Darren Campbell
Northern News Services

NNSL (Sep 09/98) - Julie never wanted to drink. The problem was she couldn't stop either.

So as her life became unmanageable, as she began drinking every day and as she sometimes wasn't even able to look after her two young children, the 38 year-old got a visit from some concerned friends. They were afraid her children might be taken away from her because of her drinking.

It was at that point that Julie (not her real name) decided to change her life. That was just over a year ago and she has been sober ever since.

"I was out of control. My life had become unmanageable," said Julie. "Now its much easier to handle things. I'm not saying it's a barrel of laughs all the time but I feel better and I'm healthier for sure."

Julie's life change for the better when she entered an alcohol treatment program and started going to Alcoholics Anonymous.

Last weekend there were other people sharing similar stories. The Yellowknife groups of Alcoholics Anonymous and Al-Anon had their 26th Annual AA Roundup. The event, which took place from Sept. 4-6, included a public information luncheon, workshops, meetings, and social events.

While many people are aware of the effects of alcohol addiction on the addict, relatives and friends are also affected by the alcoholics addiction.

And that is where Al-Anon comes in, providing support for those people. Anne (not her real name) is a prime example of someone who turned to Al-Anon to help her deal with her husband's alcohol addiction.

Her husband Richard (also not his real name) had a thriving law practice in Yellowknife. However, over the years his drinking had got worse. He went from being a heavy weekend drinker to someone who drank all the time.

With a thriving practice and a new home, all should have been well with their marriage, but it wasn't. Anne and Richard started to fight more and more.

"The marriage was on the rocks," said Richard. "I wasn't happy and I thought my wife was a real bitch."

Anne admits she was becoming more erratic but that was from the years of dealing with Richard's drinking.

"The complaint was that it (the drinking) was killing the relationship," said Anne. "The person was there but they weren't really there."

The bottom finally came for them in 1988 when Anne took their two kids and left for the east coast. Richard followed her there but his drinking continued. He moved back to Yellowknife in 1991 and entered AA in September of 1992. Anne entered Al-Anon in 1992 as well.

Now back together as a family since 1994, Richard and Anne feel both AA and Al-Anon has changed their lives for the better. They note that more people in Yellowknife could be helped by the organizations but only they can make the decision to enter the programs.