How to Give a Lead
Section Three: SPONSORSHIP, THE HEART OF AA
The Kid Who Came In from the Cold
Section Four: IT WORKS IF YOU WORK IT
Keep Coming Back — No Matter What
Section Five: FAMILY CONNECTIONS
Section Six: FRIENDS WE HAVEN’T MET YET: Working and Playing with Others
A New Generation of Old-Timers
Section Seven: HAPPY, JOYOUS, AND REAL
The Most Beautiful Word in the English Language
FOREWORD
Getting sober and staying sober isn’t easy at any age. But its starting place is clearly marked: “Recovery begins when one alcoholic talks with another alcoholic, sharing experience, strength, and hope,” says one foreword to the book Alcoholics Anonymous. It begins with stories like the ones in this book.
Most of us alcoholics are convinced that we are different, that we are too young or too old, too smart or too savvy to have a problem with drinking; we couldn’t possibly be drunks. But, after hearing other peoples’ stories, we discover that no one is immune to suffering. Others have felt the same soul-searing pain that we have. Others have felt just as desperate, angry, and afraid. After listening to AA members’ stories, we realize that other people understand us. We are not alone. People like us recover. We begin to have hope.
That is what you can find in this volume. A collection of stories by AA members who got sober in their teens, twenties, and early thirties, In Our Own Words not only articulates some of the difficulties faced by alcoholics young in years, but also describes some of the sober joys that await.
The stories in Section One are candid accounts of the drinking lives of ten young alcoholics. Some, like “Wanted” and “Far from Innocent,” depict the dark places that drinking took the writers. Others, like “Ten Minutes of Oneness,” capture the emotional and spiritual ravages that many alcoholics endure.
The stories in Sections Two through Four point
