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Wow... the fact that you overcame all that is amazing, Tam.
I can relate to the alcoholic father bit. My father was a heroin addict when I was a kid. He finally cleaned himself up, but then became an alcoholic when I was a twin.
He occasionally got violent with my mom and would hit her or throw her around (she's 5 ft, he's 6'4). My brother and I often got hit too (most often for disrespecting our mom, ironically). But there were never beatings, thank god.
The closest I ever came to being homeless was when I was around 16 years old. My parents had a big fight and my dad kicked us all out in the middle of the day. I packed my bag with what was important to me at the time (a change of clothes, my pictures, my phone list and my "memory" box of stuff from my girlfriend) and left home. I hung out in a nearby park with my girlfriend for a few hours, but my dad eventually sobered up and let us back in.
But for those few hours, I was scared as hell and homeless. My mom had no job, no money and I had a meagre McDonald's salary. A hotel was out of the question and I couldn't think of family members that could take in my mom and 3 kids.
My parents have since split up and my dad has been sober for 4+ years.
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