I know this heartbreak. My mom was also full of vitality, curiosity and deeply engaged in all aspects of her rich, creative life. She began drinking later in life to cope with care taking my diabetic dad who lost both of his legs to stress, drinking and smoking. She ended up having a heart attack and stroke shortly after my dad passed away. Remarkably, she stopped drinking, reinvented herself as a teacher’s aide and went on to a life of purpose and joy. She was an extraordinary person. I wonder why this young man’s mother drank.