The Alcoholic Husband Primer: Survival Lessons For The Alcoholic's Wife

First published in 2016, Wren Waters wrote "The Alcoholic Husband Primer" in response to what she saw as a lack of resources and support in the recovery community for the alcoholic's wife. Despite alcoholism being recognized as a "family disease" that profoundly affects all those in relationships with the alcoholic - especially his wife - Waters feels little is offered to the woman living in the soul-sucking toxicity and dysfunctional reality of an alcoholic marriage. And what support, advice, guidance or programs there are seem to be shortsighted and alcoholic-centric in approach, ignoring or negating the very real and unique pain and emotional needs of the alcoholic's wife or committed partner. Weary and skeptical of labels ("co-dependent," "enabler") and uninterested in theories, ("detach with love"), Waters wrote the first edition of "The Alcoholic Husband Primer" as the book she wished she had found in her early years of coming to terms with what it meant to be married to an alcoholic. In this revised second edition, Waters stays true to her original mission of being a voice singularly for the woman married to an alcoholic while making no apologies for her sometimes harsh depiction of life with him. "Life with an alcoholic is harsh," she likes to point out. The 18 lessons, including updated versions of the original 16 and an additional two new lessons go to the heart of a woman's suffering while offering practical solutions and strategies for managing the chaos of life with a man who drinks compulsively.