For the Media/Press Release

Hope for family = reconciliation during=20 the holidays

While = decorations and=20 advertisements for the holiday season generate excitement earlier = each=20 year, the anticipation of good times sometimes doesn=92t match = reality.=20 Last year, Mary met her 22-year-old daughter Jessie at the = home of a=20 friend. The house was beautiful. A large pile of = wrapped=20 presents surrounded the tree.

Mary and = Jessie are=20 like many mothers and daughters whose relationship has been = strained by=20 drinking. Jessie=92s drinking seriously affected her own = life, but it=20 also made a huge impact on her family. Jessie=92s drinking = is what=20 brought her mother to Al-Anon Family Groups.

Jessie = confided in=20 the middle of a very intense, mother-daughter hug, =93You=92re the = only one in=20 the family who=92ll still speak to me, Mom.=94 When they = took their=20 first awkward step away from each other, Jessie showed her mother = the=20 total of her belongings. She sorted through a backpack of = clothes to=20 find a small photo album that she wanted to share with her = mom.

Jessie = didn=92t look=20 healthy, but through Mary=92s tears she still glistened like the = precious=20 daughter she always was and would continue to be. Mary = temporarily=20 put aside her fears for her homeless little girl. She drew = comfort=20 from the warm surroundings where her daughter might be able to = stay=20 through the holidays=97if she behaved herself, if she didn=92t = make a big=20 scene, if she didn=92t start breaking these nice people=92s = things.

Mary=92s = hopes and=20 dreams for her daughter allowed her to cherish the little bit of = time they=20 could spend together. She told Jessie how much she loved = her, and=20 she showed her love with a kiss and another hug before saying=20 goodnight.

Mary came = to=20 understand in Al-Anon Family Groups that Jessie was the only = person who=20 could make any major decisions about Jessie=92s life. = Because of=20 Al-Anon, Mary was able to give her daughter the dignity of making = her own=20 decisions about life and all of the possibilities that sobriety = can=20 bring.

Anonymity = is an=20 important principle of the Al-Anon program. Although Mary = and Jessie=20 are not real names of the people involved, their story is = true. To=20 find an Al-Anon meeting in [insert name of local city], call = [insert local=20 Al-Anon meeting information phone #] or 1-888-4AL-ANON to find = other=20 families and friends of alcoholics who experienced similar = situations with=20 people they love.

Al-Anon = members=20 helped Mary find the compassion, concern, and support that her own = family=20 couldn=92t provide. More than 16,000 Al-Anon Family Groups = meet every=20 week throughout the U.S. and Canada. For more information, = go to:=20 www.Al-AnonFamilyGroups.org

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