The Book
Susan Greene is not my real name. But my story is very real. Late in my twenty year marriage with a truly wonderful man, I realized he had become an out of control alcoholic. Over a three year period, he took my sons and me through a trip to hell and back. Eventually, he moved away and I was left on my own to raise my sons, run a household, and somehow get my shattered life back together.
“Looking Up” follows my life from when I realized I was married to an alcoholic, to when I knew that I was going to be OK. More importantly, it focuses on all of the big and little life lessons I learned along the way.
The title, “Looking Up” has a double meaning for me. When you are amidst the chaos of alcoholism, small improvements mean a lot. When life is spiraling downward, getting to a point where things are looking up is a giant progression. But we can’t do this alone. An important part of my healing was the direct result of rediscovering my own sense of spirituality. This book doesn’t focus on religion, but it does frequently reference a higher power (thus, “looking up”) and the incredible support and awareness that spirituality brought me in my own recovery.
A friend and alcoholic once told me “Susan, a drunk will only really listen to another drunk”. I believe the same is true for those of us who have cared about an alcoholic. We need to know the one we listen to understands our pain.
My hope is that “Looking Up” will resonate with individuals who will see threads of their own story in mine, and in doing so, have sufficient trust to learn through my own experience so that hopefully, your journey can be a little more guided and a little less painful than mine was.
“Looking Up: Surviving Life with an Alcoholic” is now available through Amazon.