Alcoholism is a thief because it takes so much from us mentally, physically, and spiritually. It not only robs us of our wellbeing, our health, and our faith, it steals us away from our family and friends. Above all, alcoholism destroys trust—the bedrock of all relationships. Addiction all but forces us to lie about our actions, sowing suspicion, anger and despair among family members and friends. Worse yet, alcoholism causes us to say things we would never say and do things we would never do, robbing us of our dignity and hurting the people we love the most. It is cruel thief.

Almost every week, I get a call from a family who is about to make a terrible intervention mistake. They will almost guarantee failure in their attempt to get their loved one into treatment. I can only imagine how many families don't call, and fall into this critical error.