Dear BN, a year from now you'll look back and won't be surprised at all by what has transpired. No one can truly understand the truth of living with an A unless they've walked in your shoes. Family and friends are not professionals, they are not equipped to handle it. Often times, they have their own hidden issues that can be challenged by what you share. It took you years to finally break your own denial, it will take them much longer since they're not confronted with it every day.
I found that friends either 1) blew it off or 2) kept after me to leave when I wasn't ready. Either way, it was hard. Family simply didn't accept it. I was really hurt at first, felt very alone. Yes, AlAnon is where I found kindred souls who got it. That's where I got the support I wanted from others. I learned that my expectations of my family/friends was unrealistic, so I let it go. I didn't cover/lie for my A anymore, I just focused on my own recovery. Slowly over the last year, they're starting to get it without my help.