Nothing to lose but the price of a stamp: Al-Anon

Dear Ann Landers,

It is Sunday afternoon, and our 13-year-old boy went to a ball game, the 10 – and 12-year-old girls are in the neighbors pool, and my husband went to his favorite tavern to get drunk….A few years ago I would have been crying my eyes out, or pouring out my anger to a friend on the telephone. But today I am calm, content and very happy with my life. Why? Because I listened to you and joined Al-Anon. Every woman who is married to an alcoholic must at some point decide whether she is going to allow his problems to defeat her or learn how to live with it….Please, Ann, keep telling people about Al-Anon. It's a life-saver…in every sense of the word.

-Gage Park member

Ann Landers replied, "Not a week goes by that I don't receive at least three or four letters from readers in praise of Al-Anon." She gave the Al-Anon address for those who wished to write for literature, adding, "You have nothing to lose but the price of a stamp."


Advice for family members of problem drinkers: Check out Al-Anon.

Read an Alcoholics Anonymous story, or read more from the source book, Inside Alcoholics Anonymous, by Non Robertson.