This book is about women who fall in love with men who are in love

with alcohol. It is the story of men who are hooked on drinking and

the women who are hooked on these men. It is a story about trust and

betrayal, hostages and hostage takers, and about struggle for freedom

and survival. It is also a story about an age-old love triangle: the

woman, the man she loves, and his mistress---the bottle.

Who are these women? What happens to them during the years

their mate is drinking? Why do they stay with him when he continues

to drink, and what happens to them if he stops? These are some of the

issues the book addresses. In doing so, it attempts to cast light on a

shadowy and pervasive form of household terrorism that has long

gone unchallenged. Are these women hostages, or are they willing

accomplices? Are they victims or villains? How has society responded

to their needs, and to what extent have our social systems failed

them? What steps can be taken to improve or rectify the situation?

As we will see, the relationship between a woman and her alcoholic

mate is a study in love and hate, pity and anger, fear and confusion.

When we consider the findings of a recent Gallup poll that one family

in four in the United States reports a problem with alcohol at home,

it becomes clear that the potential for such relationships is frighten-

ingly widespread. And when we realize that this figure represents a

100 percent increase over the findings of little more than a decade

ago, the picture becomes even more grim.

Other figures are equally disturbing. While we now know that

alcoholism strikes people in all walks of life, regardless of age, sex, or

socioeconomic status, the sheer magnitude of the affliction suggests a

problem of epidemic proportions In the United States alone (using

thl : (ountlv a a vely bload model fo~ what is going on elsewhele in

the world) an estimated eighteen million* individuals suffer from

some form of alcohol abuse. Add to this the commonly held notion

that the problem drinker affects at least five other people in his or hel

circle and the number of victims direct and indirect including