Kindle Edition Amazon Category:  Self-Help Publisher: Create Space ISBN-10:  0742470297 Type: Non-Fiction Pages: 343 Copyright: 9/25/10 ISBN-13: 9780741460295 Price: $4.99 (eBook) The sequel to Someone Stop This Merry-Go-Round. The struggle of a daughter following the same path as her father with alcohol addiction. This is a powerful memoir of emotional pain after being blind to the signs of alcohol abuse for the second time. This book was written for families who are living in this same dark hole. It talks about the reality of losing a child from this demon. Lori enters into an alcoholic rehab three times to only lose her life from her addiction. The authors talks behind closed doors at halfway homes, court-ordered programs and rehabilitation centers is added to the book.                Excerpt (Family around Lori waiting for the nurse to unplug the life support) “Are you sure Lori won’t know what’s happening to her?” Debbie asked the nurse through her tears. “If you’re worried, I can give her more morphine.” she said. She went to get a needle and injected it into Lori’s IV. I was hyperventilating knowing that we were going to pull the plug on her. I felt that I was killing my baby. The nurse spoke softly to our family, “There’ll be no sudden movements from her, and she’ll go peacefully. We can take the ventilator off her, but I’ll keep the tube in her throat so you won’t hear gurgling sounds. They can upset a family.” I suddenly felt sick and dizzy. Nausea overtook me. Why did she say that to us? My legs were ready to give out. When Al saw my emotional and physical distress, he got me a chair. “Sit down, honey.” I sat in silence. Brian placed a chair for Debbie to sit next to me. I asked Joe Cahill to hold Lori’s other hand. I wanted her to go with the feel of human hands on hers. The nurse walked over to disconnect the ventilator. No, don’t touch her! Please, God, not her too. You took Richie. I’m not going to live through this. I was trying not to become hysterical, fighting the desire to scream at the top of my lungs. I fought to control the urge to go over and reconnect the ventilator. She can’t breathe. Put it back on! I was in a state of horror, although, my body was absolutely still, just staring at my daughter. “It won’t take long,” the nurse said quietly. Lori was in the slow process of dying, and the nurse walked around quietly collecting things to be thrown away after shutting everything down. She had no emotional ties. I watched the monitor as Lori’s vital signs started to fall. Her normal heart rate was erratic with short to long wave lengths. Stop this. Oh, God, her heart is stopping. We’re killing her! I stood up and kissed her, while the tears blinded me. I whispered, “Go to the light, Lori. Jesus is waiting for you. Take everyone’s love with you.” She took two deep breaths. Her eyes suddenly opened and rolled back. The nurse came over and closed her eyes so they wouldn’t frighten anyone, but she was too late to hide the scene. I held her hand tight as one final breath was taken. “It’s okay, honey, I love you.” “Oh, God, No, No, No!” I screamed. My daughter was gone. I cried uncontrollably as Al held me. The other family members left the room in tears. Debbie, Al, and I stayed. I sat looking at my daughter, lying so still; no chest movement or sound of her breathing were seen or heard. My child whom I had carried for nine months, the one who moved inside me, the child to whom I had given birth and watched her lungs fill with air to give her first cry. All the memories of love, her laughter that echoed in rooms, were gone. I had watched her take her first steps; watched her go from a child to a teen, to a young woman, to a mother. Even the bad times were good, because she had been with me. Now, I was there to see her take her last breath. I watched her come into this world, and now watched her leave it. God gives and He takes away, because we belong to Him. Our children are a gift from Our Heavenly Father. In the end, we all return to our Maker. I studied her face and was saddened that it didn’t look like her. I wanted her beautiful, familiar face embedded into my mind forever. How am I going to live knowing that I’ll never see or hold her again in my lifetime? Debbie started to leave the room, and Al came over to me. I tried to stand up but my legs became weak. They felt like jelly and gave out on me. I was crying so hard that I couldn’t walk. The nurse came up to me. She helped lead me out of the room. “Do you need a wheelchair?” she asked. “No,” I answered, but I did. I was ready to collapse. The nurse helped Al support me as we headed down the long corridor to the family room. Just before the door, I saw Joey sitting on the floor against the wall outside the waiting room with his knees bent up to his chest. He dropped his head into his hands sobbing his heart out. Dr. Sousa was bent down trying to console him. This can’t be happening. She was supposed to fight this damn battle. It was like watching a movie that was happening to someone else.

A heart-wrenching story of alcoholism's toxic effect on family
Format: Paperback
While reading "Please, God, Not Two" I couldn't help but develop a true connection to the author's daughter, Lori. I found myself wishing I could reach out to her and help fight the affliction of her alcoholism. Her entire family and circle of friends suffered terribly because of this disease.

The author's story brings you close to the emotions and sense of helplessness that accompanies a situation where only the afflicted has control over the outcome. But that doesn't mitigate the feelings of regret and self-doubt that a parent will assuredly feel. Loved ones will be left with the question, "What could I have done differently to save the life that was needlessly wasted?"

People who drink and feel the slow progression of this disease, must be given this book. Maybe if they see how their drinking will destroy not only their own life, but the lives of those who love them, they may just find the strength to alter the destructive path they are on. My heart goes out to the author, Alberta Sequeira, her husband Al, and her entire family.

Alberta somehow found the will to not only go on, but to try and prevent others from having to experience the same nightmare. As painful as it must have been, I salute her for sharing her story.

Tom Cirignano, author of "The Constant Outsider, Memoirs of a South Boston Mechanic" and "67 Cents: Creation of a Killer".

A Powerful Emotional Story
Author Alberta H. Sequeira has seen her share of tragedy caused by alcoholism. Twenty years after transforming her kind, loving husband into an angry, abusive drunk, the alcohol demon would return; this time claiming Sequeira's youngest daughter, Lori Cahill.

The author's heartfelt memoir Someone Stop this Merry-Go-Round: An Alcoholic Family in Crisis (June 2009) describes a marriage to an alcoholic--an existence filled with sadness and fear. Richard Lopes would ignore his addiction until death from cirrhosis of the liver in 1985. Now this emotional sequel Please God, Not Two: This Killer Called Alcoholism details the tortured life of a mother coming to terms with the fact her daughter is following in her father's deadly footsteps.

Please God, Not Two begins with Alberta and her two daughters in the days after their father's death. Alberta was juggling three jobs to make ends meet and her oldest daughter Debbie would marry her high school sweetheart. Lori's struggles had her skipping school and drinking, and after graduation she moved in with her boyfriend. Terminating a pregnancy would add to Lori's pain and to the distance between Lori and her mother.

Lori's life would see a series of joyful highs and desperate lows over the next several years with marriage, the birth of her two children and successful careers at the Lopes family business. Her husband's career change brought financial problems, straining a marriage that would soon end in divorce. Her husband did not maintain child support, leaving Lori barely able to provide basic food and clothing for her children. Her struggles with alcohol would become more apparent during her second marriage. Lori and her new husband enjoyed frequent parties with friends and family and Alberta couldn't help noticing how drinking to excess was routine at these events. While another marriage crumbled, Lori, stressed with health issues, would make the first of three stays at an alcohol rehab clinic.

As a parent, I couldn't imagine the distress of witnessing one of my children battle this addiction. Sequeira did so knowing full well what was waiting for her daughter if Lori's rehab stints were unsuccessful. Any parent would feel guilt for not noticing the signs of alcoholism sooner and Sequeira fully admits her mistakes and regrets. Creating this memoir could not have been easy and I commend Sequeira's courage for writing so soon after Lori's death.

Please God, Not Two works as a stand alone, however I recommend you read it and the prequel together to obtain full effect of this poignant story. This is a candid look into alcoholism. Sequeira makes no excuses for herself or for her daughter. She writes with the best of intentions--to help others struggling to save a family member caught in the relentless grip of this disease. The information is well presented and Sequeira's experiences are described with a desperate honesty that will have you reaching for tissues in many scenes.

by William R. Potter for Reader's Choice Book Reviews

Please, God, Not Two
An AMAZING book on the subject of addiction and how it affects the families. This is a true story and as I was reading it, I shed some tears. Addiction can destroy families and the pain and suffering it leaves behind can be devastating. A must read for anyone who has addiction in their family.

By Kath