November 25

November 25 – AM          Page 26-27, There Is A Solution ,Chapter 2

So he returned to this doctor, whom he admired, and asked him point-blank why he could not recover.  He wished above all things to regain self-control.  He seemed quite rational and well-balanced with respect to other problems.  Yet he had no control whatever over alcohol.  Why was this?
He begged the doctor to tell him the whole truth, and he got it.  In the doctor’s judgment he was utterly hopeless; he could never regain his position in society and he would have to place himself under lock and key or hire a bodyguard if he expected to live long. That was a great physician’s opinion.
But this man still lives, and is a free man.  He does not need a bodyguard nor is he confined.  He can go anywhere on this earth where other free men may go without disaster, provided he remains willing to maintain a certain simple attitude.

November 25 – PM          Page 132, The Family Afterward, Chapter 9

We have been speaking to you of serious, sometimes tragic things.  We have been dealing with alcohol in its worst aspect.  But we aren’t a glum lot.  If newcomers could see no joy or fun in our existence, they wouldn’t want it.  We absolutely insist on enjoying life.  We try not to indulge in cynicism over the state of the nations, nor do we carry the world’s troubles on our shoulders.  When we see a man sinking into the mire that is alcoholism, we give him first aid and place what we have at his disposal.  For his sake, we do recount and almost relive the horrors of our past.  But those of us who have tried to shoulder the entire burden and trouble of others find we are soon overcome by them.