Ch. 4. Alcoholics Anonymous 

CH. 2. 
THE REHAB 

CH. 3. THE "HIGHER POWER" 

Chapter One

The First Meeting

Want to get started right away? Get yourself to a meeting. AA that is. And maybe get yourself a sponsor. 

But wait a minute! This is not going to be like one of those “Lost Weekend”, “Days of Wine and Roses”, “I’ll Cry Tomorrow” and other movies where AA is some holy grail, the great cure all at the end of the road where everyone is so happy but perhaps so apparently self righteous and completely boring. Don’t get me wrong. I’ve got some problems with AA and with some who go there. I’ll tell you about them a little later on. If you go, I hope you don’t freak out and never go back. Much may depend on choosing the right meeting and the right friend on whom to lean for awhile (the term “sponsor” may sometime sound a little too formal). 

Why don’t we leave it this way. Why not go to a meeting and then tell me about it. The way you do this is to turn to the part of this where I give you my reactions and thoughts to AA. Who knows, you may react differently. You may have a wonderful feeling of sudden release and security, something you have not felt for a long long time. I truly hope so. Many often feel this way. 

But if you feel differently, if you feel turned off and uncomfortable, that’s normal too and happens fairly often. Some folks give up and go their own way but, speaking now only for myself, that’s not a “way” I’d particularly want to go since I’ve been there, done that, as the saying goes. It’s best not to make any decisions at this point. Just go to a few meetings, talk if over with someone you find congenial and take your time thinking things over. 

All of this of course only if you want to do something right away. If not, or if you haven’t anything else to do (like take another drink) you may want to read on.