Holy Water in My Scotch by Cusack Suzanne Boylston;

Author:Cusack, Suzanne Boylston;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
Published: 2020-05-16T00:00:00+00:00

We Lost a Dear Friend and Villa Legend…Rachel

At the age of thirty, Rachel was brought over to the States by her Aunts. The year was 1950, and Rachel lived with her cousins and aunts for about four months until she found her first job in Manhasset in a large business family.

Rachel met her husband while working in the city. They married and had one daughter. Ten years later, her husband died, and she lost everything. As her addiction took over, her precious daughter was taken from her and placed in a home for adoption.

We first met Rachel in September 1978, when her friends heard the Sisters of Amityville had opened an alcohol treatment center in St. Josephs, N. Y., under the directorship of a pioneer Jim Cusack.

Rachel arrived a bit angry, but soon felt comfortable and slowly found a home with the Sisters, Jim and me. She began helping other women in treatment and soon developed our first Environmental Services department. If you were in Rachel’s good graces, you would find your room quite clean and orderly. If you, for some reason, got on her wrong side, you may end up with a “short sheet” situation. She had a fabulous sense of humor and keen Irish wit just short of being brutally honest. To know her was to love her, and you could be sure of always knowing where you stood.

Years passed, and Rachel grew with us. She became an “other mother” to us as well as many clients. But she was heartbroken she had lost her daughter and finally wanted to try and find her. Jim and I hired an agency to find her, and we did. Rachel had learned earlier she had been adopted by a nice family and sent to college. By the time we found her she was married to a fine young man and had a 10-year-old boy. We called and asked if we could visit. She said ok, as long as we didn’t plan any counseling. We agreed, and by the end of the evening, Rachel and her grandson, who was now age ten, the same age as Rachel’s daughter was when she lost her, became fast friends. They all enjoyed many years together as Rachel saw him grow into a fine young man, and we all attended his college graduation and employment successes. He was the pride and joy of Rachel’s life, and her daughter enjoyed the friendship.

Jim Cusack was one of Rachel’s favorites at the Villa, and in her eyes, he could do no wrong. If she was upset with any of us, she would often say, “Let’s keep it between us…don’t bother Jim.” She was quick to defend him and assure us all that only Jim could run the Villa and took pride in their shared Irish background. He, too, enjoyed and appreciated her honest Irish wit, so like his own.

She also took all the problem clients under her wing. She would boss them around into sobriety… all of them respecting her reprimands and not wanting to get on her wrong side.

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