hi Razzleberry.
my mom just took off one day. we were about 9 years old. never seen her again. i assume that my partents eventually got D. dad never talked about it. i still have abandonment issues.
yes, there were aldohol/drugs involved
my parents were abusive towards bothe each other and ourself.
for us, watching my parents not love each other and treat each other the way they did was horrible. wasn't as bad after they split up because even though dad continued to hurt us, at least we didn't have to watch them fight no more. that part was a relief. one thing though, ...we never knew if were supposed to be happy or sad that mom was gone.
i can't answer this last question for you, but speaking for ourself, i believe i would much have preferred having seperated and getting along parents to together and not getting along parents.
hope this helps. if you have any other questions or just need to talk, we're here....