The Sober Widow

Chapter 1.

2023 was, without a doubt, the worst year of my life. You know how they say everyone has a “worst year,” well, that was mine. It’s not even close for second place.

My husband, Tony, and I hadn’t always been “big” drinkers. We didn’t have kids and enjoyed a cocktail or two after work, and more than a couple on the weekends. And we loved to entertain, often having large groups over for all kinds of reasons, sometimes just because it was Tuesday.

However, once we moved to Marblehead, MA in 2018, we were just remote enough that our friends couldn’t really come over as much as before. So we drank by ourselves, and the amount kept increasing. Soon it was bleeding over into other social situations where we’d constantly be buzzed and it was very obvious – we weren’t fooling anyone.

In 2022 I started to feel unwell. My appetite was nonexistent and what I did manage to eat often came back up. I had been diagnosed with an ulcer in 2017, and then a bleeding ulcer in 2018, and they were being treated. I assumed it was related to that. I lost a lot of weight and Tony started nagging me to go to the doctor.

I finally did in October. I had started to have other symptoms, and my skin had started to turn a faint yellow. When I described everything to my doctor (red spots on my shoulder, belly bloat and swollen ankles and feet, lightheadedness, and a couple of others) she asked me if I had driven myself to her office. I said no, Tony was waiting to drive me home. She said “I want him to take you directly to the emergency room immediately, do not even go home to get your things.”

That started a whirlwind of events that would change my life forever. More to come in Chapter 2.