When I first came into the Al-Anon program, I had spent so much time and energy into isolating, stuffing my feelings and trying to fix and control people, places and things, that I had no idea who I was, what I liked or disliked or even what I what felt. When they...
“Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.” -Step 5 from the Al-Anon Family Groups One of the unspoken rules that children growing up in families impacted by alcohol and drug addiction learn is “Don’t Talk.” (Claudia...
“Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.” -Step 3 from the Al-Anon Family Groups I have a tendency to over-complicate things. When my mind became open to consider that there could be a Higher Power that just might...
“Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. -Step 2 from the Al-Anon Family Groups I didn’t need to be restored to sanity. I was the sane person in our household. I was the sober one. I was making all the decisions. I was taking...
“We admitted we were powerless over alcohol – that our lives had become unmanageable.” -Step 1 from the Al-Anon Family Groups When I was new to family recovery, I wasn’t certain how Step 1 would apply to me. I knew that my life was unmanageable (I was the kind of...
When I walked into my first Al-Anon meeting fourteen years ago, life as I knew it was over. I didn’t understand that at the time, and I continued to fight desperately against that reality for quite some time. But, still, it was over. The gift of the 12 Steps of...
