Amen.
You know what I found most amazing when I started telling people why I left my ex?
There was not ONE person who reacted with shock and said, "REALLY? Wow, I would
never have thought that
he..."
Every single person had someone (a parent, uncle, cousin, daughter, etc) who was an alcoholic. Every single person. And it is such a pity that we're so good at keeping up appearances and pretending we're all OK -- because we're acting as if it's shameful, both to be an alcoholic and do have one in the family. So we're all putzing around in our little bubbles of shame and thinking everyone else has it together, when we could be supporting each other...
but I think that's where "functioning" comes in, too -- we don't feel like we have to be
that ashamed, because, really, he's not as bad as
some alcoholics...