Originally Posted by
FireSprite 
...had a lot of mood/hormone/energy swings, he ate chocolate bars like he was searching for the Golden Ticket to replace the sugar alcohol he'd been getting in large quantities, etc.
OH MY GOSH YES! I wondered about that! After he got back from his time in rehab, I noticed that he was 1) always cold, 2) always tired, and 3) eating pile after pile of sugary baked goods... donuts, turnovers, anything sweet. That makes perfect sense. I can't believe the nurse in me didn't make that connection!
I am sorry that you didn't find anyone to relate with in Al-Anon. I think I got lucky and stumbled across a good group, and the first friend I made kind of took me under her wing (still deciding if I want to ask her to be my sponsor) and told me about which meetings were good/bad in the area, fortunately I'm in agreement with her assessment - everyone welcoming, no drama, well-balanced demographics. Anyway, my search still continues for "wives of recovering alcoholics, with young children." lol. 'golden ticket' indeed.