I’ve been attending Al-Anon on and off for five years. During that time I continued to seek various ways to find comfort, understanding, and hope regarding the effects of alcoholism in my life. What I have learned in the last six months is that Al-Anon provides the most comprehensive and accessible way to help heal my emotional wounds. The program fosters the serenity I need in order to enjoy the wonderful things I have in life. My understanding of Al-Anon steps, principles, and traditions grows stronger every day, and so does my gratitude to Al-Anon and its members. I keep… Read more »

When my husband got locked up for being drunk & violent with me, his best friend (who had time sober in AA) came over to my house that night. He suggested an Al-Anon meeting. I was at my rock bottom. Everything I did to help my husband didn’t work. The very first meeting I heard something that helped me (myself). 7yrs later I’m still gratefully a member.

I came to Al-Anon because the rehab my son was in told my wife she couldn’t see him without first attending two Al-Anon meetings and getting slips signed. I didn’t want to go to an Al-Anon meeting but I just tagged along with her to not be home alone. I began listening to what others were saying at the meetings and heard bits and pieces of my story so I stayed. I got into service which made me feel like I was part of the fellowship. I learned much about alcoholism over the years which changed my perspective about the… Read more »

I am 72. I came to Al-Anon seven years ago. I thought of coming years ago and would beat myself up for not having the courage to do so. Now I know that I came at the right time. I am learning, one day at a time, to love and take care of myself first. When I do that I am much better at loving others. Like many of us, I am a caretaker who forgot that I needed taking care of, too. Life is so much better when we learn to love ourselves.

My friend (who was in AA) brought me to Al-Anon 3 years ago because I was living with a very angry man and had two sons in addictions. My life was falling apart. It took awhile to figure out the program and benefit from it. What really changed my life is when I accepted the position of Group Rep and also attended 4-5 meetings a week. I love Al-Anon!

I WAS NOT interested in talking to a bunch of strangers about my most intimate problems! But a therapist finally convinced me to give it a try. I knew from my first meeting that I was in the right place. I felt like a dry sponge that had been dropped into a bucket of water; I wanted to suck it up! I keep coming back because I still need recovery. I divorced the alcoholic that brought me to Al-Anon, but I have since married another alcoholic who has been in recovery for almost 10 years. The fact that both of… Read more »

I came to Al-Anon because I was referred by my husband’s VA councilor. Basically he said I was sick and needed Al-Anon. I had three small children and was terrified. I felt better after my first meeting, I went to newcomer meetings. I found a home group. I did everything that was suggested by the Al-Anon members I talked to. For the first time in my life I had guidelines to follow, I call them my parental guidelines some. I had divorced parents who had drinking problems. I married what I knew, I was miserable and all the people at… Read more »

About seven years ago now I came to my first Al-Anon meeting because I wanted the alcoholic I was dating at the time to move in with me. I figured that going to Al-Anon was the perfect place to teach me how to live with an alcoholic. I expected to be given a list of things to do when he moved in and told exactly how to handle different situations that could possibly arise. After about a year I decided that I wasn’t being told how to live with an alcoholic. One of the best gifts of this program is… Read more »

I had reached my LOW POINT. It was November and the holidays loomed. A professional recommended Al-Anon. I went to my first meeting. It was on the 10th step. I sat along the wall. After a half hour, I realized everyone was saying about the same thing. Most everyone shared. I kept coming back. In Al-Anon everyone is equal and allowed to share. It is a spiritual program which stays ON TOPIC. I was EXTREMELY NEGATIVE, had no faith in anything, no belief in a high power, but I did have hope. Now, I believe in a loving higher power.… Read more »

I read and related to all of the above shares and I appreciated every one of them-thank you for contributing. I first came to Al-Anon to try and fix the alcoholics, to learn to say all the right things, to find out what type of encouragement giving I was missing. I was physically and mentally depleted. I was exhibiting physical symptoms. I was exhausted by years and years of rides on the merry-go-round, which I never realized that I had been voluntarily hopping on far more often than I ever needed to. Let go and let God was one of… Read more »

I came because I was sent by a counselor. I have stayed because from that very first meeting I knew I was in the right place. I have grown a lot since that first meeting, and I know there will be more growth. Al-Anon helps me live a life without fear – most of the time🙂

I went to my first Al-Anon meeting almost 12 years ago. I had attended Family Weekend at the local rehab and realized how utterly chaotic and unmanageable my life had become. I also realized for the first time that I was not alone. There were others out there who knew exactly was I was going through. I desperately wanted to keep my husband sober and I would do anything to see that happen. In one of the meetings I heard a member share about the 3 “C’s” . All I could remember was “I can’t control it”. I would recite… Read more »

I first came to Al-Anon because one of my friends asked me, “Don’t you think you should go to Al-Anon and figure out why you keep choosing to marry alcoholics.” I said, “I don’t think I choose them. I think they choose me.” And she replied, “Yes, and don’t you think you should go to Al-Anon and figure out why alcoholics choose you.” I was dumbstruck. Because not only had I married three alcoholics, but most of my friends were alcoholics, including her! So I went initially for me. I was so tired of my inability to respond to adversity… Read more »

My story is from the adult child’s perspective. The phrase “white elephant” in the room that no one talks about sums up my childhood. I was asked to come to Al-Anon by a friend needing support. Being a good friend, I came and stayed, she left the program after 2yrs. This yr. June, 2019 it has been 33yrs into my journey of self-discovery. Living the 12 steps/12 traditions, and now discovering the 12 concepts of service is an adventure in living. Recently, I had the opportunity to chair a (Lets Talk about Safety in Al-Anon Meetings) Adhering to Trad.1,4,5,12, I’m… Read more »

I came because the active alcoholic in my life experienced a crisis that brought him to AA. While he was attending AA, he told me “I heard Al-Anon can be helpful” and suggested I go. Being the good, helpful co-dependent I was, I went right away for him. Al-Anon has been in the edges of my life most of my life because my mother attended it off and on while I was a child. So, I knew a little when I went into my first meeting that this was going to be about ME and not the alcoholic. I was… Read more »

I came to Al-Anon when I was 25 years old and dating a new member of AA. He invited me to join him so that I could go to a meeting of this “AA Booster Club for wives” – I have to admit I went because of the wives comment! I stayed because it was the most uncanny thing – I had only been dating him a very short time, but everything in the meeting really hit home for me. I began calling members and going for coffee to ask them more about the disease of alcoholism. I soon realized… Read more »

I came to Al-Anon because I realized that I had a problem with my own thinking, and I had an awareness that I alone was responsible for my own happiness, but I didn’t know how to get it. I was not working at the time and had a lot of extra time on my hands and was going through a period where I was feeling unfulfilled, and was looking to my husband to fill this void. He was 7 years sober at this point and very active in working his AA program of recovery. I remember going to some of… Read more »

I came to Al-Anon to be supportive to my Alcoholic. He had started to go to AA and feel I should go to Al-Anon because I could help a few people. He said, “ You did such a good Job with Me. You could help a few people. So, I went off to a meeting to help Everyone! I so did believe the people in the meet really need my help. I shared how they should be helping the Alcoholic in their lives. They would just smile at me and say,” Keep coming back! Your in the right place.” It… Read more »

I came to Al-Anon lonely and desperate. I didn’t realize at the time that one of the things I was desperate for was a place where I could feel useful. The help I’d been trying to give the alcoholic in my life constantly backfired or was simply unwanted. I felt rejected and believed I was a failure. Within weeks of attending my first meeting I was helping to put things away after the meeting. Next I volunteered to bring a new calendar for the coming year. Such a simple thing, but I was so nervous. What if they don’t like… Read more »

I came to Al-Anon in the Spring of 2017. My relative had died of an overdose. I felt guilty for not having done enough for her. In Al-Anon, people welcomed me and introduced themselves before the meeting. They gave me a Newcomers packet and asked if I had a “How Al-Anon Works” book. During the meeting I heard members share their feelings and shortcomings & solutions. How to live with feelings of guilt, sadness, & anger and grow though problems. I heard, “talk to someone and reason things out with one another. I talked to my new friends about what… Read more »