Hi! My name is Emmy.
Have you ever felt like you were the only kid in the world with a certain kind of problem? If you have, you’ve come to the right place because I understand.
My mom has a disease called alcoholism. It makes a person think they have to drink alcohol to feel normal. It causes a lot of hurt and anger for their kids.
But it doesn’t matter if your problem is with your parents or your friends or your teachers or even yourself--the worst thing you can do is to try and hold your feelings in. That is what I learned. You need to find an adult you can trust and tell them what’s bothering you.
That’s what I finally did. And the book,
Emmy’s Question, tells about me and other kids who got help. You can, too
So don’t try to pretend everything’s okay if it’s not. There are people who can help you. It might be someone in your family, or a teacher or counselor at school, or your minister or Sunday school teacher, or a friend’s parent.
There are also special organizations and books to read that help kids. Click on
NEED HELP for a list. But start first with an adult you can trust. OKAY????
| Your friend, Emmy |
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ALCOHOLISM
80% of high school kids have tried
alcohol? I read that more than half of
the 6th graders say they have been
pressured by friends to drink. Although
there’s a lot of peer pressure as you
get older to try it, it’s not safe or
legal.
I want to tell you a few things about
why you should never do it. It can burn
up your brain cells and cause you to
make bad decisions. People do mean or
stupid things that perhaps they wouldn’t
do if they didn’t drink. A really bad
thing about starting to drink is that
you may become an alcoholic which is
very serious.
Alcoholism starts when a person drinks
to forget problems or maybe just to be
popular, and ends up needing alcohol
just to feel normal. Once a person loses
control over their drinking, that’s what
is called alcoholism. It’s a disease,
and they need help to stop.
Alcohol can make you very sick. I would
know this because one of my family
members is a recovering alcoholic. She
has cirrhosis of the liver which is a
nasty disease. It causes you to bleed
and she’s had to have a lot of surgeries
to stop the bleeding. The good news is
that she doesn’t drink anymore, but
she’s still very sick though, so that’s
bad.
Here are some facts about alcohol:
1. It is by far the biggest drug problem
among kids. It kills more of them than
all other drugs combined.
2. Drinking alcohol changes how people
think, feel, and behave.
3. Any alcohol, including beer and wine
coolers, can lead to alcoholism.
So, you heard me talk about alcoholism!
It doesn’t seem fun at all, does it?
Even though there’s lots of peer
pressure, if you’re smart, I think
you’ll stay away from it. It can damage
your brain, cause you lots of problems
in your life, make you very sick, and it
can kill you. I repeat~ KILL YOU!
Your friend,
Emmy
If you would like more information,
please contact us at 904-823-9978,
email
us, or use our online request form.
