Recovery is a Wonderland

One Sunday in 1983, a major turning point occurred in my life when I walked into a convenience store. They were selling a certain brand of beer I liked for the first time in Florida, so I bought a couple of six packs to celebrate. Why do I remember that occasion so well? Once I started drinking that day, I was not able to stop. It was as if I had crossed an invisible line that had always been there; my descent into the abyss began. The abyss was the dark void of pain, shame, fear and loneliness that had always existed within me. Drinking alcohol somehow made everything bearable, it anesthetized my feelings and let me forget my fears.