This is to my wife and children but I would like to share it with all. I am a 48 year old Alaskan man. I have been spiritually unfit most of my life and hooked on alcohol and drugs for over 32 years. Alcohol took away the pain and I thought with 'speed' I would find Utopia. God, I was wrong. All I found was misery, not just for me, but also for my grandparents, mother, father, wife, and children. Who am I kidding – I hurt everyone around me. The hurt and devastation I caused still overwhelms me. Sometimes I caused great pain.

My mother – God bless her – did everything a human could possibly do. She found a good spiritual program and we moved out to the Bush. In that village, she started working for the Alcohol Program, but I just did not get it;

THE PURSUIT OF SOBRIETY
By Cliff B. (with minor edits & emphasis added by Don K.)

Alcoholics Anonymous is for alcoholics who want to stop drinking, start living and enjoy being alive. But, AA has two elements; (1) the Fellowship and (2) the Program.

• The Fellowship of AA is comprised of the individuals who make up the groups. Some have recovered from alcoholism and some have not.
• Recovery occurs as the result of following a precise Program of action. The Program of Alcoholics Anonymous is stated in the book “Alcoholics Anonymous”. Page 17 of this book, the “basic text” for members of Alcoholics Anonymous and lovingly called the “Big Book”, states that almost all who have followed the Program have recovered. It further states that the Fellowship (making meetings and hanging out in AA) is good and important, but that will not produce recovery. Recovery is the product of taking the “Program of Action” or the Steps as they are outlined in the “Big Book” and is absolutely necessary if you are to survive alcoholism.

Today, a person with a drinking problem will have little trouble finding the Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous wherever they may be in this world of ours. Unfortunately though, they will probably have a difficult time finding the Program; without the Program, they will have little chance of finding long term sobriety.

Ahh, a discovery: I logged into my account, created a new "blog", logged out, then came back to create a new entry in my blog, After logging out, I found that the blogs are printed in reverse order - sort of. If I were writing a journal, diary or logbook, my next entry would start on the blank lines below my last writing. In this case, the software running this website posts the latest item at the top of the stack of blog entries...like a pile of papers I stack on my desk - the old ones are at the bottom of the pile, the latest one at the top. OK. That's cool. I'll take that into consideration when I type a few words in the 'title' line as I begin creating my blog entry.

by Marty Mann, known as the first woman to join Alcoholics Anonymous in a radio broadcast circa 1952

I am an alcoholic -- one of the fortunate ones who found the road to recovery. That was 13 years ago, but I haven't forgotten. I remember what it was like to be hopelessly in the grip of the vicious disease of alcoholism, not knowing what was wrong with me. I remember my desperate search for help. Failing to find it, I remember my inner despair, my outer defiance.

On Anonymity among A.A.'s an excerpt from "Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers Page 264, paragraph 2
This is A.A. General Service Conference-approved literature
Copyright ©1980 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. ISBN 0-916856-07-0

"As far as anonymity was concerned, we knew who we were. It wasn't only A.A., but our social life. All of our lives seemed to be spent together. We took people home with us to dry out. The Cleveland group had the names, addresses, and phone numbers of all the members." said Warren. "In fact, I remember Dr. Bob saying, 'If I got up and gave my name as Dr. Bob S., people who needed help would have a hard time getting in touch with me.'"