A Seat, a Cup of Coffee, and Lots of Love

When I came to AA in November 1960, having had my last drink the day before, I came in total terror. Sometime in the middle of October I'd been released from doing ten days in jail. It was there that I found out I was a heroin addict. Cold turkey is not the way to find out you're hooked on drugs. For whatever reason, I sat down with a bottle and some money, and said, "Let's find out who's boss." I found out a week or so later. It was alcohol, not me. I'd lost again. This was the final straw. There was nothing left inside of me or outside. I knew that if I took the next drink I would drink compulsively from consciousness to unconsciousness. I was scared as I'd never been scared in my life.