The Importance of Powerlessness

For my personal journey on the road to recovery, no word holds more power than “powerlessness.” Now, ten years into my ongoing day-by-day grasp on sobriety, I still listen at every meeting with bated breath for my two favorite portions of “How It Works.” Those are the words, “Remember, we deal with alcohol—cunning, baffling, powerful,” and the First Step’s words, “We admitted we were powerless over alcohol— that our lives had become unmanageable.” I’m still not immune to goosebumps when I hear these words, because they always take me back ten years to my first meeting.