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Today’s post is the 300 th since I created this blog on October 19, 2011. There have been good responses and bad responses; words of encouragement and comments of distain; some readers gained knowledge and support while others were disappointed. I’ve talked about medical issues, personality traits, sobriety and drunkenness. I have offered support groups and tried to impart cold and hard facts. I’ve had several readers who spent many hours on trying to get me to stop writing posts and even had death-threats from an unlikely source. Through it all, I persevered and tried to maintain my open, honest and informative attitude while trying to always keep a sense of humor. I’m proud to have been able to meet that goal. In this journey, you’ve read about Riley’s absurd ideas and beliefs from the brain of a man who could no longer see logic or reason. You’ve read about Riley’s heart attack and his entry into hospice at a local nursing home. Then there was his miraculous recovery where he furth...

Now available for speaking to families and friends of alcoholics at your event, rehab center, etc. At this time I charge only for the cost of my expenses . I also speak to alcoholics about the life that they create for their loved ones when they are inside the bottle. My casual, interactive speaking style engages the audience in the topic. Not just another Powerpoint presentation, but rather a conversation with the attendees. There's some humor and there's some heartbreak, but the bottom line is that it is all real. I have 10 (ten) open dates at this special expenses only rate. Reserve your date NOW! E-mail me with SPEAK in the subject line: immortalalcoholic@gmail.com

We celebrate Christmas and I mean no disrespect to those who don’t celebrate Christmas, but rather some other seasonal celebration. In this post, I use Christmas because it is what happened in our house, but it could really be any holiday – Hanukkah, Kwanza, or others. But these are my memories and this is how I remember it. It happens every year. Just like clockwork the holiday season arrives and we all breathe a deep sigh. For some people it is a sigh of joy and delight, but for others not so much. There are those that a sigh is used to boost their strength or indicates a feeling of “here we go again.” I know both kinds of sigh and, believe me, the first one is much better. I remember Christmas’ of joy and delight. I remember seeing twinkling in my children’s eyes and the fun of visiting Santa Claus. It was a happy time filled with gatherings of family and friends, tree trimming, and… oh… so much… fabulous food. Then there was the other kind of Christmas. Those Christmas’ were filled...

Thank you to everyone who has donated and posted words of encouragement. It has been greatly appreciated. We still have a long way to go. I'm surprised that there have been no pledges towards shaving my head. Don't you think I'd look great without hair? To make a pledge please visit the Escape from Medical Desert page on Facebook and scroll down to my picture. Put your pledge in the comments. You don't pay the pledge until the goal of $2,500 is reached. When the goal is reached, I'll shave my head and you then pay the amount you pledged. All that red hair will be gone! Donate to the fundraiser:  http://gfwd.at/1FicTJx  and receive the following gifts: $25 -- The paperback version of The Immortal Alcoholic's Wife  $30 -- A Glowing Skeleton OR Linda's Front Porch T-Shirt  $40 -- A Glowing Skeleton OR Linda's Front Porch Tote Bag $50 -- Christmas OR Winter Wreath $100 -- Immortal Alcoholic's Wife (paperback) PLUS T-Shirt (your choice of skeleton or porc...

Am I really writing about Christmas AGAIN? It seems that I just wrote about last year’s Christmas and here we are with another holiday season coming at us at light speed. For most families the holidays are filled with laughter, happy tears, hugs and expressions of love. But for many families these days are fraught with fear and anxiety because living with an alcoholic is like living with a time bomb set to explode at an unpredictable time and place. A Christmas party that should be a joyful event often turns into an embarrassing scramble trying to get the drunken spouse out the door after he/she has literally picked up the punch bowl and used it to make an off-color toast. Then there are the helpful friends who attempt to keep the drunk from getting behind the wheel of his car. Even after the alcoholic has left the building, conversations drift toward the realm of “Did you see what Alice did? So glad she left.” Instead of discussing the shopping bargains on toy treasures, everyone is t...

I was recently asked by Paul at Cassiobury Court Rehab Center in England – Do celebs have a positive or negative impact on drinking? I visited his website and thought – oh, I would love to go there even though I’m not an alcoholic. Maybe they would make an exception for me. See for yourself: http://www.cassioburycourt.com/ Back to the question -- The easy answer is both. In my opinion, it depends on the celebrity and what they do with their sobriety after they achieve it. For example, Martin Sheen is a positive influence for being able to achieve and maintain sobriety, while his son, Charlie Sheen, seems to be unable to grasp the advantages of living a clean and sober life. In this case Martin is a positive and Charlie a very good bad example although I haven’t heard much about him lately. That’s probably a good sign. Other celebs such as Kelly Osborne and Jamie Lee Curtis, are good influences. Robert Downey Jr. had a tough road of being a bad influence until he managed to get a handle...

My teenage years were difficult. They were difficult because of all the usual things that teens go through such as worry about acceptance, self-image, peer pressure and getting good grades. Looking back, I don’t think I was really any different from most other teens. But, there was this one girl, Mary, and her sister that caused me to be uncomfortable. They lived with an alcoholic mother and a complacent father. I haven’t heard from them in years and often wonder whatever became of them. My wish is that they are living a happy non-alcoholic existence and enjoying good health and peace. Growing up is tough. Growing up in a house where alcoholism resides is ten times the toughness. The feeling of being alone can be overwhelming. No one really wants to admit that their parents (one or both) or any other family member has a problem with either drugs or alcohol. Circumstances are sometimes hard to explain, parental actions can be embarrassing, and the sheer uncertainty of each the unfolding...