My Mum would have been 63 on 8th June this year, but due to alcoholism she didn’t get to see me past 21. She was 47, just 10 years older than I am now! 

She’s missed so much of my life, and the gap is always there, but I’m doing well, thanks to Nacoa, and their amazing support to all Children of alcoholics. I can live my life in the present, and I hope to help as many children and adults affected so that they can too. 

Coa’s have no-one to turn to, and although 1 in 5 children are affected, they all do it alone, as it remains an unspoken secret, very often until the parent dies, it did for me......

I will be running 63 miles alone, between now and 1st June, to represent how these children feel, and I aim to do this by mums birthday. I’m certainly not a runner, so this will be hard going!

Nacoa (The National Association for Children of Alcoholics) is a Bristol based charity founded in 1990 to provide help and support for everyone affected by a parent’s drinking.

We believe that every child has the right to a happy childhood and to live a creative and meaningful life but when drink is the family secret they are more likely to experience family violence, neglect and other problems in their own homes.

There is no lower or upper age limit to be affected by your parent's drinking and sometimes the problems only become apparent in adulthood. You can be affected regardless of whether you are still living with them, whether they are still drinking or even if they are still alive or not.

You can be a child of an alcoholic at 1 or 101. Whatever your age, it doesn't change the fact that your parent, step-parent or carer is, or has been, dependent on alcohol, along with the problems this brings.