Personal Stories

Web Exclusive: Around the World With a Bottle

After years of booze, jails and despair, an American finally gets sober in Portugal

Next stop, recovery. All aboard!

“To get sober” was certainly not the reason I bought a ruined farmhouse in the Algarve Province of Portugal. Instead, it looked like a good place to drink. Isolated and in disrepair for 20 years. It was just like me.

I was born in California, an only child. My father's side of the family had a history of alcoholism dating back to the mid-1800s when four brothers immigrated from Wales. His parents did not drink nor allow it in the house. None of their children were interested in this idea, however. We don't know how my father would have handled alcohol, as he died during an... Login to read more
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