My mother is leaving my father after 27 years of marriage
I’m worried about my father – he has no friends or hobbies. He also has a history of depression and drinking
My younger sister and I are in our mid 20s.
My mother, aged 50, has dropped a bombshell: she is leaving my father after 27 years of marriage. She added that she had been seeing someone for a few weeks (she did this before when I was about eight – she ran off with a waiter we met on holiday and my dad forgave her).
My father is absolutely devastated. He is devoted to her and doesn’t have any other family members or friends to help him through this.
The main problem is that my dad is very antisocial, negative and angry.
He has two other children from a previous marriage who he does not see and I have not had a great relationship with him (his good qualities are that he is hilariously funny and very generous).
My mother is sociable and likable with a large network of friends and family who she sees regularly. I understand why she has left him but cannot help feeling angry that she has gone about this the wrong way (by meeting someone else), and I’m worried about my dad as he is prone to bouts of depression and drinks a lot, something from which I have also suffered and so feel an affinity to my father.
My sister lives nearby and can visit but she is very emotional whereas I am too far away to visit and am the calmer, wiser sibling. I don’t know how I can help in this situation. I don’t know how to advise Dad as he does not have any hobbies or friends – nothing he can put his life into – and I am concerned that he will end up a lonely alcoholic.
Source:theguardian
