The Heartbeat of AA

By the time I was five years old, I had developed a lot of survival skills that worked at the time, but over the years, one by one, they failed. My survival kit included: self-sufficiency, people pleasing, stuffing my feelings, dishonesty, adrenaline, fight, flight, and of course, alcohol and drugs. I attended my first AA meeting at the age of 17. Twenty-six years later I checked myself into treatment. In the end, I did one thing right—I asked for help, by the grace of God.