As a practising alcoholic for 25 years and a recovering alcoholic for 28 years, I have a wealth of experiences in both camps and feel that others will be able to identify with my story. I see myself as a common, everyday garden variety alcoholic who has somehow managed to live soberly with an illness that continues to claim the lives of so many other people. As well as being an alcoholic, I am also a member of Al-Anon - a group that helps people who are affected by another's alcoholism or drug addiction. In this community I am learning how to be a caregiver rather than a caretaker of other people. As a practising Catholic, I have combined the Alcoholics Anonymous and Al-Anon Twelve Step programs with my faith tradition.