Alex Warren

So my dad, when he was dying, he knew and he was terrified.

So he obviously did certain things that he wanted to make sure that we were okay.

But yeah, I would, my daily thing is my mom would start, my mom would sleep during the day and stay up all night.

And so she'd be drunk at 5 a.m., driving us to school at 6 or 7.

And she would sleep when she got back home.

She never had a job since my dad passed away.

So whatever we lived on was what she – he left us and he died during the recession.

So it was definitely a scarce, interesting time.

You know, we still grew up fine.

You know, my dad did well.

And so when he passed away, it was whatever.

But –

daily it was I'd wake up and I'd find what alcohol she was hiding and I'd throw it away I can't tell if I was petty for that or if I just truly wanted to see her stop you know but every addict needs a circuit they need someone to blame that isn't themselves or at least that's what I think growing up with it and I was that person I was the only person who could call out her problem I was the person who when she was driving drunk would make her pull over or I would threaten to call the police um

yeah i was the person who made it difficult for her to have the addiction because i didn't want to see it anymore i thought that you know you're supposed to be a parent you know and her and i clashed a lot you know um so yeah my daily life was waking up calling her an alcoholic for sure um threatening to call the police and um yeah it was really

really toxic i mean looking back at it i would call the police on her several times she was abusive um there's one time she elbowed me in the face so hard that i i have a deviated septum now from it and i called the police and she made up a thing saying that i hit her or something and i remember they threatened to take me to jail and that was the first time i ever felt like wow

Everything is stacked against me in some way.

And so that was really difficult for me to be like, oh, well, I can't call the police anymore.

And it was so strange.

It was such a strange way to grow up reflecting on it.

But it's also something, again, I never drank.