Being a Child of an Alcoholic and AddictBeing a Child of an Alcoholic and Addict
Addict II Athlete Podcast
Coach Blu Robinson talks with team captain Holly Davies about growing up with alcoholic and addicted parents, stepping into a protective role for her siblings, and later watching her father and brother enter recovery. Their conversation focuses on boundaries, family healing and finding a place in recovery circles even as a non-using "muggle."
55:04•11 Jan 2021
Growing Up With Addicted Parents: Holly’s Story on Addict II Athlete
Episode Overview
- Children of alcoholics often hide family drinking and feel judged or excluded if others find out.
- Oldest children may step into a parental role, protecting younger siblings and managing chaos at home.
- Setting firm boundaries, including cutting off contact, can be necessary when a parent continues using.
- Structured support such as drug court can help addicted parents gain housing, work and sustained sobriety.
- Joining a recovery community can help non-using family members accept that addiction is part of their story without letting it define who they are.
“Addiction is part of my story. I may not have been addicted to heroin, but the people that I care about have been, and their story is part of my story.”
What can we learn from those who have battled addiction? This conversation on Addict II Athlete brings a fresh angle by centring someone who never used substances herself, yet grew up surrounded by addiction. Coach Blu Robinson talks with team captain and "muggle" athlete Holly Davies about what it was like being the eldest child in a home where alcohol, pain pills and heroin shaped daily life.
Holly shares early memories of school drug education clashing with the reality of her parents' drinking, the confusion of loving parents who "weren't bad" but clearly had a problem, and the hidden pressure of becoming a stand-in parent for her younger siblings. You'll hear how Holly tried to pour out her parents' liquor, only to be met with anger and guilt, and how that experience pushed her into a lifelong vow to be "anything but" her parents.
She talks honestly about cutting off contact when her dad and brother were using heroin and cycling through jail, and the emotional weight of deciding, "I can't save you." The episode also highlights what recovery looks like from the family's side. Holly describes watching her dad enter drug court, get housing, work and—eventually—three years of sobriety, while she slowly rebuilt trust on her own timeline.
There's a powerful shift as she explains how joining Addict II Athlete helped her accept that "addiction is part of my story" without letting it define her, and how she now sees her dad as a present grandad and her brother as a caring uncle. This one is especially helpful for adult children of alcoholics and anyone who loves someone in active addiction or early recovery.
It asks a quiet but important question: how much of your life are you giving to someone else's addiction, and what could change if you wrote your own story instead?
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