12 Step Family Recovery Testimonials; “Sobriety: Personal Goal – Shared Mission”

Published on March 31, 2009 by in Addiction

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12 step family would like to share this emotionally gripping testimonial written by a recovering addict about their struggles to stay clean and the importance of a support system for making a recovery.  Please keep in mind that the author’s identity has been kept anonymous for the sake of maintaining the basic premise within AA and Narcotics Anonymous of anonymity.

Sobriety: Personal Goal – Shared Mission

I tried to quit drinking so many times I can’t even keep count. I used to go to the library near where I was living and get all kinds of books on daily alanon that claimed they could cure me of my addiction. Short simple titles like Getting Sober and Your Last Drink gave me a false feeling of confidence that I could do it all on my own and it would be quick and painless.

Now I am finally getting the real help I have always needed. It’s my personal goal to stay sober, but I can see clearly that the mission of accomplishing that goal is one that requires a whole team to do successfully. Faith in a higher power is an important part of it, but a sponsor, a councilor… people who have been where I am and know how to get where I want to go to – you can’t pull that out of a book on your own. I’ll never forget, one time I was high reading a self-help book on addiction and I actually used my rolling papers and matchbook as a bookmark to save my place in the chapter right before I passed out!

Stop worrying about how hard is might be, or what might happen after you kick your habits. What you need to know is that the scary journey toward sobriety is one YOU can make in the company of people who care about you as deeply as they do themselves. You will never be cured, life just aint like that… but you can be sober, you can be free of the symptoms that come with your disease and with God’s mercy, you can start to heal the wounds that your history has caused for yourself and those you love. Peace~

  • Barbara Banes

    Dedicated to Everyone who loves an Alcoholic

  • tricia seubert

    I could never stop drinking – entered AA in my 20′s – didn’t last long, but I kept coming back. My life was a total mess, driving on 3 tires with sparks flying all over the place, 2 DWI’s, Calling people in the middle of the night to tell THEM how to live their life, cause I sure was handling mine, hurting my children by not being available for them..It was all about me..but I kept coming back, today I am almost 52 years old. By the grace of God I finally hit my bottom – I admitted I was an alcoholic and stop blaming every one else for my problems. 6 months ago, the light shone through, I found God, I lost the compulsion to drink. This was a gift from God. I no longer have black-outs, I no longer hurt those I love, and most amazing, I no longer hate the person I use to see in the mirror. I love myself today because people in AA carried me when I could not walk, and loved me when I could not love myself. The pit/doom/and fear have subsided. Life is short, don’t miss it.