Renelle was chair of the Al-Anon portion of the 2015 International Convention in Atlanta.
A native of Atlanta since 1952, her father was a fire fighter and her mother worked for Ivan Allen, JR - a famous family in Atlanta.
Neither of her parents drank. She was warned not to drink because alcoholism ran on both sides of her family.
Annual trips out west taught her to be in awe of God.
But at 12 she was raped by a neighbor's dad. She got mad at God who let that happen and turned her back on God. She didn't tell anybody about the incident. She learned in Al-Anon that we are only as sick as our deepest secrets. She was damaged goods who carried unearned guilt and shame.
She quit high school pregnant, married the father but that marriage fell apart. She landed in another abusive relationship that ended when he went to jail.
She got her GED and joined a major corporation that she stayed with for 24 years.
Shortly after getting the job she met "him". The journey of alcoholism began.
