Michelle

Michelle is a single mother of three whose marriage ended in grief. She had been a victim of sexual abuse and once struggled with alcohol addiction. Alcohol was abused in Michelle's family and she reveals that she learned to drink in her adolescent years as an escape. She continued to use alcohol to avoid making decisions and face the real world and also to stay connected with her group all of whom abused alcohol. Michelle tried to stop drinking and take charge of her life a few times on her own, but was unsuccessful. Finally, she realized her drinking was out of control and she checked herself into a detoxification centre for treatment of her alcoholism.

At the time of the first interview, Michelle was facing up to her drinking problem, and making an attempt at sobriety by participating in a 12 Step Program and openly talking about it. She was maintaining a clear focus on her family. Her identification with the church helps her to maintain inner strength and meaning that she needs to stay the course. Michelle has been involved in academic upgrading at about the grade 6 level. She is hoping someday to finish her high school equivalency.

¹⁷ A variety of 12 Step Programs exist for the treatment of addictive behaviour. They are based on the premise that a spiritual journey is needed to recover and begin with the person admitting to having a problem, believing in a greater power to help in the recovery and sharing and helping others to guarantee that recovery will continue (SoberDykes, 2003).