“I used to hate the idea of stopping drinking because it seemed all the fun in life would disappear. But it was the misery that disappeared. Laughter, fun and joy came back into my life. I enjoyed the thrill of doing scary things stone-cold sober. I experienced the contentment that I belong in the world. I’m a valued person who brings value to others.”

“I am grateful to the older members, who will always be “older”, for lighting the way, and to the newer ones for reminding me about whence I came. Some teach me what to do, and others what not to. Some ideas given to me have been useful, and others have been tried and discarded in a process of changing perspective. There are always many who have what I want. Most of the time, I am grateful.”

“Best of all is the loving, happy relationship I have with my young son. We’re each other’s best friend. My life now is balanced and serene and it’s wonderful. I sincerely hope I never lose my gratitude or take anything for granted. Materially, I don’t have much, but when I had it all I didn’t appreciate it and I certainly didn’t know happiness. There is no life I want more than the one that I have and the journey just keeps getting better.

AA has given me everything I ever wanted and more than I ever dreamed of – thank you AA.”

“With their continuing support, and in spite of many ups and downs and many days of being tempted almost to the point of no return, I have managed to stay away from that first drink. The urge to drink just isn’t there any more and I make a conscious effort not to attend functions where I am going to be even slightly tempted. I don’t need to put myself through that. My life has never been happier, my marriage is great, my kids are thriving and I feel absolutely free for the first time in a long time.”

“I had one ‘friend’ left. A neighbour who brought food for the kids, gave me money. She told me one Sunday morning that I had to do something or she’d have to walk away. She just couldn’t watch it any more. I don’t know what it was that pushed me to make the phone call to AA. Thank God for those AA members in service, people at the end of the phone 24/7 to handle calls from people like me, with nowhere left to go, no more excuses.

Within a couple of hours, two members of Alcoholics Anonymous were in my living room, curtains drawn, vodka tears and snot running. They were not interested in my problems. They told me about the way they drank and I knew they were like me. I’d never admitted it to anybody. They told me about alcoholism, the physical allergy which meant that once I had one drink I was unable to stop. The mental obsession which meant that I couldn’t leave it alone, no matter how bad it got. The spiritual malady which led to the terrible dark loneliness and terror. These people told me that they had found a way to stop drinking in AA and that their lives had changed for the better and they were happy. I don’t know why but I believed them. I did as they suggested. I went to a meeting near me, started going to others, started working the Steps. After a short time, the desire to drink left me and has not returned. My life has changed in ways that are beyond belief. I have faith in the future and I’m no longer ashamed of my past. I’m so grateful for the chance to live free from the obsession with alcohol.”

“That’s where being a member of AA comes in. People that are not “alcoholic” just don’t understand. In AA I don’t feel like I’m different any more, I have something to belong to, I have found new meaningful friendships. I am also reminded if I ever start to think I can drink like “normal” people, I will end up right back where I came from. Best of all, I found that by following a few simple suggestions on a daily basis, the desire to drink alcohol has completely disappeared. I have discovered that I can solve, or at least cope with, any problem that comes along today by using the tools I found in the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous. The people in AA really care about what happens to me and I have a life way beyond my dreams. I have been able to get my life back on track and make up for a lot of things I felt guilty about in the past. My one small regret is that I enjoy my life so much today that I wish I had done something about my drinking problem a little bit earlier.”