Pillars of Sobriety

Five years ago, I moved from Tucson to a small city in southeastern Washington. About three and a half years sober at the time, I was nearly out of my mind trying to fit in here. Convinced that they didn't do AA "right," I turned the Fourth Step on its head and began taking a searching and fearless moral inventory of all the other AAs around me. I called back to Tucson and over to L.A. where my sponsor was living, for advice. Luther W. told me, "Well, if they're not doing it right, then it sounds like you've got a lot of work to do." I think he meant it was going to be another inside job. In the ensuing months and years, I've learned that the footwork for fitting in is simplicity itself: you want to belong? Then join.