A word or two about Al-Anon

[vahn]

I think it is best that , before I go on giving a brief information (primarily on how it came about ) on Al-Anon -Support group for the families and loved ones of the alcoholic - that I give , an even briefer info on how Alcoholics Anonymous came about , though I will not try to go about it as to explain each group separately , for they are tied in together .

Ok , so , there was this New York stock broker (Bill W.) gone from riches to practically rags as a direct result of his alcoholism ... Through his long-time friend (another alcoholic who had "found" sobriety) , Bill sobers up for the last time , and stays sober for about six months attending his friend's support group , the Oxford Group ( a rather high-nosed , first century Christian group) . Seeing Bill sober and trying to stay that way , a stock-market friend of his , offers Bill a pocket-change job which lands him in Akron , Ohio to check some prospective buyers that fails miserably . Broke , disappoited and discouraged , Bill paces the lobby of the Mayflower where he was staying , in front of the bar , thinking about ways to pay the bills , and he gets this "briliant idea" , that maybe he can go into the bar and strike-up a conversation with a couple of people , hoping to find some clients for his boss ... On his way , he passes by a church directory and a "light-bulb" comes on ... So through the church , Bill gets introduced to another drunk (an active one, who for years had been trying to sober up ... ironically enough , through the Oxford Group but that had failed , again and again) this drunk was a doctor with the name of Bob S . who was about to lose his practice and home as a direct result of his own alcoholism as well , his wife , a devout Christian (a Bible Ninja !!) . Yikes !! ...just imagine , two drunks , trying to stay sober , all tangled up with a Pharisee group and a true believer , the wife of an alcoholic type Christian !!! .... So , poor Bill , being broke , and having to finally had found a drunk who was willing to stay sober AT ANY COST , ends up staying with the Smiths (the Dr) for six months ! ... and every morning , Ann (Mrs Smith) would get the boys go through the Daily Devotions and Bible readings before breakfast even , and also throughout the day (neither had jobs) .

At this time I would like to stress a couple of points ... 1) A Christian Society and continious Bible reading being of the essence and foundation of these two boy's sobriety ... and , 2) The debate as to whether AA started with those two ... My answer (opinions vary) , NO , AA did NOT start with Bill and Bob ... Bill , (now whether he got tired of the whole Mrs. Smith deal or not , I can't say) , finally sez to Bob ... I stayed sober because some one else talked to me instead of taking a drink ... I stayed sober because I talked to you instead of taking a drink , (common denominator , they had to seek out the alkie) and you , Bob , need to do the same .... So , they end-up on their frantic search for another drunk to talk to (at the hospital where Bob worked) .. they Finally get one ... and he stays sober !!! and they tell him the same thing , get a Bible Ninja !! (just kidding !!!!) ... to talk to another drunk ... AA # 3 .... THAT , is in my opinion was the day of AA . "(and He sent them two by two")

From the Oxford Group came John's "Confess to one another " and from Mrs. Smith came the Corinthians , and the Semon on the Mount , out of this alloy , came the Twelve Steps .

Aren't you glad I mentioned "brief" ??

Though still small in number but growing in leaps and bounds regardless , in those days they held their "meetings" in each other's homes , mainly at Dr. Bob's , with regular Bible studies (they did NOT have the Big Book , they had the Bible and each other) ... now , a "slight dilema began to develop (unbeknownst to them) .... while the boys were in the living room swapping war-stories , Ann , was left in the kitchen making coffee and fixing sandwiches , and when they took the meeting to another member's house , that wife of that "host" faced the same fate . SO . HOW ABOUT WE TAKE ALL OF US TAKE OUR WIVES WITH US TO KEEP EACH OTHER COMPANY .

While the boys were in the living room hashing up "now that I'm sober the wife don't understand me" boo hoo's , the wives were in the kitchen hashing up "Now that he is sober I got nothing to do .... He's doing EVERYTHING I used to do by myself FOR us !! " boo-hoos ...... The birth of Al-Anon .

Ironically ... The FIRST "AA" Message ever carried was around the coffee TABLE .... The first Al-Anon Message carried was around COFFEE ! (another one of my Al-Anon jokes)

Alcoholism is a FAMILY disease ... it affects EVERYONE that the alcoholic comes in contact with , starting from the home .

Truth time (buckle-up it is a hard one , I beg you to view it in a realistic way) The family of the alcoholic is JUST as "sick" (or effected) as the alcoholic him/herself !! THEY BOTH need to recover . By the way ... both AA and Al-Anon (and nowadays just about any recovery based support group use the SAME 12 Steps as a foundation for recovery)


In Christ , our Lord
vahn

[deborahwarrior4god]

Very interesting vahn! I've been in contact with al-anon, online so far anyways, and its really really great to talk to people with experience in these issues. and if anyone else is needing help, al anon seems to help with family with other substance addiction issues too. I have realmtg to thank for first planting that in my brain.

[realtmg]

Very interesting,
I was just looking through some reading material here looking for Al-Anon material, in which I just haven't dug deep enough .
So, I decided to take a break from that and log in here at Oasis to find this Thread and the wisdom shared.
It has been my prayer for someone to step forth and share these issues from the family side who is dealing with the addict/ alcoholic to share THEIR side.
We have many members who deal with these issues in various ways.
I suppose my two-fold meaning to the post above is I spent most of my life drinking and drugging.
Today....... I find myself thinking of others and seeing God work in my life as, to me, God laid it on my heart to look into this further and found, just now, others thinking the same. Maybe God working?
Prayer is number one. God allows others who have experienced or is experiencing what the non- addict/ alcoholic family members are going through and it helps.
Thanks for the post Vahn and the reply Deb.

In Christ,

Real