amanda jester and her mother, thayer, are best friends. >> amanda is a remarkable young lady. she's creative, expressive, beautiful, smart, and an addict. >> reporr: how does that last adjective inform who she is? >> it changes who she is completely. >> reporter: amanda is 29 years old and an alcoholic who has also struggled with drugs. growing up in seattle, she was the adored only child of mother thayer. there were easter egg hunts and pinata parties, hikes on the rugged trails of washington. even mother-daughter dress-up as dorothy and glenda the good witch. but like those characters, they soon found themselves in a strange and foreign land embarking on a journey. one they wished they never had to take. when amanda was 16, she began drinking heavily. addiction has been destroying amanda's life, and she knows it. >> when i drink, my life goes downhill very fast. >> she becomes angry, and defiant and obnoxious. >> reporter: what is it like being the mother of an alcoholic? >> it's terrifying. i tried tough love, hard love, soft love, up-down love. >> reporter: thayer learned