Desperate expat housewives

Martina was drinking vodka at 7 am in an airport lounge somewhere in the Philippines when she finally realized she needed help.

She had traveled there with her husband who had to stay for more business meetings, which meant the middle-aged woman had to fly back to China alone.

Persistent loneliness is what pushed Martina over the edge. She had been battling with bouts of alcoholism for a while, but it was not until she left her life behind in New York City to move to Beijing with her husband that the disease would become crippling.