Eleven years ago, she packed three suitcases and walked out on her husband of 20 years and their four children, leaving behind a life she had passionately worked hard to build for two decades.
By the time Sarah Macoun walked out of her front door for the last time, her life had been taken over by alcoholism, a vicious, relentless illness that had gradually eaten her former self and destroyed her relationships with those who mattered to her.
Her gradual journey to alcohol addiction begun with a glass or two of wine in the evening after a hectic day, ‘just to unwind.’ Her life in England was enviable – she was married to a very wealthy man, lived in a home that is only a distant dream to many and had four adorable children. What more could a woman ask for, you may wonder?
“I was a stay-at-home mum but ran a small business on the side from home. I dotted on my children, loved my husband and was what you would call a perfectionist,” she explains.
Her day normally started at 5am. She would prepare her children for school; ensure that household chores were done before turning her attention to her business. “At the time, I didn’t realise how taxing this was and every evening after a hard day’s work, I would relax with a glass of wine,’ she says.
With time though, the glass progressed to two then to half a bottle and eventually, to a full one. But Sarah wasn’t alarmed especially because the cloak of stress that constantly enveloped her would fall off after the first glass. What she didn’t comprehend at the time was that this was a temporary fix because come morning, the stress and the fatigue would be right where she left them.
“Without my noticing it, I had slowly become what you would call a functional alcoholic – even though I fulfilled my responsibilities as a wife, mother and business owner, I had got to a point where I just couldn’t function without alcohol. By this time I had moved from wine to spirits.’
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