At 17, Samantha Kingston lived a double life as a carer for her alcohol-dependent Mum and siblings and as a college student, but her life began to unravel. Now 31, she tells us her story.
I felt like I was leading a double life. The one at college that was trying to maintain friendships and relationships and the one at home were the roles were reversed, and I was the parent. My focus became protecting my siblings and keeping mum safe.
My relationship with my mum broke down completely which resulted in us not speaking for 10 years. During this time, I went to university and continued to run away from feelings around alcohol as I wanted to appear to “be normal” and partied hard.
Being sober was a challenge in the beginning not because it was hard, but because of the questions people asked me. I had not realised how embedded it had been in my social activities and networking through work.
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