Daughters of the Bottle

“Why not ask a Loving Parent to help us reclaim our childhood innocence and to live more gently today?” 

 ACA WSO INC. –  Adult Children of Alcoholics/Dysfunctional Families

This week there has been a theme of addiction with my clients. Alcoholism and drug addiction affect the whole family. I remember when I first became a chemical dependency counselor back in the early 1980s. One of the poems I loved was this one. Maybe you can relate.

Daughters of the Bottle 

until I was twenty-two

I didn’t think anyone else

had a drunk for a mother

then I met lori, joannie and susan

I recognized them immediately

by their stay away smiles

they were leaders in their work

competent imposters

like me

who would say they were sorry

if somebody bumped into them

on a crowded street

I call on them

once in awhile

they always come

children of alcoholics

always do

Jane Middleton-Moz

Juggler in A Mirror

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