I didn’t even need to look him in the eye for assurance. I told Sue, ‘I’m okay, I trust Jamie.’ Still, my mind was completely blown that he was there.

When it came to Jamie’s turn to speak, he said, ‘I’m Jamie and I’m a proud member of this group. My dad owns the boat shop off the highway. He’s owned it since before I was born. Everyone who knows him loves him. He’s the life of the party, but that’s the problem. He and Mum haven’t been together for a long time now and he still causes Mum grief because she gets upset about the way he treats me. He misses birthdays and all types of things because he goes and gets drunk. And he gambles when things get tight. Sometimes that pays off but mostly it gets him in a deeper mess.’

Jamie paused for a moment, before continuing: ‘Mum reckons it’s only a matter of time before he comes unstuck. It used to stress me out heaps, but since I’ve been coming here I’ve learned to deal with it better. Mum’s in the meeting next door and since she’s been coming the last few years she’s learned to deal with it better too. We just try to focus on ourselves. I run a lot to deal with the stress of things. These days when Dad does something bad I tell myself that he’s sick, and that I’ll just spend time with him when he’s better. I can’t control what Dad does, but I can control my response to what he does. And it helps knowing that there’s other people that have learned to deal with the alcoholic in their life. It makes me feel not so alone.’

When Jamie finished talking, I thought about the time he stopped running to shoot hoops with me, covered in sweat that I thought was so gross. I didn’t see it that way anymore. I admired all of that sweat; I understood the work he was doing to feel normal, even if all of that running only made him feel normal for a little while.

‘And what about you, Phoebe?’ Sue asked. ‘Would you like to share?’

I wiggled in my seat. ‘I’m so surprised to hear that you’ve experienced some of the things that I have. I’ve felt so alone, so ashamed and so scared. I still feel scared.’