Why We Do It

We were sitting in a workshop at our area assembly on a Sunday morning. It was my first experience at an assembly, and I was wondering, Why are we here? I was not feeling well. I was in pain, exhausted and feeling sorry for myself. The workshop was entitled “The Concepts: Why We Have Them and Why They Work.” I was there only because of my DCM’s suggestion. I had tried to read the Concepts once, but they were a distant third to the Steps and Traditions in the competition for this alcoholic’s heart and attention. So I sipped my coffee and mentally grumbled. It was a miracle I was there at all, I thought. Twenty-four years earlier, at age 44, I had come into the rooms desperate and defeated. AA welcomed and hooked me, and I was on the path to a sober life.