An Offer I Couldn't Refuse

I was told that alcoholism is a progressive disease, with the end result of insanity or death unless I decided to get off the descending elevator. I was to put the plug in the jug, and my faith in a Higher Power. They also told me that it would take months, perhaps years, for all of the alcohol to leave my system. When I asked how long I'd have to keep coming to meetings, they replied, "Only until you begin to enjoy them." They also made me an offer I couldn't refuse. If I could give them the price of a Big Book, they said I could take it home with me, read the first 164 pages at my own pace, and if I found the book not to my liking, I could return it, and they'd give back every cent that I paid for it! I was glad to comply, and when I walked out of that meeting with my brand new copy of the Big Book under my arm, I felt as if the weight of the world had been removed from my shoulders.