HIDDEN SECRETS Read Online Free Page A

Without the excessive drinking he could have been the editor of a prestigious newspaper, instead of a discarded reporter covering news that no one wanted to read.
           At barely twenty three years old, he was awarded The Young Journalist of the Year, and presented with a cheque for £250. That was a lot of money in those times, but the accolade of winning the trophy had been the ultimate achievement for a young journalist. However, with it came the added pressure to maintain high standards, which he struggled to achieve. It was at this point in his career that his drinking began to escalate, and eventually take control. Still dwelling on the past, Pat turned to look at the glass trophy on the shelf. It was long forgotten and covered with dust and dirt, not too dissimilar from how his life had turned out. How much longer could he continue to abuse his body this way? How much longer would his body tolerate the abuse he mercilessly unleashed on it night after night? He knew his health was beginning to suffer as he finding it increasing difficult to eat, and his weight had plummeted. Together with the feelings of regret and guilt that constantly overwhelmed him, a deep depression plagued him and persisted for days at a time. It was because of his heavy drinking that his wife had left him and taken their young son with her over thirty years ago. His son Greg, had been only two years old at the time, and Pat had missed seeing him growing up. He too had been very young, too young to be a father. At twenty one years old he could barely look after himself let alone a wife and child. The drink helped, but then it started to take over his life. His wife Trisha had taken Greg to her mother’s while he was out drinking, leaving a note on the kitchen table. At the time he thought she would be back in a few days, but he was never to see either of them again. Trisha may have seemed young and naïve but she wasted no time in filing for a divorce, and convinced the courts that her husband was an inapt parent, with a chronic drinking problem. Consequently he was denied access to his child at all times until he could verify he had stopped drinking. This was to prove to be an impossible task, and Pat gave up any ideas of ever seeing his family again. Perhaps he didn’t want reconciliation, even though he missed his son, he did experience a degree of release from the huge responsibility. Later in life though, he realised how wrong he had been. If he had tried harder he could have turned his life around, but it was easier to walk away and take solace from the bottle. He later heard that after Trisha had remarried and taken Greg to live abroad with her new husband, but it was never confirmed.
            Greg would now be in his thirties; perhaps even married with children of his own. Or had he followed in his father’s footsteps and become an alcoholic? Because that’s what he was and he could deny it no longer, Pat Hinds was an alcoholic; and it was time to stop, before it stopped him. The words sounded ironically familiar because he had tried to stop drinking before, but only because his job was in jeopardy. A local support group had seemed a good idea at the time, but after the first meeting he had convinced himself he didn’t have a problem and never attended again. It was a totally humiliating experience which had left him in need of a drink and consequently, he spent the rest of the evening draining a bottle of 25 year old single malt. He never felt the urge to discuss his drinking habits with a bunch of strangers ever again.
          He was reminded of his own father now. As a young boy, there were many times when his father would come staggering along the cobbled streets falling drunkenly though the front door. His parents were both of Irish descent, but moved to England where his father drifted from one menial job to another drinking most of what he earned. When he died prematurely ten years later, his mother was left to