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• Stories of Hope

  • Journey of A Lifetime

  • My Friend Sally

  • Billy & Lou

  • Grampy

  • A Graduation Speech

Grampy

Picture a smiling sixty-one year old grandfather with his beautiful little granddaughter, just a year old. The joy he gets when babysitting. And see the joy in her laughter as they play. If life hadn’t taken an important turn, Grampy would have missed this heart-warming experience.

For the longest time only his wife knew the amount and frequency of his drinking. He would gauge the seriousness of the previous night's drinking by the first words of his wife each morning. If she was angry, he knew he had once again done or said something damaging; that once again he had been the cause of hurtful or dangerous behavior. He simply couldn’t remember what happened the night before.

Professionally, he had done well. He was quite successful. His colleagues didn’t know there was a problem. His ability to contribute and to function at a peak professional level decreased as the drinking increased.

After years of privately struggling to slow down, cut back, spread out the drinking, (”I’m a functional alcoholic”), he finally gave in to the fact that he could not manage the drinking on his own.

“Grampy” will tell you that some find sobriety through groups, through organizations, other individuals in recovery, or through agencies like Lowell House. Connecting with that person or people is critical for his or her recovery.

He recently spoke with his daughter about the joy he experiences in taking care of her daughter in sobriety. Did she fully understand when he explained that, if he had continued to drink, he probably never would have been part of his granddaughter’s life. Grampy would have selfishly given up what he now cherishes, for the darkness, sadness and loneliness of his next drink.

He is firmly convinced that he could not get, nor remain sober, without others who have experienced what he had, or who have worked intimately with those struggling with alcohol, incredible and committed people, such as the highly trained and experienced staff of Lowell House.

There are thousands of people who come to Lowell House each year with their own stories, looking for and receiving the support they need in order to make that important turn in their life . . . sobriety, and all the wonderful experiences that lie ahead.