The dilemma I’m a 69-year-old retired engineer with two children; one who lives abroad and seems to be doing well, and the other, my 26-year-old alcoholic daughter.

She appears incapable of holding down a job, is a strain on our resources and frequently goes on binges during which she might fall and get bruised.

I am her enemy, it seems. Today she told me she wishes I had died when she was 15. Yesterday the police called because she had gone to the local shop, bought cheap spirits, and was outside in a stupor.

I want her out of my house. I am depressed by the constant arguments between her and her boyfriend (a decent sort of guy), her and her mother, her and me. She behaves like a devious psychopath, manipulating others.

Unfortunately my wife keeps enabling her behaviour. I think I am going to have to leave to preserve my sanity. I hate to seem as if I am attacking my wife, but I can’t see any other way.

Mariella replies How sad. Your daughter is an addict plain and simple, but it’s not just her own life she’s destroying. One of the frustrating aspects of addiction is how useless it can make those around feel, even when they are doing their utmost to be helpful.

Your daughter needs professional help, ideally a clinical stay, but as you’ll be all too aware you can’t force her to seek that out. You can, however, make it less easy for her to dodge the fact that she is making a problem for all of you.

All addicts become adept at manipulation, as deluding others is often their only way of maintaining their habit. Lying becomes their lifeline. It’s easy for me to say this, but you must try – no matter how terrible the things she says – not to confuse your daughter with the creature her addiction makes her.

The day she liberates herself from her dependency on alcohol she will be an altogether different human being, so please don’t abandon hope for the return of the girl you once knew. Insisting, if she’s to remain living with you both, she attend AA meetings would be a step forward, but you would have to be prepared to go through with the alternative of her leaving the house.

Few parents abandon their child in the hope of them hitting rock bottom. It’s an incredibly hard choice to make

Have you tried family counselling? It can be a helpful step towards getting the person to realise that they need to look to themselves instead of attacking those trying to firefight for them. At present she’s casting you as a demon, but that would be much harder if you and your wife built up some solidarity. Parenting in partnership is one of the most constructive things you can do with children generally. Speaking in one voice is one of the toughest collaborations to maintain, but it’s indispensable when dealing with an addict. A united front helps to create a sense of security, offers less chance to indulge manipulative tendencies and presents a clear idea of where the boundaries lie. Your daughter is over-stepping every one of those lines and it may be that things have to get worse before they can improve. What would be really destructive would be allowing your daughter’s behaviour to drive a wedge between you and your wife.

Don’t underestimate the immense strain you are both under, which is clearly having an impact on you both in different ways. Your wife’s enabling of your daughter’s behaviour puts her in a majority. There are very few parents who come around easily to abandoning their child in the hope of them hitting rock bottom – it’s an incredibly hard choice to make.

However, your girl needs to see that there are expectations and consequences, and the life you are all enduring is unsustainable and damaging. If you haven’t tried family counselling it’s worth investigating. There’s no downside to having an honest discussion and there can be surprises for all concerned. No amount of therapy, however, will cure her addiction – she is an alcoholic and needs to understand that whatever is at the root of her problems her addiction to alcohol is only exacerbating it.

Maybe her dependable boyfriend can help convince her of the invaluable support available at her local AA meeting. This is an issue for expert advice, not just an email to an agony aunt, so do ensure you’re in touch with the organisations whose expertise has helped many a family, including Al-Anon Family Groups (020 7403 0888) and adfam.org.uk.

Ultimately, the best I can offer is my certainty that you won’t be able to make changes until you and your wife find common ground. Leaving won’t cure the problem and removing yourself will be a temporary respite at best. Refraining from calling the family home “my house” as you do in your letter is one small correction to your own approach that you might make. The way forward will take compromise and a willingness to accept change from all concerned to dig you out of this dark hole.

If you have a dilemma, send a brief email to mariella.frostrup@observer.co.uk. Follow her on Twitter @mariellaf1