Saturday Evening Post from January 1962 - The Housewife’s Secret Sickness

The Saturday Evening Post — January 27, 1962
Featuring “The Housewife’s Secret Sickness” by Don Murray

Alcoholism Among Women / Marty Mann / National Council on Alcoholism

Offered here is the January 27, 1962 issue of The Saturday Evening Post, featuring the important article “The Housewife’s Secret Sickness” by Don Murray.

This article examines the often-hidden problem of alcoholism among women during a time when public discussion of female alcoholism was still heavily shaped by shame, secrecy, and social stigma. The phrase “secret sickness” refers to the way many alcoholic women suffered privately, often hiding their drinking from family, neighbors, doctors, and the wider community rather than seeking help.

The piece is especially significant for recovery-history collectors because it includes interviews and commentary connected to women’s alcoholism and recovery, including Marty Mann—an early A.A. member and founder of the National Council on Alcoholism—as well as Mrs. Thomas Delaney, founder and director of CHRILL (“chronically ill”) Service and its alcoholism information center in East Orange, New Jersey.

Published in a major national magazine, this article helped bring attention to alcoholism from a woman’s perspective and contributed to the broader public conversation about treatment, stigma, and the need for women alcoholics to be seen, understood, and helped.

This issue is a meaningful collectible for those interested in A.A.-related history, Marty Mann, women in recovery, public education on alcoholism, and the changing understanding of alcoholism in mid-century America.

Condition

This magazine is in good condition overall. The magazine shows general age-related handling wear.

Please review all photos carefully for the most accurate representation of condition.

A strong period piece documenting the public discussion of women’s alcoholism, recovery, and the work of early alcoholism advocates during the early 1960s.