No Man Is an Island

My name is Garth and I'm an alcoholic. I'm a member of the Hornby Island Recycled Group, a small group of seven regular members. Hornby Island is situated just off the east coast of Vancouver Island, B.C. Our island is seven miles long at its longest point and four miles wide at its widest. To get to Hornby Island, you travel two hours north of Victoria on Vancouver Island's East Coast highway to a ferry terminal called Buckley Bay. A ten-minute ferry crossing to Denman Island, a fifteen-minute drive across Denman, and then another ten-minute ferry crossing will bring you to Hornby Island. The island hosts a year-round population of under 1,000 people, but will grow to 3,000 residents during the spring and summer months. Being a summer tourist destination, we can see up to 30,000 visitors in the peak season of July and August. Our group meets Monday and Friday in a small church tucked into a grove of trees. Visitors from all over the world return each year to share their experience, strength, and hope. This adds a delightful flavor to our spring and summer meetings. Our youngest member has less than one year and a recently-arrived old-timer has eighteen years. I have recently passed the eight-year mark of sobriety.