Intervention Directory
Alcohol
Episode 245: Abbie
Season 19, Episode 3
Abbie
Age: 26
Location: Marquette, Michigan
Addiction: Alcohol
What’s Memorable: That the ex-husband who horrifically abused her and triggered her addiction, after having gone through anger management, has somehow become the better parent. That’s saying a lot. When he apologizes during the intervention for hurting her, her response is really emotional and I imagine pretty cathartic. Also it’s amazing how powerful the force of wanting to be a better parent is to most addicts. It’s quite often that the children are the reason why they decide to go to treatment and it was definitely the biggest reason in Abbie’s case.
Official Synopsis: Abbie was a young mom with dreams of going to college for photography. But she was hiding a dark secret from her family. Her boyfriend, and father of her daughter, had become physically and mentally abusive. The beatings escalated, and Abbie ended up in surgery after a punch to the face shattered bones and required three metal plates. Abbie began drinking excessively to cope with the abuse. Though she finally pressed charges after he threw boiling soup on her, Abbie is now a fullblown alcoholic. Her parents are raising her daughter while Abbie lives nearby with a new boyfriend who enables her addiction. Her alcoholism has gotten so bad that Abbie already has chronic liver, kidney, and bone marrow damage. Without help, Abbie’s family fears that her daughter will lose her mom for good.
Date Aired: June 2018
Interventionist: Ken
Episode 244: Jackie R.
Season 19, Episode 2
Jackie R
Age: 45
Location: Bellefonte, Pennsylvania
Addiction: Alcohol (white wine)
What’s Memorable: Ooof. I don’t know if it was the story or the people or the fact that so many of Jackie’s behaviors and justifications were uncomfortably familiar, but I found this episode to be really powerful. It reminded me a lot of Sylvia’s episode with the whole graduation event – watching her be totally committed to going and then slowly over the day getting drunker and drunker, convincing herself she’ll be fine and there’s nothing to worry about, having someone there watching her to make sure she doesn’t get too drunk to go. It’s painful watching people watch over an addict like that, there’s such a shared sense of dread and helplessness. The moment when Jackie asks for a drink during her intervention and immediately understands how bad that sounds and bursts into tears, I mean damn. I burst into tears right along with her. Jackie’s family was amazing and kudos to Sylvia for another job well done. I imagine she related to Jackie pretty strongly. She’s also just very good at this.
Official Synopsis: On the surface, Jackie had it all: a large tight knit family, a devoted husband, two beautiful sons, and a nursing career. But unbeknownst to anyone, Jackie found herself stuck in a loveless marriage. For 15 years she put on the happy face, but gradually began to drink and before she knew it, she was a full-blown alcoholic guzzling up to a gallon of wine a day. In 2015, her marriage dissolved, and after three wrecked cars and a DUI, she lost her RN license. Her bottom should have been a near fatal OD in Feb. 2017, but Jackie continues to drink, and her family and sons are helpless to save her.
Date Aired: June 2018
Interventionist: Sylvia
Barry (Intervention Canada)
Season 15, Episode 5
Barry
Age: 50
Location: Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, Canada
Addiction: Alcohol
What’s Memorable: The father/son relationship, the hopeful ending.
Official Synopsis: Hailing from a small seaside town in Nova Scotia, Barry, 50, was born into a life of alcoholism and turmoil. The victim of childhood abuse at the hands of a close relative, Barry learned to drink with his alcoholic mother as a boy. Both were seeking a way to kill the pain. A gentle giant when sober, but violent and verbally abusive when spiraling on 40 ounces of vodka a day, Barry has alienated just about everyone in his life, including his father, whom he adores, and his 27-year-old son who has cut off all contact. Living day-to-day in run-down motels and struggling to put together a living between binges, Barry has a chance to reclaim his life, his family, and a relationship with his son who has shut him out of his life.
Date Aired:
Interventionist: Maureen
Holley (Intervention Canada)
Season 2, Episode 11 of Intervention Canada
Holley
Age: 28
Location: Cambridge, Ontario, Canada
Addiction: Alcohol
What’s Memorable: How drunk she gets during the day while she’s taking care of her kids and how great the family was doing after she got help.
Official Synopsis: At the age of 16, Holley witnessed her mother cheating on the father she adored. The strain between mother and daughter never eased and Holley, now 28, acted out through raging alcohol and cocaine abuse. An important member of a loving extended family, Holley’s relatives watched in horror as she gave birth to and raised three children in the dangerous fog of addiction. Her family must now act — to save the children from their mother, and their mother from almost certain death.
Date Aired: November 2012
Interventionist: Andrew
Sarah (Intervention Canada)
Season 15, Episode 20
Sarah
Age: Early 20’s
Location: Trenton, Ontario, Canada
Addiction: Alcohol
What’s Memorable: Seeing someone as young and bright as Sarah waste away drunk in a crappy motel room is always so sad. The followup was fantastic, so glad she was able to get it together.
Official Synopsis: Hopeful college student succumbs to reckless alcohol abuse while coping with “survivor’s guilt.
Date Aired: August 2016
Interventionist: Maureen
Alex (Intervention Canada)
Season 17, Episode 7
Alex
Age: 25
Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Addiction: Alcohol
What’s Memorable: You could just see how desperate Alex was for his talent to be recognized and how much pain it caused him to never feel good enough, and during the intervention he was so self-aware and honest about his addiction, it was all pretty moving. You can tell he was serious about putting everything he has into his sobriety and being healthy, using his music to heal instead of to prove something. He ended up being very inspiring in the end didn’t he?
Official Synopsis: The only child of a single mother and world-class fiddle player, Alex was surrounded by music from birth. His mother married when Alex was five, but after a few years the marriage deteriorated and life became difficult at home. Friction with his stepfather left Alex increasingly isolated and he turned to the fiddle to try and gain acceptance. Alex’s skill developed and he had some early recognition, but living in his mother’s musical shadow was difficult and he began to compensate with alcohol as a young teenager. Just as Alex was beginning his professional career, his mother and stepfather divorced. The combination of his family’s dysfunction and life spent on the road soon turned his fondness for drink into a debilitating, fall-down addiction. Now in his mid-twenties, Alex’s career is at a standstill and his health is rapidly deteriorating. Without an intervention, he could lose his career, his family and his life.
Date Aired: September 2017
Interventionist: Maureen
Robby (Intervention Canada)
Season 16, Episode 9
Robby (Robyn)
Age: 45
Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Addiction: Alcohol (vodka)
What’s Memorable: That was excruciating on several levels. Obviously the level of drunkenness Robby gets to is outrageous and troubling, but I was most disturbed by the fact that her family for the most part is ignoring the major trigger at hand – Robby is struggling in her transition and desperately needs their validation. She needs to know that they will allow her to be a woman, to see her as a woman, and she’s just not getting it from them. I understand that Janet and others think the alcoholism needs to be addressed before the transgenderism, and of course there’s truth to the urgency of the drinking problem, but I also don’t think they should ignore that fact that whenever she’s wasted she goes on and on about her gender and “what” she is, asking them how they see her. I also get how hard it must be for a family to suddenly change pronouns and think of their husband/father as a wife/mother. That’s obviously not an easy thing to do. But it’s been 5 years! Seems like that should have been enough time for them to get used to the idea and start using “she” instead of “he” all the time. The whole genderfluid thing seemed like she was coming up with something to make it easier on her family to accept, not that she was actually confused. She didn’t seem confused about her gender at all, she seemed unsupported and therefore tentative. I don’t know, I just feel like maybe they could have made more of an effort to acknowledge Robby’s gender instead of treating it like an annoyance and avoiding talking to her about it, especially given how much pain that exact thing was clearly causing her. Although who knows, we only saw short pieces of their life together, maybe they’re making more of an effort than it looked like in the episode. And also maybe she’d still be drinking that much even if everyone around her considered her a woman already. Addiction is complicated like that. I was deeply saddened at the end when she left treatment and didn’t communicate with the producers. I really wanted some semblance of closure on this one and that was about as ambiguous as it gets. I hope she’s ok.
Update: Robyn Stoneburg (Robert Ryan Stoneburg) died November 7th, 2017. The cause of death was reported by a friend as cancer. Death Notice
Official Synopsis: Five years ago Robby came out to his wife of twenty-nine years and two sons as transgender, exploding their world and Robby’s own in the process. Already a heavy drinker, Robby’s drinking intensified after coming out. Now, terrified of losing her wife, and being alone for the first time in her life, Robby has become a blackout drunk, downing up to forty ounces of vodka a day. Once a fun-loving partier, Robby has become increasingly violent when drunk. The family fears for Robby’s safety as well as their own. Without an intervention, Robby is in danger of losing her family forever. (Canadian produced.)
Date Aired: December 2016
Interventionist: Maureen
Episode 69: Phillip
Season 4, Episode 21
Phillip
Age: 44
Location: Southern California
Addiction: Alcohol (Peppermint Schnapps)
What’s memorable: How much potential he had in the music industry before he started drinking, the sad but loving he has relationship with his daughter, how much he shakes when he needs to drink, the fact that he’s drinking Peppermint Schnapps. And that amazing followup. He looked so good!
Official Synopsis: A 44-year-old singer and songwriter, Phillip used music to escape the pain of an unstable childhood. He gained fame due to his charisma and musical talents, but Phillip now consumes up to four pints of peppermint schnapps a day. He lost his career, the love of his life, and the respect of his family. Can Phillip break the grip of addiction before he loses the most precious relationship in his life, the one he shares with his 11-year-old daughter?
Original Air Date: August 2008
Interventionist: Jeff
Episode 227: Joshua B.
Season 17, Episode 3
Joshua B.
Age: 34
Location: Raleigh, North Carolina
Addiction: Hand Sanitizer
What’s Memorable: None of the people in this episode are in denial. Not Josh, not his family, not his ex-wife. They all know exactly what’s up, they know Josh is killing himself, and they’re willing to do what needs to be done to save him. Josh, despite his threats to throw himself off a bridge if this is an intervention, calmly accepts that if all these people are willing to do this for him, they must care. That’s what he didn’t know before, and that is what so much of Intervention is about. The fact that these important people in your life are willing to do something so freaking dramatic because they’re THAT worried about you, because they care THAT much, it’s got to be a huge wake up call. Joshua, you seem smart, resilient and kind and you’ve got a lot of people rooting for you. You can absolutely do this.
Official Synopsis: By the age of 21, Joshua had the world in his hands. A six-figure salary managing a dozen convenient stores, marriage, and owner of his own home, Joshua was a great provider for his wife and her children. But a back surgery in 2010 led to a severe addiction to pain pills that morphed into an extraordinary addiction to hand sanitizer that has cost him everything. Now, his family is petrified that without help, Joshua’s his addiction will blind him, cause a massive stroke, or death by organ failure.
Date Aired: August 2017
Interventionist: Sylvia
Episode 223: Diana
Season 16, Episode 7
Diana
Age: 29
Location: Beuna Park, California
Addiction: Alcohol
What’s Memorable: Ken knocked this one out of the park. He developed a strategy for getting her to say yes based on what he knew about the family dynamics, and it worked. He knew exactly what she needed to hear. Well done Ken.
Official Synopsis: In three years, Diana’s alcoholism has gotten so bad that it has led her to being diagnosed with Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome, an alcohol-related brain disorder, which recently landed her in the hospital with temporary paralysis and a feeding tube… which she poured vodka into! Diana’s addiction has destroyed her career, her relationships, and now her health. Her parents know that if she doesn’t get help now, she won’t live to celebrate her 30th birthday. Ken Seeley is Diana’s Interventionist.
Date Aired: Jan 2017
Interventionist: Ken
Episode 221: Kristie
Season 16, Episode 5
Kristie
Age: 31
Location: Macedon, New York
Addiction: Alcohol, inhalants (duster)
Official Synopsis: Kristie dreamed of being a museum curator and was getting her masters degree at Johns Hopkins University. But a childhood diagnosis of OCD caused by anxiety, worsened and caused her to drop out of school and begin to self medicate with alcohol. Though she married three years ago, her addiction ultimately spiraled out of control to include a large mix of drugs and huffing. She’s been admitted to the hospital several times this year alone and after her husband divorced her, Kristie hit rock bottom and now her family fears that without help, she will soon die. Ken Seeley is Kristie’s Interventionist.
Date Aired: Dec 2016
Interventionist: Ken
Episode 214: Brian N.
Season 15, Episode 14
Brian N.
Age: 43
Location: Miami, Oklahoma
Addiction: Alcohol
What’s Memorable: How much Oklahoma City still affects him, the strength it must have taken to do the job he did, his wife having to drive herself to the hospital when she was in labor because he was passed out. Also, the distant vacancy on his face when he’s drunk and the way he reacts to his mother taking care of him. Some of the things she said really struck me – calling him ‘white trash’ and his internet date ‘some floozy’ – and make me wonder if there were class expectations set for Brian that he struggled to live up to.
Official Synopsis: Brian had it all. He married his high school sweetheart, had two beautiful children, and became the owner/director of his family’s successful funeral home in Oklahoma. But while assisting with the recovery of bodies during the Oklahoma City bombings – including those in the building’s nursery – Brian fell apart and turned to alcohol for comfort and never turned back. He’s now lost his wife, kids, and career due to his addiction, and his family feels that at the rate he’s going, the next funeral will be for him.
Note: The above ‘official synopsis’ from A&E has some details and the sequence of events out of order, and it really creates a different story than reality. He didn’t start drinking heavily right after Oklahoma. He was a 21 year old apprentice when the tragedy happened and became owner/director of his own funeral home years later, and that’s when the drinking got bad. I feel like that’s an important difference.
Date Aired: July 2016
Interventionist: Jeff
Episode 212: Daniel M.
Season 15, Episode 12
Daniel M.
Age: 43
Location: Laguna Niguel, California
Addiction: Alcohol (vodka)
What’s Memorable: This one is painful. Taking care of someone who could literally die if they don’t get alcohol into their system is beyond exhausting and constantly terrifying. Making sure they have enough alcohol in order to stay alive another day while knowing that you’re helping them stay addicted, it’s just too much. And then also having to watch them take a bunch of pills that could easily result in an overdose and not being able to do anything about it? No one should ever have to deal with that kind of turmoil. I have nothing but empathy for Sandi and their family and friends. They did what they had to do to keep him alive, and calling Intervention may have been the thing that actually saved his life. I really hope so, he has a lot to live for and his family deserves to be happy.
Official Synopsis: Daniel is a well-respected Paranormal expert. However, his sensitivity leaves him tormented by those entities needing to cross to the other side. Daniel is now consuming a gallon of vodka per day to quiet the voices. That, combined with easy access to pain meds and opiates Daniel takes for his lupus diagnosis, has left him spiraling out of control. His family fears that it is only a matter of time before he is lost inside a world he cannot escape.
Date Aired: June 2016
Interventionist: Candy
Episode 206: Kacy
Season 15, Episode 3
Kacy
Age: 39
Location: Garrison, North Dakota
Addiction: Alcohol (vodka)
What’s Memorable: Given the dramatic spiral from success to rock bottom, non-functional alcoholism, it’s a shame the show didn’t spend a little more time on how Kacy got to this place she’s in now. The trauma she endured and how it affected it her deserved more than what felt like a mention in passing. Seemed like the producers were overly focused on the shock factor of how bad her addiction was. Anyway, a few things she said gave me chills. “I’m scared to death…of not having the next drink.” And when she’s walking home from the liquor store in her pajamas, talking about how just having the alcohol in the house calmed her down and made her feel like it was gonna be okay. Yeah. I can relate to that. The followup was brutal, I wish there was more information given about what put her in the hospital.
Official Synopsis: A successful businesswoman who became a multimillionaire in her 20’s, Kacy tragically lost her infant child to SIDS. She then lost her fortune, her marriage and a healthy relationship with her surviving children as she spiralled into binge drinking. Now penniless, she is hospitalised multiple times a month, and her family is desperate to save her life.
Date Aired: March 2016
Interventionist: Candy
Episode 204: Kaeleen
Season 15, Episode 1
Kaeleen
Age: 25
Location: Helena, Montana
Addiction: Alcohol, benzos
What’s Memorable: The opening video diary cam segment, the anorexia photos, how messy and disoriented she gets, the admission to her mom that she sleeps with guys for alcohol money, stumbling down the street after getting booted from a dive bar, trying to convince her ex boyfriend to let her come over. And that cop? Not trained well.
Official Synopsis: Musically gifted, intelligent, and beautiful, everyone assumed Kaeleen was destined for great things. But what nobody knew was that from age four to eleven, Kaeleen was methodically sexually abused. Now Kaeleen lives in her own world of mental anguish. To numb the pain, she self medicates with opiates and alcohol. Her family knows that without help, this girl with so many gifts is destined for an early death.
Original Air Date: March 2016
Interventionist: Ken
Episode 200: David
Season 14, Episode 11
David
Age: 26
Location: Roseville, California
Addiction: Meth and alcohol
What’s memorable: His meth-induced paranoia and psychosis, how much his friend Jessie loves him and would do for him, the bizarre, enfuriating intervention and the awesome followup. Ken was amazing in this one. And by amazing I mean “Good god how does he deal with this relentless abuse and keep his composure?”
Official Synopsis: The sons and nephew of Major League Baseball stars, David struggled not only with being compared to his athletic family, but also with his own sexuality. Acting out turned to alcoholism and meth addiciton, and it wasn’t long before David found himself dumpster diving and sleeping behind stores in his family’s upscale neighborhood.
Original Air Date: August 2015
Interventionist: Ken
Episode 192: Bryceton
Season 14, Episode 8
Bryceton
Age: 41
Location: Brandon, Florida
Addiction: Alcohol and spice (I just had to add a new category for this first time in years)
What’s memorable: Well that was quite the ride. Bryceton seems like a pretty fun and interesting person trapped in the life of an addict, treating people like crap and in full denial about how his behavior is affecting the people who love him. I think this episode may have had more bleeps that any other in the history of Intervention. Man is he a scary dude when he’s high. On spice. WTF, SPICE? Is he just doing it instead of actual weed because it doesn’t show up on piss tests? I loved the follow up, and I will remember this quote forever: “When I look in the mirror I see a loser; a loser trying to convince himself he’s a winner.” That gave me chills for some reason.
Official Synopsis: A talented singer-songwriter, Bryceton’s addicton to alcohol and spice (synthetic marijuana) is completely out of control. His wife struggles to raise their son while coping with Bryceton’s erratic behavior, but she’s fighting a losing battle.
Original Air Date: May 2015
Interventionist: Jeff (JVV!)
Episode 159: Dorothy
Season 11 Episode 6
Dorothy
Age: Early 20’s?
Location: Charleston, South Carolina
Addiction: Alcohol, cutting
What’s memorable: Her parents had to lock their door when she was 14 because they thought she was gonna kill them. How much her stepdad loathes her and how his wife helps her. “I feel like I’m not gonna accomplish anything in my life. Sometimes I think my life doesn’t have any meaning. Sometimes I don’t even wanna be alive.” – Dorothy
Official Synopsis: Neglected as a child by her alcoholic mother, Dorothy is now lost in a haze of drugs, alcohol, and self-inflicted cuts and burns.
Original Air Date: February 2012
Interventionist: Candy
Episode 189: Daniel
Season 14, Episode5
Daniel
Age: 29
Location: Omaha, Nebraska
Addiction: Alcohol, some meth
What’s memorable: This kid had a rough life, no surprise he drinks too much. But wow does he drink too much. And the way he gets when he’s drunk: self-absorbed, messy, emotional, intimidating, dominant. I’ve known a lot of people who get like this when they’re drunk and they’re incredibly difficult to be around if you’re not just as drunk as they are. Which brings us to his relationship with his girlfriend Sarrah. He says “I’d give up my whole family for Sarrah” but their connection is probably based more on a shared love of drinking than anything else. (I’ve been in several eerily similar drunken relationships. They were intense and unhealthy and entirely dependent on alcohol to survive. They never ended well). I don’t recall if they show said she got sober too but I really hope so. I love what Daniel said after he accepted treatment: “How am I gonna turn all these people down? Everyone I love?” Seems like that’s the reason why a lot of the addicts on this show accept the treatment. Intervention works, dammit!
Synopsis: Daniel could have pursued a career as a songwriter, but a series of personal tragedies culminating in his father’s death led him to abuse a dangerous combination of alcohol and meth. Recently Daneil resumed a romantic relationship with Sarrah, a fellow addict who supplies Daniel with alcohol, and their booze-fuled nights escalate his already serious addiciton to deadly lows.
Original Air Date: April 2015
Interventionist: Candy
Episode 188: Theresa
Season 14, Episode 4
Theresa
Age: 43
Location: Raceland, Louisiana
Addiction: Alcohol
What’s memorable: She’s been an alcoholic for 25 years, suffers from cirrhosis, drinks beer from her bed all day long unless she goes to the one bar in town that hasn’t 86’d her yet. The argument with her daughter was hard to watch. I enjoyed her follow up with Candy – she seemed down to earth and realistic but grateful that her health was improving so much and committed to her sobriety.
Synopsis: Theresa swore she wouldn’t end up like her mother who was a raging alcoholic. However, years later after several failed relationships and children, Theresa finds herself drinking uncontrollably–to the point that even cirrhosis of the liver isn’t enough to make her stop. Her daughter says she’s at rock bottom, close to death, and her family knows that an intervention is their last hope.
Original Air Date: April 2015
Interventionist: Candy
Episode 182: Sandi
Season 12, Episode 15
Sandi
Age: 64
Location: North Aurora, Illinois
Addiction: Alcohol (gin)
What’s memorable: The relationship with her adult daughter and the things they say to each other – disturbing and heartbreaking. After watching the episode a 2nd time after finally getting my own mother into rehab only to have her leave after 5 days, I have a much more empathetic understanding of daughter’s Andrea’s feelings (or lack thereof). There comes a point when the only way to protect yourself from being sucked into the emotional manipulation is to convince yourself you don’t care what happens to them. Of course you care, and you’ll eventually have an emotional response, but right now it’s just easier to act like you don’t and to try to move on with your life. Andrea finally letting her guard down and begging her mom to get help, that’s what got Sandi into treatment and it saved their relationship. But I totally get what took Andrea so long to get there.
Official Synopsis: Sandi, 64, is a vivacious, spunky and fun grandmother who loves gardening. But as her drinking escalates throughout the day, Sandi turns her gin-fueled anger on her 88-year-old mother and her 45-year-old daughter, alienating everyone in her wake.
Original Air Date: December 2012
Interventionist: Donna
Episode 72: Ed and Bettina
Season 4, Episode 25
Ed and Bettina
Age: 53 and 49
Location: Utah
Addiction: Alcohol
What’s Memorable: Dear god, this one. I’ve seen it probably 12 times and the dysfunction/codependency gets me every time. Married almost 30 years, became alcoholics together only 5 years ago, and now they’ve lost almost everything. Their kids break my heart.
Official Synopsis: Ed, 53, and Bettina, 49, had a picture-perfect life, including three adoring kids, a dream home, sports cars, motorcycles, and a respected place in their church community. But six years ago, Ed made a bad career move and ended up unemployed. He and Bettina lost everything they had worked for. They began to drink, and quickly became alcoholics. Ed has been hospitalized for internal bleeding, and Bettina for withdrawals so excruciating she thought she was dying. Their children have begged them to stop drinking, but it only strengthens the bond between Ed and Bettina, leaving the children to wonder, “How do you intervene on a married couple?”
Original Air Date: September 2008
Interventionist: Candy
Episode 146: Penny Lee
Season 10, Episode 6
Penny Lee
Age: 48
Location: Waipahu, Hawaii
Addiction: Alcohol (beer)
What’s memorable: The crazytown drunken rants, how she quit her long-term job because she wanted to drink, how guilty her son feels about going to live with their dad, how she’s forced to babysit her grandson and has to beg to get paid for it because her daughter knows she’d buy beer with it. “If they feel they can’t trust me with money, then why trust me with my grandson?” Penny Lee does make sense sometimes. The intervention is a powerful one.
“We’re gonna do our very best to heal your whole family. You don’t ever have to live this way again” – Candy
“Thank you.” – Penny Lee
Legacy Update: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6948A1pZh4
Official Synopsis: Living in a small Hawaiian village, Penny-Lee has an infectious laugh and loves to have fun. But despite having a good family life and four children to be proud of, she’s an out-of-control alcoholic who spends most of her time alone, screaming and crying out to no one as she downs beer after beer. An intervention is her family’s last hope for their beloved family matriarch.
Original Air Date: July 2011
Interventionist: Candy
Episode 79: Anthony
Season 5 Episode 9
Anthony
Age: 22
Location: Wayne County, Indiana
Addiction: Alcohol (vodka)
What’s memorable: “It’s a sick love affair and I’m a hopeless romantic.” – Anthony. Oh, Anthony. Such a sad lost soul. His alcoholism is so advanced for his age, he’s been hospitalized 12 times in 3 months for alcohol poisoning. And what a mess he is when he’s drunk. He’s got a very sad and tragic story, never feeling welcome in his own family and losing his brother after taking care of him and even donating his bone marrow. The followup is uplifting, really hope it took.
Official Synopsis:
From an early age, Anthony’s father made him feel worthless. His parents divorced, and his mother remarried, but she was still unhappy and turned to alcohol and drugs. It was little wonder, then, that Anthony began drinking at age 13. Another blow came when Anthony’s younger brother died of leukemia. Anthony spiraled downward, and now he drinks half a gallon of vodka a day and takes whatever drugs he can find.
Original Air Date: January 2009
Interventionist: Ken
Episode 108: Jackie
Season 7 Episode 7
Jackie
Age: 42 -ish
Location: South – maybe North Carolina?
Addiction: Alcohol (wine)
What’s memorable: It’s weird how Jackie says she isn’t an alcoholic but hides her wine bottles around the house and wraps them up when she throws them out so she doesn’t have to hear the clinking. Not to mention having completely lost her daughter as a result of her drinking. I mean how many more signs does she need?
Official Synopsis:
Once known as the “the prettiest girl in town,” Jackie had a promising career as a radiation therapist. She became a wealthy doctor’s wife, a country club member, and a proud mother. But Jackie was haunted by childhood traumas. She was devastated when her father died when she was 13. And as an overweight adolescent, she was teased with the nickname “Fat Jack” and felt she was never as good as her pretty sister. After Jackie’s second pregnancy ended in a miscarriage, she turned to alcohol. She’s had three failed stints in rehab and an ugly divorce. Today, Jackie drinks two bottles of wine a day and regularly suffers broken bones and bruises in her drunken state.
Original Air Date: January 2010
Interventionist: Candy
Episode 145: Larry
Season 10, Episode 5
Larry
Age: 32
Location: East Orange, New Jersey
Addiction: Alcohol (Brandy)
What’s memorable: The fact that he beats his wife when he’s drunk, and she’s so in love with him and won’t ever leave him. And that failed intervention was a doozy. Too bad everyone couldn’t have gotten on board.
Official Synopsis:
Growing up with parents who demanded hard work, Larry rebelled with a life of crime. Today, he drinks a fifth of brandy a day even though he’s a spiritual man whose religion prohibits alcohol. Can an intervention save Larry from being ostracized by his spiritual community?
Original Air Date: July 2011
Interventionist: Jeff
Episode 184: Sean
Season 12, Episode 19
Sean
Age: 32
Location: Salem, Massachussettes
Addiction: Alcohol (vodka)
What’s memorable: Sean is one very likable dude, that’s what I’ll remember. Also, the condescending, good-life-choices brother, the co-dependent “Drunk Sean is who I fell in love with” wife Jules, the family that all denies that what Sean says happened when he was a kid actually happened. How much must it suck to not have anyone in your family believe you about something so huge? And the way Jules came through at the last minute, after Sean basically said he would disappear into the night with her if that’s what she wanted. Good on you, Jules. Good on you.
Official Synopsis: A gregarious man with an intense personality, 32 year-old Sean’s alcohol addiction is causing him to blackout and suffer seizures, which have his wife and family on edge.
Original Air Date: February 2013
Interventionist: Jeff
Episode 172: Cher
Season 12, Episode 10
Cher
Age: 50
Location: Dana Point, California
Addiction: Alcohol (vodka)
What’s memorable: Cher’s alcoholism seems to have made her a pretty awful person to be around. She’s just so mean and needy and sensitive, so desperate for attention; the things she does and says to try and force her family to “love” her, to treat her the way she thinks she deserves to be treated. The way she harangues her dying father and tries to make her daughter feel guilty for having her own life is just horrific. The followup was briefly awesome.
Official Synopsis: Loud and spunky 50-year old alcohol addiction has led to liver damage and is driving a wedge between herself and her family.
Original Air Date: October 2012
Interventionist: Seth
Episode 173: Ryan
Season 12, Episode 9
Ryan
Age: 25
Location: Saugerties, New York
Addiction: Alcohol (beer)
What’s memorable: Damn. Now THAT’S an Intervention. Memorable stuff in Ryan’s story – being disabled, his good deeds, his terribly low sense of self-worth, his pregnant fiance getting arrested during his fight – but that Intervention, that he found out about and STILL went to, willingly (although fully prepared to say no thanks), was just awesome. You could just see him slowly realizing that they were right and he desperately needed help. The stuff his parents said obviously had a huge impact, and the fact that the fiancee who was pissed about the whole thing actually came around and ultimately convinced him to go – it was all just incredibly powerful and amazing. And that followup, sheesh. Glad I had tissues.
Official Synopsis: Ryan, 25, is a sweet, sensitive man whose alcohol addiction is spiraling out of control as he and his fiance are expecting their first child in a matter of months.
Original Air Date: October 2012
Interventionist: Candy
Episode 169: Susie and Miriam
Season 12, Episode 8
Susie
Age: 41
Location: Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Addiction: Crack
Miriam
Age: 41
Location: Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Addiction: Alcohol
What’s memorable: The abuse they suffered and how Susie would take the brunt of it to protect her sisters, the amount of violence she experiences now as a result of her addiction, the weird dynamics the twins have, the awesome followup and how amazing and healthy they both looked after treatment. Really there’s lots going on in this one, but what will stick with me the most is Miriam giving in and smoking crack with her sister after everyone was talking about how worried they were that she’d relapse if she spent too much time with her. That scene was harrowing.
Official Synopsis: Attractive, charismatic 41 year-old twins, Susie and Miriam, battle crack and alcohol addictions and each other as their career success and families slowly slip away.
Original Air Date: October 2012
Interventionist: Candy
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