Hi there, hope :-)
Originally Posted by hope2bhappy
... It appears that, with sobriety, comes a whole host of new problems that I would have to face and learn to accept. I've read stories of AA infidelities, the alcoholic asking for a divorce...
I've been active in AA for 24 years, and I've witnessed many of those stories you have read about. However, I have witnessed those _outside_ of AA just as much as inside. In my experience, it's not that with _sobriety_ you get a whole host of new problems. It's that _life_ brings those problems whether people are in the program or not.
Originally Posted by hope2bhappy
... Is it accurate to say that AA saves souls -- not marriages?
Neither of those are correct. AA does _not_ save souls, nor does it save marriages. What AA does is provide the tools with which an individual can save their own soul, and save their own marriage. Or not. It's up to the individual what they want to do with their life.
Originally Posted by hope2bhappy
... I have shared my life with him through his disease for more than 15 years. Yet, if I finally get what I've wished for, he may walk out of my life?
Life offers no gurantees. There's any number of misfortunes that can happen completely independent of his drinking, or his sobriety.
Originally Posted by hope2bhappy
... Of course I want sobriety for him -- but at what price to ME? What would his sobriety cost ME? Is this a fair question?
Absolutely a fair question. The answer to that question can not be known in advance. What you _can_ do is protect yourself from the worst, and prepare yourself for whatever life may throw your way. The best way to do that is to join a program of recovery for _you_. Whether it be Al-Anon, or CODA, or whatever. That way, no matter what he does, sober or not, you will be able to survive and overcome.
Whadya think?
Mike :-)