Woman Akiak tells her story of recovery from alcohol addiction

The theme of Akiak School this year is “from difficulties to hope”. Seventh graders spoke with community members in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta Village about this topic to learn journalism skills, in partnership with Alaska Public Media.

For this story, seventh grader Nadine Ayagalria spoke with Akiak community member Lena Foss. Foss is called Maamcuk. Maamcuk is a nice person, funny sometimes. She lives in Akiak, where she gardens, gathers food, cooks for community members, attends church and raises her grandson. He was born in Akiak and has been there most of his life. When I was growing up, I used to have an alcoholic family.

“My family was alcoholic because we had a lot of money,” Maamcuk said. “There was commercial fishing. They used to fish on Mondays and Thursdays, and buy them: three dollars a pound for a fish. On my boat we would have over $3,000 in money, and most of that money went into drinking.”

As Maamcuk grew older, she also became addicted to alcohol.

“I drank, I abused alcohol, I abused my children,” Maamcuk said. “I did bad things. I lost my kids to (The Office of Children’s Services) because I was rich in Permanent Funds, and I go to Anchorage and spend my money. But after losing my kids, I’m changing my life. I’m changing my life where I don’t make alcohol number one. And it’s hard because people always say, ‘Maamcuk, do you want a drink?’ And it’s hard for me to say ‘no’, but sometimes I say ‘yes’. But now my husband and I are looking at this challenge. It’s an addiction.”

Maamcuk tries to stop drinking, but it is difficult. It makes her lose friends and feel isolated and alone. And sometimes when she wants someone to be with her, no one is there.

“I had good friends,” Maamcuk said. “Now they’re not even my friends because I don’t want to join them drinking. Now they don’t even talk to me. When I was drinking, they were my best friends. It’s a challenge because I feel like I have no friends. You can be my friend and say “hello”? Because you know, when you say “hello,” it means the world to some people, because we’re all alone out there and we’re secretly hurting inside. And when people say “hello,” it makes you want to live. At least there is someone who is willing to say “hello” to you.

But she said her husband is always there for her, even on her lowest days.

“He’s my supplier,” Maamcuk said. “He takes me boating. He makes sure I have wood. He makes sure my freezer is full. He makes sure my engines run. He’s a mechanic. He’s a hunter. He’s my best husband on earth. M ‘help raise my grandchildren’.

Now that Maamcuk is feeling better, she is starting to do things for the community like cooking, growing food, keeping the environment clean and trying to encourage other people. Some days he prays and has words of hope.

“My favorite is ‘this too shall pass,'” Maamcuk said. “But it’s really hard when you’re down and out, because it was instilled in us by our parents, our grandparents. We all go through hardships, whether it’s today or tomorrow, but there will always be a bright light at the end. You won’t be sad all the time You won’t be struggling all the time. Things will be given to you. And you know what. I believe in God in our higher power.”

Maamcuk said that God always sends someone to him on his bad days. Her father once told her to believe in herself, and she does.

This story was produced as part of Alaska Public Media’s Community Wellness Project, a collaborative initiative with rural Alaskans to talk about what wellness means to them. Some stories are told by community members who work as citizen reporters. Unlike other journalistic projects, participants participate in the editing process and give consent to the final version of the story. Interviewees may receive small fees for sharing their knowledge and time. Citizen journalists are paid for their work. This project is funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.