Andrea Gunning

Sauce has always struggled with anxiety and depression.

And when she was a kid, she learned that drinking could be an escape.

Since I had been introduced to it at such a young age, it was the thing that I knew that helped me.

It helped me cope with a lot of things that I hadn't dealt with yet, like stuff from my childhood.

And it still stayed my coping mechanism for a long time.

As the friends entered high school, then college, drinking became their main activity.

Here's Megan.

We were way worse when we were older.

Because we got more money, everyone, all of us, were in the tank.

Every weekend, we did the same thing over and over.

Just wash, rinse, repeat.

Still, Saskia knew when the partying needed to take a backseat, like when her friend Heather had a baby with a guy who became abusive.

They were young, only 21, but Saskia skipped parties with their other friends to show up for Heather.

Here's how Heather remembers it.

Our other friends were out like partying and going to bars.

Saskia always stayed by me and checked on me, still hung out with me, came over to help me with the baby.

She was just the most solid friend I had.

That's just who Saskia is.

Deeply loyal and deeply empathetic.

She's the kind of friend who was only ever a phone call away.