As told to Shona Hendley.
When I was younger, I had a completely naïve belief about what having a family would offer me.
I simply thought I had to get married and have kids in order to be fulfilled. So, that's what I did.
I married my husband, Ron* over 30 years ago and we had kids quite quickly, a girl, Sara*, and a boy, Tom*.
Watch: Be a good mum. Post continues below.
Motherhood certainly wasn't a breeze but for the first 12 years or so, I absolutely adored my kids and being a mum.
But by the time my daughter hit her teens, that all changed.
Initially, I had thought it was just adolescence, and all the emotional and hormonal changes that come with it.
But then her behaviour started to become more worrisome. She started to act out at school.
Given she used to be a star pupil, this was a big concern.
Sara became a regular truant, missing classes she used to enjoy. She started hanging out with ‘the wrong crowd’, smoking, going to parties, even her music tastes changed.