In 1994 as a result of their alcoholism, Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald were down and out, sleeping rough in the streets and parks of Cambridge, England. Refusing to accept what they consider to be the outmoded myths and dogma of Alcoholics Anonymous, they set about searching for the underlying causes of their self-harming behaviour problem, which they discovered lay in childhood. As a result of their endeavours, the couple are leading normal lives again, and they are also now able to drink alcohol responsibly again, if and when they so wish.