Weymouth native tackles addiction in new book

Dan Farish said he has never met anyone who struggled with alcohol or drug dependency who did not have a poor self-esteem or were dealing with physical or emotional abuse.

Farish said a dysfunctional home he grew up in on Washington Street in Idlewell during the 1960s and early 1970s helped set the stage for him to abuse alcohol, a struggle he details in 3 Steps To Recovery, a book on sale at local bookstores.

My parents never drank at all, said Farish, who now lives in Washington State and works as a substance abuse recovery coach My father had major anger problems and my mother was subservient to him. There was a lot of unhappiness in the house. My father would go to work angry, and hed come home angry. My mother was in denial all the time.

Farish said his father would sometimes strike his sister.

He was always looking for someone to bully, he said. If he saw kids riding a mini-bike, he would call the police. I caught a lot of flak for that.

Both of Farishs parents are deceased, and he said his home life, coupled with some bullying he endured as a middle school student, encouraged him to seek relief in alcohol.

Alcohol for me was a confidence-builder, he said. When I was 14, I was ostracized by everyone. I did not dare to go outside because I was afraid kids would be waiting for me outside.

Farish said his quiet demeanor encouraged some kids to bully him.

Kids would say I was a (homosexual), Farish said. I remember being outside Central Junior High School, and Id go out the back gate and there would be 12 kids waiting for me. They had a good time punching, kicking and spitting on me. I learned how to be the first one to be out of the school before they were when the bell rang and I learned how to run.

Farish said his confidence changed for the better at age 15 when he drank some liquor at home.

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Weymouth native tackles addiction in new book