How AA Came to Him

I AM a recovered alcoholic or should I say recovering alcoholic because we can never recover because we have got to live without alcohol for the rest of our lives if we value our sobriety. My name is Alf and I am an alcoholic and I formerly lived in Liverpool England and I was drinking normally until I got a job in a brewery where I was getting six pints a day allowed to me but after a while six pints was not enough for me and I used to steal beer out of the vats. I was drunk every night and my parents were ashamed of me because it was very seldom they saw me sober and about eighteen months ago I came to New Zealand to live with my relatives and my drinking got no better it got worse. I was causing troubles at home and nine months ago I was taken to my first AA meeting and I listened to chaps just like myself telling their story and after the meeting was over I asked them how long it was since they last had a drink. Some said months others said years and one bloke said he had been dry for seven years and I said you can't be an alcoholic and then he said I only need one drink and those seven years mean nothing to me and then I knew what he meant and this bloke told me to look at the Twelve Steps and the first Step I was powerless over alcohol that really was me and the other eleven Steps made sense also but I said to him how did you keep sober so long and he said take it one day at a time don't have a drink today and attend meetings often. I took his advice one day at a time and that was nine months ago and I thank God and AA that I have not had a drink today. Best wishes to AA members everywhere.