“Trying to moderate my drinking was a disaster.”

I would drink at least one bottle of wine a day. And I used to use different coloured glasses. So I’d have wine with dinner with my husband, and then I would just carry on and pretend that I was drinking fruit juice or something in a tumbler. I was hiding bottles and making excuses to go to the supermarket to buy more wine.

I would drink until I fell asleep. Then I’d wake up in the night, sweaty and just be disgusted with myself. I knew it was not good for my health. And I knew that [despite me hiding it] my family knew what I was doing.

Previously, when I took a break from alcohol, I’d be counting down. I knew the point when I could drink again – I wrote it in my diary. Whereas when I started your course I never did that – I was counting up my sobriety. It was a complete change of mindset for me.

I’m a feminist and I brought up my daughters to be strong women and to believe in themselves. I wanted to be a role model for them and part of the issue with my drinking was that I knew I wasn’t. I wasn’t being the role model I wanted to be for them – I looked like I was giving up. Now I think I’ve shown them that if I fall down I am going to get back up again. That’s what I want them to see.

My granddaughter is nearly four and this weekend we’re babysitting. We’ve got her staying with us for the whole weekend whilst my daughter is away. My daughter would never have done that two years ago – she just wouldn’t have trusted me. That is huge.