Penny Wark
Freelance Journalist
When I think of my brother, Philip, I remember a prematurely aged man who lived in chaos and despair. I remember empty plastic bottles of cider on the floor, slow conversations that went round in circles, his denial that anything was wrong. Then I think of the positives: the effortless intellect, the wit, the love he had for his children – the life he might have led had he not allowed alcohol to consume him.
Philip died of liver failure at the age of 50. He had failed at just about everything he touched, and he knew it. Yet I never stopped hoping that somehow he would get himself out of this mess – and the urge to help him was very strong in spite of the knowledge that only he could help himself. All of us in his family worried about him to a point that was frustrating and often agonising. We know that watching someone you love destroy themselves is grim and that there is little respite.
This is why I would like to support The Seventy4 Foundation. Offering a tailored counselling service to people who want to break the cycle of their addiction can save lives. It can enable people who thought they had lost everything to feel fulfilled. It is impossible to overstate the importance of this work. It is invaluable because, literally, it is beyond price.