In the book "To Kill a Mockingbird" Atticus encourages his 11 year old daughter, Scout, to consider how a situation looks from the other person's vantage point before becoming angry and frustrated. Scout becomes aware of what this really means when, late in the story, she stands on the porch of a reclusive neighbor and realizes how the neighborhood looks from there.

Recently a friend talked about her frustration and anger that her daughter could not hold onto her sobriety. "If she really loved me she would stop. She knows how frightened I am for her," was essentially the mother's exclamation. For those of us who find "sustained" recovery a challenge, a comment like this can cause our own frustration and anger. "She doesn't understand the compulsion of this disease,...how hard I try...how helpless I sometimes feel."

Our addiction directly affects at least 4 other people. We each need to step onto the others "porch" and take a look from their vantage point.

Blessings-Penny