I’m still mystified by how I got sober, and the only answer that makes sense is that I stopped drinking through the grace of God. I was thinking about the difference between those of us who get sober and those who are still drinking, and I believe the difference is that we have accepted the grace that was offered. Every day, my Higher Power gives me the grace to be sober, and every day I make the choice not to drink, to accept the grace.
Jack D., La Crescenta, California
Surrender has nothing to do with giving up. If means to stop fighting.
Brian F., Carrollton, Texas
In AA, we discover that it is impossible to give without receiving, or receive without giving.
C. C., No. Hollywood, California
The most beautiful gifts of my life come to me in packages I do not recognize at first glance. In fact, I often don’t see them until I have stumbled over them. Yet I know that when I go about my business in service to AA and to others, these gifts will appear, usually in the most unexpected places.
Jim C., Costa Mesa, California
You give the program an hour a day, and it gives you twenty-three.
Marco D., New York, New York
I don’t consider AA a “self-help program.” Self-help kept me drunk for twenty years! To me, AA is the exact opposite. I’m sober now through the help of a Higher Power, my home group, and the Twelve Steps. If I use self-help, I get drunk.
Sam M., Sulphur, Louisiana