My life and family were upside down. My parents loved each other but alcohol drove them apart. Drink turned my dad into a monster, hitting and speaking terribly to my mom. My father became so abusive, one night he almost killed her by throwing her down a flight of stairs.

Mom sought help but finally left him, separating when I was seven. Alcohol finally destroyed their marriage.

I was thirteen and going through a lot of stress; my emotions were turned upside down. I had nowhere to turn as my mother was gone a lot of the time.

Later that year, my mom's boyfriend, the man I trusted as a father,...