My daughter was the second sex addict who deeply affected my life. Her sexaholism drew her into a relationship with a person who was on probation and had a criminal record. She would listen to no one; she had all the answers. At one point she came home to live, but I was no longer willing to enable a sex addict. I was becoming a healthier person; she was becoming less and less healthy. We very much wanted that mother/daughter relationship. We would cry about it, and we would talk about it, but it just wasn’t possible. I confronted her with my suspicions and concerns and told her that she would have to move out out if she didn’t stop acting out. She went back to her husband, but what followed was a fast downward spiral that ended disastrously for her. Although it is still painful to reflect upon, I believe I am at peace now with the fact that we were not able to connect during the times when the disease of sexaholism was active.
Reprinted from Working the S-Anon Program, 2nd Edition, page 80.