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…
Many people mistakenly think Al-Anon and Alcoholics Anonymous are the same thing. The confusion is understandable, since both programs use the Twelve Steps and group support to help people recover from the effects of alcoholism. Moreover, the names are undeniably similar.
The two fellowship’s purposes are different, though. Alcoholics Anonymous (AA for short) seeks to help those who want to quit drinking, while Al-Anon Family Groups offer help and hope for friends and families of problem drinkers. But the two programs have been intertwined from the beginning.
