Lisa Grantham

Lisa Grantham has been in recovery from alcoholism since October 2004. She and her husband actively participate in twelve-step programs and have a sixteen-year-old son. Lisa is currently at work on a memoir, Soul, Eclipsed. She has been published in the AA Grapevine and has ghostwritten two books related to alcohol and drug addiction and twelve-step recovery. “Jumping Off Place” is an excerpt from the memoir, Soul, Eclipsed.

Jumping Off Place

Since I learned I was pregnant, every drink has been my last. But I haven’t stopped. I can’t. I keep promising myself I’ll give it up tomorrow. But I’m out of tomorrows. My baby either has fetal alcohol syndrome, or he doesn’t. Abstinence is no longer about my son’s well-being. Now it’s about getting a few days sober so I won’t go into withdrawal in the delivery room or give the staff a reason to test my baby for alcohol.