Special praise for Dark Wine Waters
“Fran Simone’s finely drawn memoir offers testament that love is not enough against the disease of addiction. In sensuous detail, she traces the progression of her husband’s alcoholism, the assault on a rich and loving marriage, and the ways they were twisted into strangers to one another and to themselves. This page-turner confirms that we are all more alike than different on the journey with an addicted loved one, and offers hope that the author’s recovery can be our own.”
Barbara Victoria, Author
It’s Not About You, Except When It Is: A Field Manual for Parents of Addicted Children
“Fran Simone has written a memoir that provides a powerful and insightful firsthand account of the disease of addiction. She chronicles the progression of not only the disease, but also the baffling progression of denial that engulfs the addicted person, leaving family members bewildered, angry, and hurt. I was inspired by her journey, her willingness to tell her story, and the miracle of hope that finds root in tragedy.”
Ed Hughes, MPS, LICDC-CS, Author
Baffled by Addiction: Successful Strategies to Help Your Addicted Loved One
“You don’t have to be an alcoholic to deal with alcoholism. This is a compelling account for anyone who has ever tried.”
Charles Rubin, Author
Don’t Let Your Kids Kill You: A Guide for Parents of Drug and Alcohol Addicted Children
“Simone vividly recounts her own compelling journey with the insidious disease of alcoholism and her sustaining spiritual awareness of recovery. Dark Wine Waters: My Husband of a Thousand Joys and Sorrows is both a tribute and an awakening to those who struggle with addiction and for those who love them.”
Patrice M. Pooler, MA, ADC, Executive Director
Mid-Ohio Valley Fellowship Home, Inc.
Central Recovery Press (CRP) is committed to publishing exceptional materials addressing addiction treatment, recovery, and behavioral healthcare topics, including original and quality books, audio/visual communications, and web-based new media. Through a diverse selection of titles, we seek to contribute a broad range of unique resources for professionals, recovering individuals and their families, and the general public.
For more information, visit www.centralrecoverypress.com.
© 2014 by Frances Simone
All rights reserved. Published 2014.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.
Publisher: Central Recovery Press
3321 N. Buffalo Drive
Las Vegas, NV 89129
19 18 17 16 15 14 1 2 3 4 5
ISBN: 978-1-937612-65-8 (e-book)
Publisher’s Note: Central Recovery Press offers a diverse selection of titles focused on addiction, recovery, and behavioral health. Our books represent the experiences and opinions of their authors only. Every effort has been made to ensure that events, institutions, and statistics presented in our books as facts are accurate and up-to-date.
This is a memoir, a work based on fact recorded to the best of the author’s memory. To protect their privacy, the names of some of the people, places, and institutions in this book have been changed.
Dark Wine Waters is the story of a marriage affected by one partner’s addiction to alcohol, and the text reflects both the subject’s and the author’s authentic experiences.
Cover and interior design and layout by Sara Streifel, Think Creative Design
To Terry D with love
Vitae Summa Brevis Spem Nos
Vetat Incohare Longam
(The Shortness of Life Forbids Us Long Hopes)
They are not long, the weeping and the laughter,
Love and desire and hate:
I think they have no portion in us after
We pass the gate.
They are not long, the days of wine and roses:
Out of a misty dream
Our path emerges for a while, then closes
Within a dream.
Ernest Dowson
Table of Contents
Part II: Muddy Water
CHAPTER FOUR: Troubled Waters
CHAPTER FIVE: Rock Bottom
CHAPTER SIX: Surfacing
Part III: Turbulent Water
CHAPTER SEVEN: Sinking
CHAPTER EIGHT: Smooth Water
CHAPTER NINE: Treading Water
CHAPTER TEN: Storm Surges
CHAPTER ELEVEN: At the Bridge
CHAPTER TWELVE: Tsunami
Part IV: Healing Water
CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Empty Vessel
CHAPTER FOURTEEN: Burial at Sea
CHAPTER FIFTEEN: Dry Land
CHAPTER SIXTEEN: Clear Sailing