Phobias

Kristopher Landa

ENC 1101 M, W, F

1:45-2:35

February 27, 2005

Illustrative Essay

My Very Own Family Secrets

For as long as I can remember, my mom and dad have told me things that should only be kept within the family. Most of the secrets had to deal with my father. When I was younger, I could always tell that my father had a problem when it came to alcohol. When I would get really sad because of the way my dad was acting, my mom would always tell me that this was our little secret. To this day, I do not tell many people about my father's addiction to alcohol. Very recently, another family secret deals with my parents divorce. My mom did not want me to tell anyone about how my parents got divorced because it was very personal. Finally, another big family secret is about my dad again, and how he used to do drugs before I was born.

One of the biggest family secrets that I have dealt with since I was a little kid was my father's addiction with alcohol. My father would drink alcohol as soon as he got home from work, until he would go to sleep, which most of the time was not his bed. Most of the time, he drank beer. I remember when he drank a whole twelve pack of beers in one night. When he would get so drunk, he would take it out on my mom and me. This was really hard for us, and my mom threatened to leave my dad so many times, but she always gave him a "second chance." This was such a private matter because my mom did not want anyone to know her private issues that dealt with her marriage.

Another family secret deals with my parents divorce. My parents got divorced because my father left my mother and went to live with another woman. When my mom found out that my dad was cheating on her, she filed