Alcoholism may seem a secret when the dysfunction, violence, and suffering caused by alcohol abuse are excused or even ignored. In this memoir, Connie May exposes the secret of her family's alcoholism and reveals how many family members and friends not only knew the secret but were willing participants in alcoholic behavior. At the same time, she remembers with affection the positive experiences she had growing up in such a family. Her story is both an individual one and a common one and should resonate with people who grew up with alcoholics or who lived or are living in alcoholic families.