I came because I needed to feel better. I also needed to find a way to get my husband sober. I stayed for me. I stayed because I found a second family. I stayed because I felt better. Here it is 37 years later and I’m still here and I am very grateful for Al-Anon.

I came because I am becoming so mentally and emotionally tired and worn down from dealing with my husband’s behavior. He is an alcoholic and makes me miserable at times and can be so sweet and thoughtful at other times. It is like he keeps my emotions on a rollercoaster. I recently started seeing a therapist who recommended Al-Anon. Once I got on this website and have read other comments and can express my feelings and feel like there is someone out there who can relate to me and me to them, I wanted to stay. I want to find… Read more »

I have been with now husband for ten years and married for a year. It wasn’t until this past year that I realized how naive I had been over the years with his disease. I confronted him multiple times for the years but he made me feel like I was crazy. He not only struggles with alcohol, but also drugs. He recently overdosed and luckily I was there and able to perform CPR and call 911. He has been home from rehab for almost two months and recently slipped and had two beers and tried to cover it up, but… Read more »

Many years ago I came through the Al-Anon doors after way too many psychologists. My husband was admitted to a recovery center and the Recovery Center introduced us (me and our children) to Al-Anon. But it wasn’t until he left the recovery center early and came back home and started to do some inappropriate behavior, that I decided that I needed to get some help. At first, I thought the people at my first meeting would give me a recipe or pill to make everything better. But, I kept coming back to meetings because it was the only thing that… Read more »

I came because I am tired of being angry and feeling hopeless and victim of this disease. I want to be able to let go and feel like it will be ok and be able to have better relationships with people myself. I want to have a better positive outlook on my life and. Not live in fear of this disease.

My decision to try Al-Anon was made after dealing with my husband’s over twenty year struggle with this disease. I have a great deal of sadness for both of us and our children. I also have a feelings of helplessness and trying to accept t I have no control over his drinking. He has other medical problems which make alcoholism an extremely dangerous adversary. We have been together 40 years and the appearance of this situation blindsided me. I have suffered with him in ways that he cannot understand. Loving someone with all your heart makes you want to save… Read more »

I came when I heard of Al-Anon. Someone suggested it, I respected their opinion and I went to a meeting. At first I was lost, afraid to share, didn’t understand how they could put personal information with themselves out to a group of strangers. I learned what I consider to be a beautiful thing. We aren’t strangers. We are a family of individuals who share our experience, strength, and hope, and by doing so we help ourselves and those in the room who choose to take something.

I originally came to Al-Anon because of my son-in-law & his vehement denials of alcoholism. I started out tackling that issue, then realized I had a more pervasive alcoholic problem with my brothers. The longer I attended meetings, which is 10 years next April, I discovered alcoholic behaviors going back to my paternal grandfather. The disease pervaded 3 generations. As I progressed through the program, I have made great strides within the Al-Anon program & the conference approved books, the 4th step workbook & Reaching for Personal Freedom workbook. What a wonderful way to get the help, for a small… Read more »

I came to Al-Anon on the suggestion of my Mom when my physical health came to a grinding halt. I was stuck in bed for a week. My husband’s behaviour was so unpredictable and illogical, that I was going crazy! I knew I couldn’t change him and I didn’t like the person I had become. I heard the closing at the meeting where it said, “although you might not like all of us, you’ll love us in a very special way, just like we already love you!” The feeling I felt when I heard this, is what kept me coming… Read more »

I came to Al-Anon because I felt that I was out of control. I couldn’t understand what was happening to me. It was suggested to me by a friend. I kept coming back because I really felt a sense of relief after my first meeting.

I forgot to tell you why I keep coming back, I have been a Active member for six years. I keep coming back because it has helped me figure out who I am and what my character defects are and how to work on them and every day my life is like a puzzle that I keep working on; I keep finding more missing pieces that explain why I felt so much more pain and sadness from being raised in alcoholism. There are days I wish I could bottle up the Al-Anon group and bring it home with me.

I was raised in a alcoholic home but that wasn’t what brought me to Al-Anon, I thought if i just got out of my parents house and got married things would be good, I didn’t know the affects it caused me to have. It wasn’t until 35 years into my marriage when it became apparent to me that my husband is an alcoholic, that’s when i came into Al-Anon. I was in such pain not only dealing with the pain I felt after finding out that my husband was a alcoholic, now I had to deal with the pain I… Read more »

I came to Al-Anon because my husband had gone to AA and he suggested that I go and I did what he said. I stayed because I had to figure out what you wanted from me. I have since learned that all you wanted was to love me unconditionally. I keep coming back because I want to keep getting what I am not getting peace & love and I want to give back.

I came to Al-Anon because I was in so much pain and inner turmoil, but I wasn’t ready to talk about it or share how desperate I really felt. So I just listened and was struck by what I heard….people honestly sharing and saying what I was unable to say. I didn’t feel so alone so I kept coming back. Some place inside knew this was a safe place and after some time I was able to start breaking the silence that had such a hold on me. I’m discovering who I am and like the feeling. The program encourages… Read more »

I came to Al-Anon because I was tired of vacillating between being too scared to speak up and screaming at the top of my lungs for things to change. It took me a while to realize I needed Al-Anon because there isn’t active alcoholism in my life. Yet I have been affected by it. Both alcoholics are dead and one of them I’ve never met. Turns out the disease of alcoholism is so cunning, baffling and powerful that its effects have trickled through the generations on both my and my husband’s sides and they impact my life on a daily… Read more »

I came to this program 34 yrs ago because of my response to my doctor’s statement, if your husband doesn’t stop now he will be dead in six months. My response was good. I was at the point of just wanting it over and I didn’t care how. Later that day I called a local treatment center and spoke to an AA member who said he couldn’t help but said Al-Anon would help. I stayed because the women were focused on repairing the damage they the non-drinker had done to their children, I had no problem admitting my anger and… Read more »

My first introduction to Al-Anon was several years before I realized I needed the program. I had contacted a gentleman at my son’s request to get information for him and the gentleman asked “what are you doing for yourself?”. He accompanied me to my first Al-Anon meeting. I was warmly welcomed, given a ODAT, encouraged to just listen and to keep coming back. I did that for a few more meetings and didn’t feel that it was for me. After all, I wasn’t the one with the problem. Several years later my son, now in recovery, kindly and gently suggested… Read more »

I came to Al-Anon because I felt like I could not handle one more day with my alcoholic loved one. I had begun counting how many alcoholic drinks he had a day. Nothing was working. I was extremely anxious, could not sleep, and the stress was causing physical symptoms. I was 33 yrs old. Today I am 64. I still go to Al-Anon meetings (at least three/week). I use my sponsor. She has been my sponsor for 27 years. The fellowship and support are amazing. I no longer live with active alcoholism. The 12 steps are a way of life… Read more »

I came through the doors of Al-Anon differently than most. It wasn’t the active alcoholism of my wife, but her sobriety that made me realize I needed help. The buttons I used to push no longer got the reactions that I expected; I was seeing many significant, positive changes in my wife. She was going to a lot of meetings, developing new friendships, and having fun in sobriety. I knew that if I wanted to save my marriage I needed to make changes in myself. I started going to Al-Anon and learning about my part in the disease and how… Read more »

During the years before either of us had any recovery, I had observed several personalities in my husband. There was the one I fell in love with, the one that showed up later as his disease progressed, and yet another one every time he “quit” drinking. I knew if he was going to be sober, there would be yet another personality to deal with. I had realized the only personality I knew how to live with was the drinking one and I didn’t like it! I came to Al-Anon to learn how to live with the “new” person I would… Read more »