Sober 13 years since 12/29/2003, raised in Alabama, Ginger says,
"My story is not so much about a drunk-a-log. It's more of a think-a-log because my drinking career was very short and not sweet but what I talk about when I tell my story is what I felt versus what I did."
At first the family was normal until her dad started drinking heavy. He was an angry drunk. He did teach her the value of being self-supporting. She swore she would never drink like him.
She intentionally got pregnant at age 16 as an escape plan. She got married and quit school but the baby's father left shortly after the baby was born.
She got a job at a local plant, barely made it, taking care of her baby first, not eating for long periods except on trips to her parents. Had they known how desperate she was they would have helped but she felt she had made her own bed. She remarried.
Alcohol was not part of her life until after her daughter was married. By then Ginger was in Industrial Sales.
The pressure got so high between work and family, she snapped. She rented an apartment outside Mobile, AL, packed her car and left without a tear. Her husband was devastated. Later, she tried to go back but her husband said no.
Then she started drinking "fast and furious".
Her brother introduced her to AA.
(49 min) (8.5 MB) (id#1868)