When a Sponsee Slips

For the last year, I've been sponsoring another alcoholic who's working very hard on his program, harder than he had ever had in the past. It was not his first go at it, but it was his first honest effort. He got a sponsor, started working the Steps, and you could see the miracle starting to happen to him right in front of your eyes. Then, after marking his first year of sobriety, he started to get complacent. He went to fewer and fewer meetings, his phone calls got fewer and farther apart, and when he did call, I could hear a certain dissatisfaction with life starting to creep into his voice. Within weeks, he went out again, and although he has been showing up at meetings to get twenty-four hour chips every few days, he has not been able to make it back yet. Everyone is wondering how he is doing.