You read that right . . . for fun. Yes, the meetings are fun. They are as fun as a revival or a really good punk show. My favorite aspects of going out to bars—namely the camaraderie, the BS sessions, and the new people to meet—are all much better at meetings. Some of my friends ask me if I still go to meetings after all this time sober, and it stuns me that they don’t realize that I like to go. But it wasn’t always fun for me.

I knew I had to quit drinking, but I didn’t want to go to meetings. What I wanted was to go to some really nice celebrity rehab center, the kind where Ben Affleck or Danny Bonaduce gets to go, where I could sit around in a thick bathrobe and Ray-Bans while networking my next book-to-movie deal with my feet in the pool. That didn’t work out. I had negative money, no health insurance, and no chance at getting in any place like that. 12-Step meetings were my only option, but I was still reluctant.

The 12-Step groups are free. There are no dues or fees. People will pick you up and give you a ride if that’s an issue. I didn’t want to go, but I couldn’t beat the price, and it was imperative that I did something.

The last place I wanted to be was in a church basement. I’ve been in more church basements than shitty green paint. I’ve eaten many lifetimes’ worth of tuna casserole and Frito pie at potlucks in these basements. But I’ll be damned if that isn’t where most 12-Step meetings are.

The meetings being my only option, I had to suck it up and go. My way had damn near killed me. I needed other ideas, outside help, and the only people who would do it for free were a bunch of people who had been in my same situation.

I struggled with each aspect of the program. For a long time, I just practiced Step 1 over and over. That’s the step where you decide to not drink or use anymore, because it’s fucking