Articles
When I Don’t Agree with the Group Conscience
Two years ago, my group decided to extend the meeting time from 60 to 90 minutes. I never liked longer meetings, but I wasn’t at the business meeting that voted for the new time. Because many meetings nearby met for one hour, newcomers or visitors would often...
Promotion or Attraction?
As we approach the end of another year, I reflect on where my life was before Al-Anon and where it is now. I reflect on my good fortune to have found a place that has shown me warmth, understanding, and love. While I continue to work the program to better my life, I’m...
The Day I Gave Up Fixing
Last year, on the first Tuesday in February, I attended my first meeting. It started as one of the worst days of my life—worse than the day I lost my dad to a sudden heart attack, worse than the day I lost my mom to a horrific infection. It was the day I had decided...
I Felt Empowered
When I first came to Al-Anon, I felt damaged from years spent living with my alcoholic husband. I didn’t grow up in a family where alcohol was present. When I married my husband, I realized that he came from an alcoholic family, and I thought I would have to imitate...
Slow and Steady
Getting to my first meeting was a lengthy process. I did not believe that Al-Anon could help me because I couldn’t understand how it worked. I also had many other ideas on how to solve the problem of alcoholism in my relationship. However, as time passed and I found...
Leaving Al-Anon a Bequest
Many Al-Anon members have designated Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc. (AFG, Inc.), also known as the World Service Office, as a beneficiary in their will, in gratitude for the help they received from our fellowship during their lifetime. Designating a bequest...
Public Outreach Poster’s True Origin… with Our Amends
In the August 2024 issue of The Forum, we highlighted a public outreach poster with an image of a woman and child trapped in a bottle and stated that the idea had originated with members in Florida. While trusted servants in Florida had reached out to us to review a...
My Life, His Choices
I have never been a drinker, but I have had to face the fact that I was powerless to stop my young son from drinking. What was it like for me to admit I was powerless over alcohol? It was sickening and terrifying. There was so much damage, and some continues today. I...
Patient with the Process
Just weeks after a milestone birthday, I broke my hip in three places. I’d been shooing a lizard off my front porch, and when the lizard leaped, I reacted to its sudden movement and hit the floor. I exited my house on a stretcher and spent months recovering. During...
A Disease of Communication and Relationships
I believe that alcoholism is a disease of communication and a disease of relationships. When my husband offered to help me around the house, I didn’t expect him to volunteer to wash my daughter’s expensive sports gear. I cringed. Would he do it “correctly” (aka my...