ELIZABETH VARGAS REPORTS ON THE SECRET LIVES OF DRINKING MOMS IN
AN HOUR-LONG REPORT, "MOTHER'S LITTLE HELPER," FRIDAY, APRIL 30 ON "20/20"
On Friday evening, "20/20" co-anchor Elizabeth Vargas will have an intimate and jaw-dropping report on mothers who are struggling to stay alive, battling their alcohol addiction before it's too late. The in-depth hour profiles the stories of four women from across the country who open up with startling honesty about their battle with the bottle, in "Mother's Little Helper," airing on "20/20" FRIDAY, APRIL 30 (10:00-11:00 p.m., ET) on ABC.
Going inside the homes and behind the normally locked doors of rehab, "20/20's" cameras capture never-before-seen moments and rare details of these women's harrowing and gut-wrenching struggles with their addiction. Cameras show the devastating and heart-breaking effects of alcoholism on those around the women, from children and husbands to friends and loved ones. In "Mother's Little Helper" viewers will meet Tina, a DC stay-at-home mom who once had a successful political career; best-selling author Mary Karr, who chronicled her decent into alcoholism in shocking detail in her recent memoir, Lit; Stephanie, a onetime "cocktail crusader" from California; and Lynn, a lifetime drinker and 50-year-old wife and mother in Mississippi who has to choose between her addiction and her family.
These women share with Vargas their desperate attempts to keep their shameful secret from those around them, from dumping their stash of empty liquor bottles to hiding morning glasses of wine in coffee mugs. "20/20" also gained exclusive access to Lynn's 5 days of detox and 30 days in rehab, where cameras recorded therapy sessions and chronicled the daily struggles that she and so many other women around the country endure. Some of the women will succeed, others will fail, as they all face a never-ending battle against a disease that has resulted in broken marriages, children who live in terror and lives that may be damaged beyond repair.
Elizabeth Vargas and Chris Cuomo are the co-anchors of ABC News' "20/20." David Sloan is the executive producer.
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