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Thanksgiving can be a challenging time for families that are affected by a parent or child who has a drinking problem.  The holiday season often begins with invitations for get-togethers with family and friends.  But for Sam Taylor, pseudonym for the husband of an alcoholic, it became the season of made-up excuses for turning down invitations he wished that he could accept.

“Al‑Anon Family Groups have given me back a cheerful appreciation for the holidays,” Sam Taylor said.  “Thanksgiving was always a happy time in my family growing up.  While we pitched in to get our house and yard ready for company, my folks told stories about grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins we hadn’t seen in years.  They reminded us that we were part of a family that was larger than the number of people who lived in our house.”

When Sam’s wife lost the ability to shop, organize, cook, and socialize effectively because she had to have a drink constantly in her hand, the Taylor family began to withdraw from holiday celebrations.  As a result, they also began to lose their sense of an extended family.

“It was hard on my wife, too,” Sam said.  “She was the one who stopped welcoming people into our house because they interfered with her drinking.  I was the one who turned down invitations to visit other people’s homes.  There were too many embarrassing scenes, and I didn’t feel right about going somewhere and not reciprocating.

“When my wife decided to quit drinking, a counselor encouraged our whole family to recover,” Taylor explained.  “He called it a family illness that needed family recovery.  Al‑Anon Family Groups is where he sent me and our kids.  Alateen is a part of Al‑Anon for young people who have been affected by someone else’s drinking.  Little by little, Al‑Anon Family Groups have put the gratitude back into our Thanksgiving celebrations.  I am glad that my wife is also recovering in her own program of Alcoholics Anonymous.

“I am grateful this year for all of the Al‑Anon Family Groups in Forsyth County that welcome families like mine during the holidays,” Taylor said.  To find help from a local Al‑Anon Family Group, call 770-887-4851 or 770-597-2683 or go to www.ga-al-anon.org.  To find an Al‑Anon Family Group meeting throughout the U.S. and Canada, call 1-888-4AL‑ANON during business hours ET, or on the Internet go to  HYPERLINK "http://www.Al-AnonFamilyGroups.org" www.Al-AnonFamilyGroups.org.