Why Does Tragedy have to Happen to Open our Eyes?

[albertasequeira]

My name is Alberta Sequeira and I live in Rochester, MA with my husband, Al. In 1941, I was born in Pocasset, MA and shared my moment with my twin brother Albert. We had a sister, Leona, a brother Walter who died at seven years old from polio. Ten years later, my brothers Joe and Bill joined our family. We had a great life with two loving parents.

I never had any intentions or desires to be an author. When my father, One Star Brigadier General, Albert L. Gramm, came down with cancer in 1980, I took time out of work to help care for him with my family members and the wonderful volunteers of Hospice.

It was at this time that I reallized I didn't take the time to know my father and his great military background. I wanted to leave his military status to my children and grandchildren so I started writing my first memoir A Healing Heart; A Spiritual Renewal. After his death, I had numerous miracles that had happened to me that led me on a ten day pilgrimage to Medjugorje in Bosnia. It's there that I came to see what my father was trying to teach me about life, death, miracles and the unconditional love God has for all of us. I came home and added the trip to my book because my father wanted to go to Medjugorje hoping for a cure but was too weak and sick to go.

The book was published in 2006 and was awarded the Reviewers Choice Award 2008 Semi-Finalist by Reader Views of Austin Texas. At this time, A Healing Heart is only available on my website www.albertasequeira.com with Pay Pal.

I was now a full blooded author at heart and wanted to open the doors I had kept closed for 14 years with my alcoholic marriage. I self-published Someone Stop This Merry-Go-Round; An Alcoholic Family in Crisis (2009). It's a fast ride on a merry-go-round of hardships. Our happy, secure life with two daughters turned to fear, confusion and abuse from my husband. I watched a loving man turn into someone I didn't know. In 1985, at forty-five years of age, Richie Lopes of North Dighton died from cirrohsis of the liver at the VA Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island.

Someone Stop This Merry-Go-Round was nominated for the Editor's Choice Award by Allbook Reviews of Canada.

Tragedy followed again when I learned that my daughter, Lori, was following the same path as her father. In 2006, after three alcoholic rehab stays and at thirty-nine years of age, Lori died from the same worldwide disease of Alcoholism. The sequel of her life Please, God, Not Two; This Killer Called Alcoholism was self-published in August of 2010. It's an emotional, moving memoir of Lori's struggle to combat this killer. Her cousin in her book is now fighting alcohol abuse at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, MA.

Both alcoholic books are available at www.buybooksontheweb.com or www.amazon.com.

Pain from tragedy makes us take paths we would never consider. In 2007, I started my journey of speaking engagements at halfway homes, alcoholic rehabs, women's ministries, bookstores, libraries, businesses, radio and cable TV show and numerous interviews with newspapers reporters.

I'm not retired amd sitting on some beautiful, tropical island. At sixty-three, for a shy women who was petrified to talk in public, I'm reaching out to other alcoholic abusers, their families and at public events.

Has anyone else had a tragedy that changed their lives that took them on a different path in life?

[albertasequeira]

Hi Patrick,

Canada is beautiful. I saw the books you wrote. Keep telling yourself that you have a disease. It's the disease that has your life upset. Alcoholics use every excuse on why they drink instead of knowing they are the only ones who can change their lives.

[Patrick J Schnerch]

Hi Alberta

I live in Victoria, BC, Canada

[Alberta H. Sequeira]

Patrick, where do you live?

[Alberta H. Sequeira]

Hi Patrick,
I will look for your book. The Peaceful Warrio sounds familar to me. Lori would not talk to me about her illness. She "hinted" before her death that her father may have done something. She took a lot of secrets with her that I have to live with and wonder about. It's more painful that she died without me knowing her pain. It wasn't until her last two years that we found out she was an alcoholic. Her heath went down and she couldn't hide it anymore.
Have you been off alcohol for a year? Doctors told Lori and her cousin who is fighting alcohol abuse in the Brigham and Womens Hosptial in Boston, that they both can be given a new liver. Her cousin can have even a half of one to save her.
My heart foes out to you. Lori and Richie could not say out loud that they were alcoholics. Admitting it is a big step.
Remember something, Patrick, there is nothing wrong with alcoholic except they have a disease. It's the disease that is making them say and do the things they are. It takes more of a person to admit they need help than ones who keep abusing themselves.
Wake up in the morning, look at yourself and say," I deserve to be happy." Start the day by asking God to help you get through it. At night, thank Him, even if it's the worse day you had. Why? Because He is giving you a chance to get it right!

[Patrick J Schnerch]

I wrote three books related to mental illness and addiction. More than 50% of substance abuse have a undiagnosed mental illness because yjings like alcohol masks the sympyoms of being ill. This was my case. I think that your books would be excellent as reference in a school classroom. I am just thinking that your your stiries can put some meat on the bones of the truth behind alcoholism. My own liver is damaged through escessive alcohol abuse and it is also a matter of time.

It is strange that my personal experiences does not change my thoughts of my destructive lifestyle. I wrote, "The Peaceful Warrior: Memoirs of a Damaged Mind and Soul' also available at Amazon.com. Perhaps, this will help enlighten you as to what may be some of the thoughts and experiences that many others possibly go through.