he's been an alcoholic since he was 22 years old.
growing up, i never really noticed his problem.
but as i got older, my mother would confide in me.
he was going through a 24 case of beer every 3 nights.
eventually she left him when i was fourteen.
he was court ordered to not drink around his kids
but he found a loophole and made sure we never saw him drink
all the time ...