In 1998 my Dad died. He was an alcoholic. His drinking meant he couldn't manage health conditions he had like angina and diabetes, which resulted in the heart attack that finally killed him.

If there's such a thing, as children of alcoholics go, I was lucky. We didn't experience violence or neglect. My amazing Mum held the family home together with phenomenal strength, creating enough stability that we felt as secure as we possibly could have in the circumstances and I achieved academically, went to university and these days I have a good career in my chosen field. I'm fairly certain that the only people who knew our family secret were the people I chose to tell.

And yet, life was still difficult and my Dad's drinking impacted my life in all sorts of ways - ways that I'm still unpicking, reflecting on and healing from today. I am very grateful that in recent years I have found Nacoa and the resources that they offer online have been an important part of that process of understanding and healing.

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. They 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. As a teenager in Belfast in the early nineties, I couldn't have known about Nacoa as it was in its earliest days at the time, but I wish I had been able to contact them back then and I'm so very glad that it's so much easier today to find out about support services like theirs.

2023 will see the 25th anniversary of my Dad's death - he's missed out on a lot! But I wanted to mark the anniversary somehow and I can't think of a better way than to raise money for Nacoa. No child dealing with an alcoholic parent should have to face that alone, and thanks to Nacoa, they don't have to. If you'd like to help me in supporting the work that Nacoa does, I'd be delighted and grateful.