Dear Coleen: My mum's drinking has left me at the end of my tether

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Lately, I’ve been struggling to cope with my mum, who I’d call a semi-functioning alcoholic. She drinks in secret regularly but sometimes she loses control and succumbs to a huge binge and that’s when it gets really messy.

She finally admitted she has a problem but AA didn’t work for her and she stopped going. She also went to a residential rehab facility, which cost a fortune, but she was drinking again within two weeks of coming out.

My dad left her over her drinking, which I don’t blame him for, but it means she’s been living on her own for a couple of years.

I have two young children now and it’s upsetting that she’s missing these years with them. I can’t count on her like my friends can count on their mums to babysit and be there for support, and I resent her for it – instead I’m the one being a parent to her.