Hopeworks

There is a US organization: Faces and Voices of Recovery. Check thier website for possible links to other international groups.

Your sister may have understood more than you know and simply chose to drink... Many do this knowing the grave outcome.

Keep sharing your joirney with us... We care.

Spes

Hi Bob, I am so sorry about your loss. You asked how can the whole of society be so misguided about the disease? I think it's marketing; that is, look at TV commercials, at media depictions, at fine restaurants who look at you in horror if you dare order a steak with a soda. Government doesn't have a vested interest because the treatment wanted by the few would cost more than the public would support. I'm not here to stand on my soapbox and blame others so let me climb down.

Please don't feel guilty; there was nothing you could have done to help her. Believe me, I know. I spend every waking moment trying to figure out how to help my best friend who is also my loving wife. She is dying from alcohol abuse and there isn't a damn thing I, or the government, can do to help her.

Sometimes I get very angry at her for not seeing the obvious but all that does is make her want to hide her drinking and I don't want that either. When she dies, I don't want her to be alone. It is extremely frustrating to watch the most important person in your life kill themselves knowing there isn't a damn thing I can do to fix it.

Bob, I truly feel your pain. Please know that there really wasn't anything you could have done to take preventative action. Today you can start believing that you are a wonderful loving brother to your sister and try your best to remember her by the good times you shared.

Pelican

Thank you for coming back and sharing an update on how you are doing. We care about You!

I am glad that you were able to find some answers by reading that book. It was most helpful to me. I also understand your frustration over why we can't all be more educated about alcoholism and addiction.

In the US, it is my understanding that the medical community did not recognize alcoholism as a medical condition. We are slowly catching on.

Hopefully you, I and others will follow the 3 A's of recovery:

Awareness
Acceptance
Action.

You have become aware through educating yourself, and as you begin to accept that others are still in the dark about how alcohol is so addictive to every cell of the human body, together we can take action.

(((hugs))) as you continue to grieve and recover.