. . . a spiritual life which does not include . . . family obligations may not be so perfect after all. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 129

I can be doing great in the programapplying it at meetings, at work, and in service activitiesand find that things have gone to pieces at home. I expect my loved ones to understand, but they cannot. I expect them to see and value my progress, but they dontunless I show them. Do I neglect their needs and desire for my attention and concern? When Im around them, am I irritable or boring? Are my amends a mumbled Sorry, or do they take the form of patience and tolerance? Do I preach to them, trying to reform or fix them? Have I ever really cleaned house with them? The spiritual life is not a theory. We have to live it. (Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 83).