Page 118 - The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous

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WORKING WITH OTHERS 97
You may be aiding in his destruction rather than his
recovery.
Never avoid these responsibilities, but be sure you
are doing the right thing if you assume them. Helping
others is the foundation stone of your recovery. A
kindly act once in a while isn’t enough. You have to
act the Good Samaritan every day, if need be. It may
mean the loss of many nights’ sleep, great interference
with your pleasures, interruptions to your business. It
may mean sharing your money and your home, coun­
seling frantic wives and relatives, innumerable trips
to police courts, sanitariums, hospitals, jails and
asylums. Your telephone may jangle at any time of
the day or night. Your wife may sometimes say she
is neglected. A drunk may smash the furniture in your
home, or burn a mattress. You may have to fight with
him if he is violent. Sometimes you will have to call
a doctor and administer sedatives under his direction.
Another time you may have to send for the police or
an ambulance. Occasionally you will have to meet
such conditions.
We seldom allow an alcoholic to live in our homes
for long at a time. It is not good for him, and it some­
times creates serious complications in a family.
Though an alcoholic does not respond, there is no
reason why you should neglect his family. You should
continue to be friendly to them. The family should be
offered your way of life. Should they accept and
practice spiritual principles, there is a much better
chance that the head of the family will recover. And
even though he continues to drink, the family will find
life more bearable.
For the type of alcoholic who is able and willing to