Finding the Right Fit

My first sponsor was what some might call a bully. She ridiculed my thinking, called me names, yelled at me, and occasionally hung up on me when I called. This sponsor had about twenty-five years of sobriety and knew everything. It was her way or the highway, and little of it had anything to do with the Big Book. She sponsored many other women who were also afraid of her, but even more afraid of being ostracized from the group if they left. But after three months of sobriety, I left anyway. That kind of sponsorship simply didn't work for me. And I did feel the social stigma of it from the group, so for a while I left it, too.