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Tips For Surviving The Holidays Ah, the holidays! Tables full of food, houses full of family, and minds full of stress. Here are some strategies for keeping your serenity intact. Read More > Family gatherings bring back my childhood holiday-time anxieties Having grown up in an alcoholic home, I carry a good deal of baggage. Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, and other family gatherings involved drinking and my parents’ alcohol-fueled behavior. As a child, I felt frightened and confused. Read More > A Believer Once More I used to dread the holiday season. Drinking celebrations took place at the same time as endless shopping, bounced checks, and expectations. The material world was synonymous with love. For one day out of every year, all the neighborhood loved to see our living room strewn with packages from the Christmas tree to the front door. Read More > A True Sense of Family The Christmas season has brought me to some eye-opening realizations. Some, if not most, of these truths are painful. As I continue working my Al-Anon program by getting quiet, reading Conference Approved Literature, calling my program friends and sponsor, I find that my pain signals some awesome personal growth and added maturity. Read More > |
Wonderful Holiday Commotion As a child I always enjoyed the holidays, especially Christmas. I grew up in a large family that didn't have any alcoholism. We always celebrated with lots of wonderful commotion-baking, presents, and happy family gatherings. Read More> Gratitude: my recipe for a peaceful family holiday dinner Growing up in an alcoholic family, I dreaded the holiday season. Mixing an alcoholic and three “reacters” rarely led to magical moments. Last year’s holidays were the hardest, as they were the first ones since the alcoholic in our family, my dad, died. My brother’s and my pain and mutual resentments were still raw, so we shared an awkward, tense dinner. Read More > 
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