Originally Posted by
lillamy 
I also find this discussion very interesting. And I also want to extend the question to those of you who say unconditional love is something you can only feel for your children, or:
So... what if your child was the alcoholic in your life?
I don't think either of my daughters is an alcoholic. There are no indicators of that right now. But my younger daughter was in very big trouble a few years ago. I have two daughters- DD24 aka “A” and DD20 aka “E.” When E was 17, she was in trouble with drugs, alcohol, stealing cars, violence, flunking school. As part of a deal with her juvenile court judge, I sent her to a boarding school where she lived for 10 months, completed high school and “served” her time. It was called a "therapeutic boarding school for girls." (HA!) The whole period was wrenching- before sending her there- so I really identify with the pain Chicory and other parents express here.
So she is kind of a "qualifier" for me, but that therapeutic environment didn't frame it that way. The therapy and the treatment was about everyone in the family. Many of the same lessons and tenets as al-anon, but without the idea of a central problem-person.
But love has nothing to do with any of that. That's just logistics and power struggle. I am certain that A, E and I all love each other unconditionally. You can feel it and it’s something we can count on in each other.