something is wrong wiht aunt diane

[MonaCat]

I just watched the documentary and am in shock. Does anyone know about this story ? What do you think ?

[roxane]

something is wrong wiht aunt diane

I didn't know about this so I googled it. It came up as a film. Is it based on truth?

[MonaCat]

something is wrong wiht aunt diane

Yes it is about this perfect mother and wife who was a closet alcoholic.
She ends up drunk driving and kills four kids, herself and two adults...really scary.

[roxane]

something is wrong wiht aunt diane

No one is perfect. The strain of the charade got to her, yes, very scarey.

[SKendall]

something is wrong wiht aunt diane

Hey Mona, meow. Have to look that up.

[K9Lover]

something is wrong wiht aunt diane

It is a true story. Her husband tried to fight the ruling that she was intoxicated. I believe they even exhumed her body to run a second DNA test. All tests came back showing she was extremely inebriated.

[shelbysmiles]

something is wrong wiht aunt diane

I saw it a while back. A heart breaking story.

[treetops]

something is wrong wiht aunt diane

I believe it raised a lot of publicity about so-called functioning alcoholics
And family denial.
Very very sad

[lucky 2.0]

something is wrong wiht aunt diane

I saw it also. I could not believe the depth of the family denial. I think marijuana was also in her system. Very, very sad.

[red67]

something is wrong wiht aunt diane

This film was so powerful. A true testament to the hidden nature of our alcoholism and how the people around us have no idea of the real depths of our addiction. I guarantee you the sister would have never allowed her daughters to go with Diane if they had any idea of her drinking. It's even more scary how Diane's own husband had no idea of the extent of her drinking. She held a very well paying job and managed her family without anyone knowing how much she was drinking. I guess it's what people refer to as a functional alcoholic, but truth is the term functional is ironic in that context. Just because we can hide it from others and even ourselves, the levels of drinking she had to be consuming could not have allowed much true functioning on a daily basis. Very sad that no one was willing to see the signs and take the steps to save the lives of these precious children.

[Alky]

something is wrong wiht aunt diane

The Taconic Parkway is a heinous road sober. I can't imagine driving it drunk/stoned. Law & Order made an episode about this.

[K9Lover]

something is wrong wiht aunt diane

Weren't they returning home from a camping trip...and nobody recalled her drinking anything? In fact the husband claimed they had the same bottle of vodka in the trailer for "years". I can imagine the lengths she went to to keep up that facade. So, so sad. I knew what was coming and I was on edge the whole time I was watching it.

[Alky]

something is wrong wiht aunt diane

I haven't made it all the way through, but I have a couple of observations:

1. Alcoholics are the best liars and fakers. I was pulled over by the State Police for speeding while completely bombed. I was not administered a field sobriety test. On another occasion when I was taken to the emergency room with a .55 BAC, I overheard a nurse say that I hide my drunkenness well. So it comes as absolutely no surprise that she was able to conceal her drinking from everyone around her.

2. Alcoholism is a unique disorder in that it is a disease, but it is also a symptom of some other problem. Personally, having had a cheating spouse, all the red flags are there in this case. I can't really articulate why, but there is something "off" about the relationship between the husband and the sister-in-law. There is a level of intimacy there that just shouldn't be there. I think this very well could be the root cause of the drinking, but it's just my conjecture based on my own experiences, and I could be way off. But it could also explain why she so vehemently feels the need to defend her now-dead sister-in-law.

[Alky]

something is wrong wiht aunt diane

Ok, I finished it this evening, and my take on it is that this was murder/suicide. I'm convinced something unseemly was happening between husband and sister-and-law and given her family history, wife was unable to handle it. Call me paranoid, but having lived it, a cheating partner will forever be the bogeyman in my closet.

[SKendall]

something is wrong wiht aunt diane

This documentary has resonated with me all day. She had all of the pre-dispositions of a female alcoholic. Her mother abandoned her and she assumed a maternal role very early. Being perfect was very important to her.

She married a clueless man who was simply another child. She had no marital support. No-one ever saw her drinking, and while this is uncomfortable to say, many closet drinkers take their alcohol in an enema. No-one sees that.

Her husband has to go into denial. But, he is an absolute asshole in denial.