Cultivating Compassion As an adult child of an alcoholic with many other addicts in my life, I learned early to beat myself up. I took verbal abuse from multiple family members and watched my mom lash herself regularly over her shortcomings. My partner, an addict himself with the family disease of alcoholism, has many of…
Anonymity and trust In high school I was the classic overachiever, excelling in school and sports while also caring for my siblings when my mom was suffering from a disabling depression. A neighbor in recovery suggested that I try out Al-Anon, so I went, but only a few times. I was sure Al-Anon wasn’t for…
I still need a program A former husband was my “qualifier” for 12 Step recovery. When he first attempted sobriety, I was very excited to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings with him, but soon learned that there was a program for friends and families of alcoholics. In fact I was told, unceremoniously, “You need to go…
I thought alcoholism no longer played a part in my life I grew up the angry son of an alcoholic mother and a rigidly controlling father. Later I went through a fair amount of therapy and by my forties I figured I was over the worst of the emotional triggering. I went to Al-Anon meetings…
I am still an atheist. But working with a sponsor, working the Steps and listening to other Al-Anon members eventually led me to a concept of a Higher Power that might seem abstract to some but works for me. I still say “God” when I read the Twelve Steps or say the Serenity Prayer, but I define that word for myself, without worrying how others interpret it.
I’m thankful I found BIPOC meetings One of the good things that came out of the pandemic is access to many more Al-Anon meetings. For a long time I attended one weekly in-person meeting. Sometimes I would attend more if I was having a particularly hard week, or if my schedule was not too busy….
