In an exclusive extract from his upcoming book, Niall Harbison recounts a turbulent adolescence marked by alcoholism. Arriving in Thailand in dire straits, he reflects on the complexities of his addiction, understanding that it wasn't caused by a single event. Harbison shares details of his upbringing in a middle-class expat family in Brussels, revealing how his parents' background during the Northern Ireland Troubles influenced their decision to move. Ultimately, it was his commitment to caring for street dogs that offered him a path towards recovery and redemption from his struggles.
I was an alcoholic when I first arrived in Thailand. I was in a real mess, but alcoholism doesn't appear overnight - and there's rarely any one cause.
I'd grown up as an only child in a middle-class, expat suburb of Brussels, where my father had worked for the European Union.
My parents had met as teenagers in Northern Ireland. And by the time I was born in 1979, against the backdrop of the Troubles, Mum and Dad decided a move to Belgium would provide a better life.
Caring for street dogs helped pull me out of my downward spiral, showing me a path towards healing and redemption.
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