Articles
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...
Identifying and Guarding Against Outside Issues
I've always had an opinion, but I didn’t always have a safe place to express it, so I kept it hidden to avoid family ridicule. As I grew into an adult, trying to express my opinions sometimes sounded like I was picking a fight. Didn’t sharing my opinion imply that I...
2025 Spring Assembly Delegate Report
TN Area 52 Al-Anon Assembly May 17-18, 2025 First of all, I’d like to thank you for allowing me to serve as your Delegate. It continues to be an amazing experience. Please find my report on the World Service Conference, highlighting the 75th anniversary of Al-Anon,...
2025 Spring AWSC Delegate Report
TN Area 52 Al-Anon Assembly February 15-16, 2025 First of all, I’d like to thank you for allowing me to serve as your Delegate. It continues to be an amazing experience. This is going to go topic-to-topic pretty quickly because I've covered whatever I wanted to from...
Celebrating Our Service Gifts
Growing up in a Hispanic home affected by alcoholism, leadership was, at best, elusive. The louder, raging voice ruling with fear and control was the means for leading. I became a good people-pleaser, but I balked at any direction, and I froze at the thought of...
Changed Attitudes Can Aid Leadership
I had only been in the program for seven years when one of my employees took me aside to let me know that my boss had declared he wanted to fire me. Wait, what?! I was shocked. In our weekly meetings, my boss and I disagreed about product design, but he had never said...
Desperate to Change
I once read that 80 percent of people make changes out of desperation, while only 20 percent change due to inspiration. When I attended my first Al-Anon meeting, I was certainly not inspired to change—I was desperate. The truth is that pain can be a great motivator...
“Keep Coming Back”
At one of my first Al-Anon meetings, a member shared that a reading helped to clear up her thinking—like cleaning off a dirty windshield. She felt she had gained some clarity. When I came to Al-Anon 15 years ago, I was in a fog of denial. Even though there was...
Lessening My Character Defects
Growing up around alcoholism, I learned to read rooms and to take on others’ feelings and opinions. Drama and gossip felt comfortable. I have carried these character defects with me most of my life, passing on my judgments and negative behaviors to others. Three years...
How Group Services Helps You Find the Answers You Seek
The Group Services department at the World Service Office (WSO) supports Al-Anon and Alateen members and groups. The three Group Services team members are here to serve you Monday–Friday, 8 am–5 pm ET. We do our best to provide informed responses as quickly as...