Racerx,
There's a common phenomenon in the rooms of AA of loving someone to death. Chronic relapser keeps coming through the doors, everyone greets them with open arms, tells them they love 'em, offers encouragement, and fails to tell them the truth. Person stays sober on the feeling of acceptance and love for a few months, then they are back out the door. They repeat this over and over.
Why don't we share the truth? My guess is, because we are too afraid of having people judge us harshly. The truth for me is, I did not recover by being loved, having support, or being surrounded by people who told me to keep my chin up and just keep trying, doing the same things over and over again. I recovered by being desperate enough to do what others had done in order to recover.
Funny as it may sound, I care enough about the suffering alcoholic to tell him the truth, even if it means I'll take some heat for it.