Book Review: Please God, Not Two-This Killer Called Alcoholism by Alberta H. Sequeira

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Please God, Not Two: This Killer Called Alcoholism

Alberta H. Sequeira

Infinity Publishing (August 24, 2010)

978-0741460295

343 pages

Author Alberta H. Sequeira has seen her share of tragedy caused by alcoholism. Twenty years after transforming her kind, loving husband into an angry, abusive drunk, the alcohol demon would return; this time claiming Sequeira's youngest daughter, Lori Cahill.

The author's heartfelt memoir Someone Stop this Merry-Go-Round: An Alcoholic Family in Crisis (June 2009) describes a marriage to an alcoholican existence filled with sadness and fear. Richard Lopes would ignore his addiction until death from cirrhosis of the liver in 1985. Now this emotional sequel Please God, Not Two: This Killer Called Alcoholism details the tortured life of a mother coming to terms with the fact her daughter is following in her father's deadly footsteps.

Please God, Not Two begins with Alberta and her two daughters in the days after their father's death. Alberta was juggling three jobs to make ends meet and her oldest daughter Debbie would marry her high school sweetheart. Lori's struggles had her skipping school and drinking, and after graduation she moved in with her boyfriend. Terminating a pregnancy would add to Lori's pain and to the distance between Lori and her mother.

Lori's life would see a series of joyful highs and desperate lows over the next several years with marriage, the birth of her two children and successful careers at the Lopes family business. Her husband's career change brought financial problems, straining a marriage that would soon end in divorce. Her husband did not maintain child support, leaving Lori barely able to provide basic food and clothing for her children. Her struggles with alcohol would become more apparent during her second marriage. Lori and her new husband enjoyed frequent parties with friends and family and Alberta couldn't help noticing how drinking to excess was routine at these events. While another marriage crumbled, Lori, stressed with health issues, would make the first of three stays at an alcohol rehab clinic.

As a parent, I couldn't imagine the distress of witnessing one of my children battle this addiction. Sequeira did so knowing full well what was waiting for her daughter if Lori's rehab stints were unsuccessful. Any parent would feel guilt for not noticing the signs of alcoholism sooner and Sequeira fully admits her mistakes and regrets. Creating this memoir could not have been easy and I commend Sequeira's courage for writing so soon after Lori's death.

Please God, Not Two works as a stand alone, however I recommend you read it and the prequel together to obtain full effect of this poignant story. This is a candid look into alcoholism. Sequeira makes no excuses for herself or for her daughter. She writes with the best of intentionsto help others struggling to save a family member caught in the relentless grip of this disease. The information is well presented and Sequeira's experiences are described with a desperate honesty that will have you reaching for tissues in many scenes.

Highly recommended by William R. Potter for Reader's Choice Book Reviews

Available at Amazon

Alberta H. Sequeira is the author of A Healing Heart: A Spiritual Renewal, which was awarded the Reviewers Choice Award 2008 Semi-Finalist. Her work has appeared in the Medjugorje USA Highlighter Newsletter. She is an instructor for Beginning Writer's Workshops and has appeared on numerous radio talk shows. After losing a husband and a daughter to alcoholism, she has become a speaker on the affects of substance abuse on the whole family. She was born in Pocasset, MA, and now lives in Rochester, MA with her husband, Al.

Book Review: Please God, Not Two-This Killer Called Alcoholism by Alberta H. Sequeira

By: William

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