The Whining Stops as the Healing Starts

I am involved with three self-help groups: AA, Adult Children of Alcoholics and Co-Dependents Anonymous. At no time has it ever been suggested that my parents were to blame. The message always comes across strong and clear, “They did the very best that they knew how to do.”

Recovery groups should be curative. If any of your readers belong to one that allows “whining” and/or self-deprecation based upon the past, get out of that one and find a new one.

There are, sadly, people who get addicted to recovery programs as surely as they were hooked to a drug, relationships or any diagnosable pathology. These individuals, for instance, may go to 14 AA meetings a week. My only comment: They ain’t drinkin’ no more.

BILL CARTER

Santa Barbara