I have encountered alcoholism both in my personal and professional life. The damage done is incalculable and recovery is long and arduous. Who better to tell about it than someone who has made the journey herself?

Here I present a series of guest posts by Dallas Hembra titled Shaking the Family Tree on Alcoholism from a layman’s point of view.

Shaking the Family Tree is a book by Dallas Hembra; a double genre memoir/poetry offering that looks at the genetic predisposition for alcoholism from a layman’s point of view.

The victims include the alcoholic, adult children of alcoholics, and family members and loved ones who suffer the shared consequences.

Besides the genetic predisposition, it also looks at the skewed relationships of Dallas as she navigates the rocky road from addiction to recovery.  It is not a horror story, but rather an honest look at the disease and its effects, minus any embellishments. Shaking the Family Tree is a story of denial, hard-learned lessons, and in the final analogy, a message of hope and recovery.

So I am extending an invitation to all of those who may be questioning their own use,  those who are currently recovering, and all of those family members and loved ones hoping to gain some kind of insight to the disease to stay tuned.

Alcoholic

I’ve trudged many miles to get to this, my vanishing point. I have not traveled alone. I drag behind me generations of my kind. We often travel in packs, keeping others at bay, hoarding our secret. The vast terrain that has claimed many of us is strewn with the souls of those who sought escape from poverty, abuse, low self-esteem, and life in general. We found a magic elixir. It became our family’s coat of arms.

seduction

hides inside a Goddess

Venus flytrap

For a while, it erased our fears and insecurities. We gulped greedily from its promise as it seeped through the cracks in our armor. We dressed in layers of false courage, fluffed our feathers, and strutted across life’s stage, immune to the snickers of a disgusted audience. We cast aside our problems and they became the property of those we loved. Then, without warning, it betrayed us.

heir declines offer

cannot afford to pay

inheritance tax

 How does one measure loss? In increments of currency, in a log of failures penned in stained tears, or perhaps, on the pages of our calendars crammed full of wasted years? I used to think that once important things were declared lost, they were gone forever. But I am living proof that sometimes those things we hold most dear can be retrieved in even better condition than they were when we so carelessly misplaced them.

Stay tuned for more.

 

About the author Dallas Hembra in her own words:

I am a recovering alcoholic who will celebrate 33 years of continuous sobriety August of this year.

In support of my book Shaking the Family Tree, I decided to start a blog.  By sharing my own experience, I hope to open the door of recovery for others affected by this disease.  And that includes the loved ones of alcoholics who are also victims and who are hoping to gain a little insight into the mechanics of the disease and recovery.

Totally unrelated to the above, on March 31^st my new publication Kaleidoscope was released.  It is a poetry book of random meanderings intended to touch the heart tickle, tickle the funny-bone, awake the imagination, and in some cases, give pain a voice.  Published under Dallas Hembra.   Available for order now at Amazon, Books a Million, Barnes, and Noble, and Written Dreams Publishing.

My Recovery blog is authordallash.com  Hope to see you there.

I can also be contacted on Facebook at authordallash; Twitter at Dallash01; Bookbub at DALLASHAUTHOR.