Nothing Stopped Him From Getting Sober

I learned so much from AA’s beginners meetings, which are filled with suggestions on how to get and stay sober. They are called “suggestions” because newcomers like me were not in any mood to be bossed around with a series of rules and regulations. As I detoxed in the rooms of AA, I wasn’t ready for lectures, either. If they had tried that approach, my first meeting would probably have been my last. Simple, basic tenets were needed: Don’t drink today and go to a meeting. Get a sponsor and call him (or her). Find a Higher Power. Set up the chairs and help make the coffee. Reach out and help others less fortunate. Apply the principles of the AA program in all my affairs.