Alcoholism: The Day My Son Finally Called for Help

The call came at an inconvenient time. Son #3 was in the midst of soccer tryouts. Son #2 was onstage in a show. But Son #1 needed help. And he’d asked for it. At last.

I’m not sure if I’d been waiting for the phone to ring but, when it did—when he told his dad and me that he’d been drinking too much and wasn’t sure how to stop—I was online buying a plane ticket to visit him at college before my husband had even hung up.

The assault of relief and guilt you feel when your child finally admits...