Alanon Family Groups
Brenda Smith
Dr. Donna Goodwin
Speech Communication I
29 February 2012
Al-Anon Family Groups
There are 12 million alcoholics in the United States. That means that 40 to 50 million friends and family members also suffer from alcoholism and its affects. The help for alcoholics is Alcoholics Anonymous and the help for the non-alcoholic is the Al-Anon recovery program.
I am here tonight to tell you about the Al-Anon recovery process. It is a free, 100% guaranteed life changing program that will supply you with the tools to survive the effects of someone else’s drinking. This program is for you, the family member or friend of the alcoholic.
I have been a proud member of this program for the past thirteen years and in that time I have sponsored many people. For six of those thirteen years I have been an accredited Alateen sponsor which is the Al-Anon program for children of alcoholics. My youngest son’s addictions are originally what brought me to the rooms of Al-Anon.
The founder of Alanon, Lois Wilson, the wife of the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous Bill Wilson, realized that the families and friends of the alcoholics reflected their own pathologies directly related to their alcoholic. She saw that the non-alcoholic suffered from a lot of the same “isms” as the alcoholic. She established the need for the Al-Anon program in 1951 and changed the lives of families of alcoholics forever.
The Al-Anon Family Group is a world-wide “fellowship of relatives and friends of alcoholics who share their experience, strength and hope in order to solve their common problems.”(1) Alanon has but one purpose, to “help families and friends of alcoholics by practicing the Twelve Steps, by welcoming and giving comfort to families of alcoholics, and by giving understanding and encouragement to the alcoholic” (1) Al-Anon opens wide the door to a remarkable fellowship of courageous men and women who have experienced the sometimes subtle, but nonetheless devastating
Dr. Donna Goodwin
Speech Communication I
29 February 2012
Al-Anon Family Groups
There are 12 million alcoholics in the United States. That means that 40 to 50 million friends and family members also suffer from alcoholism and its affects. The help for alcoholics is Alcoholics Anonymous and the help for the non-alcoholic is the Al-Anon recovery program.
I am here tonight to tell you about the Al-Anon recovery process. It is a free, 100% guaranteed life changing program that will supply you with the tools to survive the effects of someone else’s drinking. This program is for you, the family member or friend of the alcoholic.
I have been a proud member of this program for the past thirteen years and in that time I have sponsored many people. For six of those thirteen years I have been an accredited Alateen sponsor which is the Al-Anon program for children of alcoholics. My youngest son’s addictions are originally what brought me to the rooms of Al-Anon.
The founder of Alanon, Lois Wilson, the wife of the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous Bill Wilson, realized that the families and friends of the alcoholics reflected their own pathologies directly related to their alcoholic. She saw that the non-alcoholic suffered from a lot of the same “isms” as the alcoholic. She established the need for the Al-Anon program in 1951 and changed the lives of families of alcoholics forever.
The Al-Anon Family Group is a world-wide “fellowship of relatives and friends of alcoholics who share their experience, strength and hope in order to solve their common problems.”(1) Alanon has but one purpose, to “help families and friends of alcoholics by practicing the Twelve Steps, by welcoming and giving comfort to families of alcoholics, and by giving understanding and encouragement to the alcoholic” (1) Al-Anon opens wide the door to a remarkable fellowship of courageous men and women who have experienced the sometimes subtle, but nonetheless devastating
Cited: (1) Al-Anon Family Groups Inc. Suggested Al-Anon Preamble to the Twelve Steps (2) Al-Anon Family Groups Inc. How Al-Anon Works for Families & Friends of Alcoholics Virginia Beach, Virginia 1995 (3) Al-Anon Family Groups Inc. Al-Anon Faces Alcoholism New York, New York Eleventh Printing May 1985