ContentsAugust Articles Online
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Vol. 65 No. 15
Editor's NoteDear Readers, The subject of this month's special section, the joy of living, is richer and broader than I ever imagined when I was drinking, and a lot more fun. When I was drinking, I chased pleasure by partying, traveling and other assorted (sometimes sordid) amusements. But joy really meant only one thing—oblivion. The only way I could feel carefree was to get so drunk that I didn't care about anyone or anything, which, as many of you know, is sad, empty and ultimately an unbearable way to live. Getting sober and involved in AA opened up new roads to adventure, and stories like the ones in this issue helped me see that there were deeper, more enduring pleasures than those found in the bottle and different paths to it for each of us. For some, like the author of "Swimming the Channel," it's the satisfaction of meeting bold challenges and reclaiming a dream that alcoholism, and the physical and emotional damage it did, almost obliterated. For others, like the 16-year-old author of "Awesome!" it's the joy of "experiencing things I thought would never happen—tubing, water skiing, and staying up till 4 a.m. just laughing and talking." For the author of "Life With No Limits," who lives with a debilitating autoimmune disease, it's learning to let go of the things she can't do and fully enjoying what she can: writing, painting, and helping others thrive in sobriety, despite excruciating pain. For anyone who, like the author of "Slow Motion Train Wreck," knows what it is like to look into a barroom mirror and see "a corpse looking back," it's the joy of discovering, as the Big Book promises, that in recovery "Life will mean something at last." — In fellowship, |
