alcoholism: u201cHow it feels to be the daughter of an alcoholicu201d

Alcoholism: “How it feels to be the daughter of an alcoholic”

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It is more or less accepted that people don’t always have fathers, that they go off to walk the world alone and the wives and children around them are left to pick up the pieces

The bulk of his alcoholism is too heavy for me to carry alone. I want to protect my dad, but I need to look after myself, too

Speaking about alcoholism stops you from shutting down, from sealing up and cutting yourself off from your needs in fear that they will never be fulfilled

It is important to speak about alcoholism because it stops it from being a dark and shameful secret, says author Jessica Andrews.

“This is how it really feels to be the daughter of an alcoholic”