“Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.” -Step 4 from the Al-Anon Family Groups When I tell my family recovery story, which I do regularly, I try to talk about parts of my life that illustrate the impact the disease of alcoholism has had in my...
“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...
“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...
Slamming doors. Broken dishes. Arguments that the neighbors could hear clearly. Tears. Unkind words. And, conversely the resonant sound of hostile silence. The disease of alcoholism had wedged itself into the middle of our marriage. When the members of family recovery...
“With dignity we will stand for ourselves, but not against our fellows.” -“From Survival to Recovery” I entered the rooms of family recovery meetings with many figurative bumps and bruises. I had tried every angle to find a way for my loved one to get help for their...
