Taken By the Hand

My experience with alcoholism is much milder than most of the stories I've heard. I didn't lose everything because I was never capable of gaining anything. There were no relationships to destroy because I wasn't capable of building any. To others, I was seen as happy and carefree. I always had a smile on my face, and it appeared that I was independent and tough as steel. But deep down I was crumbling away in a pit of total darkness. There was no light and no love.