What does it mean to grieve a parent who is still alive—but was never able to show up the way you needed?

In this episode, Marci Hopkins shares how childhood abuse, emotional neglect, and a parent’s addiction quietly shaped her relationship with alcohol—and how drinking became a way to survive grief she didn’t yet have language for.

For years, Marci’s drinking didn’t look extreme or chaotic. It looked normal. It looked functional. It looked like coping.

As many people enter Dry January questioning their own relationship with alcohol, this conversation offers a deeper lens—one that moves beyond willpower or labels and into the emotional roots of why we drink.

We talk about:

• How alcohol can become a socially acceptable way to numb unresolved trauma
• Grieving the parent you needed, not just the one you had
• Why addiction often masks deeper grief and unmet childhood needs
• Letting go of the hope that someone will one day become who you needed them to be
• Finding peace and sobriety without the closure you thought you’d need
  

This episode is for anyone who has loved someone struggling with addiction, questioned their own drinking, or felt the quiet, complicated grief of losing someone—while they’re still alive.

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🎙Guest speaker: Marci Hopkins

Related content:

• Marci’s book: “Chaos to Clarity: Seeing the Signs and Breaking the Cycles”

• Family resources: Shatterproof

• Find a family group: Al-Anon Family Groups