Getting sober as a single mom with two little girls was a delightful challenge, once I had a relationship with God in my life. I had an amazing support group and a strong sponsor too.

I knew I had reached another milestone in my sobriety when my 17-year-old son asked if he could have friends over to the house.

Some say that when you quit drinking, you also have to give up your drinking buddies, and for me that’s so true.

I stared fiercely at the big hand of the clock, as though watching the minutes tick away would make him magically appear.

My wife initiated the intervention that landed me in treatment, but she didn’t come to “family day” while I was there. However, she did go to Al-Anon once a week after I got out.

My childhood was not always a good one. Even though she adopted me, my adoptive mother did not want me. My adoptive family was rich, and my biological family was very poor.

When I was three years sober, I attended a meeting where we discussed the topic, the amend you haven’t made.

Mom and Dad decided it was time to check on me, their prodigal child. Mom stocked the motor home. Dad drove. They left Salt Lake City to come see me in Bellevue, Washington.

One day, while doing my son’s laundry, I found what looked like a homemade plastic baggie in one of his pockets.

“What was your part?” That was my sponsor’s response to me whenever I asked, “Why am I always under attack?”

Our Fourth Tradition states, “Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or A.A.

I was visiting with an old acquaintance after a meeting the other day.

When I was 28 years old and just two months sober, my life bumped into Kenora, a town in northern Ontario.

My husband and I just buried our dog, Eddie. He was in some pain for the last while, so we were grateful for his release.

When I was sober about five years, I reached a turning point in my sobriety. I had worked the Steps and sponsored a few women.

I was sober for three years when I left to study abroad in Valencia, Spain. Sometimes you get a feel for a place right away, something more than a first impression.

Before I came into AA, I had a habit of labeling people and then deciding whether that type of person had anything to offer me.

I wasn’t raised with religion. Despite this, even at an early age, I felt I was spiritual. But the God I found in nature was entirely removed from the churches I saw my friends attend.

I was raised in a home where I experienced neglect and grew up to be a melancholy child who found fault with everyone.