Women with Alcoholic Husbands: Ambivalence and the Trap of Codependency

In this important study of women with alcoholic husbands, Asher vividly describes the process of coming to terms with a profound crisis in one's private life. From interviews with more than fifty women, all of whom were participants in family treatment programs, she assembles a composite picture of the experiences shared by wives of alcoholics. The testimony given by these women illustrates the steps they must take to regain control of their lives. The first step is figuring out what is happenin…