Jan grew up in an East Asian country. Her mother, a devout Buddhist, did not speak outside of her home about the problem of alcoholism in her husband. Jan resented her father's behaviour and her mother's submission to it. At school, Jan achieved highly, both academically and in sport, but became rebellious in her teenage years. Only when she had children of her own did she realise how her behaviour must have affected her mother. Eventually, living in Australia, Jan became troubled by the drinking of another family member. She sank into despair but found hope in Al-Anon, along with strategies for coping with others' addictive behaviour and insight into the impact of her father's drinking on her childhood.