Shelly had an unhappy childhood. Her father loved her, but her mother made no secret of the fact that her brother was number one with her. To complicate matters, her father was an alcoholic and didn't have time to devote to Shelly or family activities. Most of the time, she was alone. She had one friend with whom she spent time, but never opened up to; her life was a closed book. Almost immediately after high school graduation, Shelly met and married a man whose greatest desire was to have a son. But even though they had three children, they were all girls, while her brother and his wife had two boys. Her husband's disappointment led him to commit adultery, leaving Shelly alone and lonely. She found solace in caring for her three daughters during the day and consuming alcohol at night when they were asleep. Her parents' marriage ended in divorce and her father went to another state to live and became seriously ill. Shelly missed him terribly. Her drinking became worse. She reconnected with her high school friend, Ann, who spent a great deal of time with her until she met a man and started spending time with him. When Shelly reunited with her husband, her mother was very angry and told her she was a fool to take him back after all he'd done She refused to come around as long as he was a part of the family. Shelly kept finding herself with no one except her friend in the liquor cabinet. When she reached the breaking point, she phoned her brother, who tried to help, but it was too late to reach Shelly.