Back from the Darkness
May 2026 | How the steps changed my life | Our Personal Stories

Back from the Darkness

Although his drinking took him to the very bottom and far away from everyone, his sobriety got some people’s attention

When I was a rebellious teenager in high school my dad told me, “Do the right thing, you never know who’s watching.” We lived in a small town. My dad was the assistant principal, and my stepmom taught at the high school. We were a prominent family, so when I heard him say that what I really heard was, “Do the right thing—or you’ll embarrass our family.”

WANT TO CONTINUE READING?

You must have an active online AA Grapevine subscription to access full stories and audio.

Login Renew Subscribe

Need help with customer service?

Call 800 631-6025 (English), 800 640-8781 (Spanish), 212-870-3456 (French) or email: [email protected]
or [email protected]

Have Something You Want To Share?

We want to hear your story! Submit your story and it could be published in a future issue of AA Grapevine!

Submit your Story