For the first three years of my life, I was given away to my mum’s older sister. This felt like a huge rejection for me. Growing up I had a...

I lost my mum, brother and sister in a short time period. As I started to drink heavily, I lost my marriage too. I continued to drink and cause pain...

From his teens, alcohol was Mike’s refuge – from grief over his father’s early death, from severe loneliness and low self-worth. It was also a lubricant, “a couple of pints...

I started smoking cannabis with friends at the age of 12 and by 14 I was using heroin. By the age of 16 I’d robbed everyone in my village; my...

Many addicts come from broken homes with a history of physical violence or sexual abuse. I came from a good family with a nice house; quite a privileged up-bringing really....