Kate, my cousin Arlene who was always my best friend as we grew up, we got married together and had our first child, both boys only a month apart. Our two familys were inseperable. I lost my husband and she was there for me. About a year later her handsome husband, a hard worker, started stopping after work with the boys for a few beers. A few led to many more and he was almost never home for dinner and when he did come home, half the time he'd fall asleep in the car, or drop on the steps leading upstair to the bedroom and sleep. They fought horribly, they drifted apart and his drinking became a constant thing although he never did miss work. She talked to the priest and he was the one that suggested Ala-non. For many years she attended meetings and that saved her marriage Not being an addictive personality herself, she didn't understand him at all, until those meetings. I had moved away by then and the people she met became her life line. I hope you can find the strength you need to carry you through anothers addiction. Happy ending, Dick stopped drinking on his own years ago and they will celebrate their 49th anniversary later this month. He's been alcohol free now for 20 years or so.