Dear Barbara and all, Thank you for mentioning the alcoholism/family history connection. There are more of us in the world affected than anyone could imagine. When I was about 30 my 24 yo sister said to me, 'You know why mom and dad and our family is so screwed up, don't you?' And though I had often wondered and labored about it, I didn't know. I had left and didn't look back at 16. She simply said, 'The alcoholism'. I attended counseling with her for a while, and read some great books on the subject, and at my husband's urging went to more counseling just before the birth of our third child.........he couldn't understand why I was a complete *@#(b-word) to live with after my father called me (for the second time in my life). I have had to learn simple civilty, manners, politeness, and how to make small talk as an adult. I feel like I came to the professional world with a huge deficit, like starting out deeply in debt, with a huge need to learn simple 'people skills'. Thanks so much for your encouraging words, Barbara, 'people can change, and LIFE IS GOOD'. Sorry this is off-topic..........but I can't be the only one on this list with this kind of struggle. I am so happy now!!!! I have a great (2nd) husband!!!! Three normal/wonderful kids!!! I LOVE working in the field of lactation and helping new moms and families get off to a good start.........I even think I'm good at it!!! And like Corrine, now I can say some of the hard knocks have expanded my viewpoints and tenderized my heart. Susan in Minnesota rn ibclc ________________________________________________________________ YOU'RE PAYING TOO MUCH FOR THE INTERNET! Juno now offers FREE Internet Access! Try it today - there's no risk! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj. *********************************************** The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html