Dear Queenie,
My husband is not usually a big drinker, but when he goes out with his friends who are, he gets drunk with them and then he drives home drunk, which scares me to death until he gets home safe. Except when he is with these friends he hardly ever drinks at all.
Queenie, is there any way to handle this?—Sober wife
Dear Wife,
Have you talked this over with your husband? Perhaps he does not realise how worried you are about him.
When he is out with these friends he could tell them he will not drink anything alcoholic because he is the “designated driver.” Or he could quietly order non-alcoholic beverages.
If he is unable to refuse to get drunk with his friends he has a drinking problem, whether or not he admits it. Alcoholics Anonymous (see Agenda, page 2 of this newspaper) might be able to help him if you can persuade him to get in touch with them, and Al-Anon (al-anon.alateen.org) might help you learn to cope with his problem.
