麻豆约拍

Life for the child of an alcoholic can be lonely. A code of silence means they don't want to talk to friends, or neighbours, or even their brothers and sisters.

Journalist Camilla Tominey, whose mother was an alcoholic, hears their stories.

Since having her own children, Camilla has longed to travel back in time and ask her, mother to mother: "What made you start drinking before noon?" Here, she and her two brothers sit down for the first time in twenty years to talk about their memories of mum.

Alcoholism is not a one-size fits all experience. It cuts across class lines and manifests itself in different forms. We hear from people across Britain, each with a different experience, but united by a shared sense of loss for the parents they feel they never had. How have they been changed by their experience and what has helped get them through?

The Monster Downstairs features intimate, wrenching stories - of young people and adults - as they talk about an unpredictable existence.

Producer: Caitlin Smith