Author: Mandy

Family separation doesn’t happen all at once. It’s rarely a single moment or a single decision. More often, it’s a slow drift — life pulling people in different directions, circumstances tightening around them, misunderstandings building quietly, until one day you realise the distance has become real. And painful. And bigger than you ever meant it…

There are things I’ve carried quietly for many years — not because I wanted to hide them, but because I never knew how to speak about them without causing pain. Now that you’re grown, and a father yourself, I find myself thinking about the past more often. Knowing your daughter has grown has reminded me…

When I decided to get sober, I realised something important: recovery isn’t just about stopping drinking. It’s also about changing the environment that keeps old habits alive. For me, alcohol shops were everywhere — familiar places, familiar patterns. So I made a deliberate choice to move into supported living. It wasn’t about running away. It…