One morning in August 2005 my husband woke me and changed my world forever. The life I had known disappeared when he told me "I'm an alcoholic and I'm in trouble at work". Over the next 15 months I watched as the man I thought I knew turned into someone else. I was supportive and did whatever I could to help him and finally I realized that I could not make him stop drinking. I also realized that there was a lack of support for people like Mark.

He attended detox for four days in both Lunenburg and Springhill but then was sent home to fight it on his own. AA is a wonderful program and helps many people but it did not work for Mark. He attended a 28-day rehabilitation program two times and again going home could not stay sober on his own. He needed more than the system had to offer.

Mark and I separated and I resigned myself to the fact that we would never be together again. I wish this was where I could tell you about my happy ending. On April 20, 2009, I found Mark dead in his apartment from a gastro-intestinal bleed out. It was as horrific as it sounds. He was 47 years old.