up your life. My first meeting, I wasn’t sure that I was powerless over alcohol, but I knew without a doubt that my life was unmanageable, like it says in Step 1. Still, I struggled, keeping my own pace.

It took me longer to get through than anyone else I’ve met who hasn’t relapsed. I stayed on a step for months or years if necessary. I didn’t even say the full Serenity Prayer for the first three years I was in, because it had the word God at the beginning of it. It was like there were two of me, one dragging the other one through the program.

But I’ve come full circle, and I want to share my thoughts and experiences with other people who are suspicious of 12 Steppers and their coffee-chugging meetings. It’s okay to think they all look a little desperate and weird, chain-smoking like that outside the back door of a church building at 6 p.m. on a Friday night. It’s okay to wonder if these people really mean it when they say you can call them “anytime” when you just met them a minute ago. It’s okay to be cynical, skeptical, and a little freaked out by the whole situation. That’s what this book is about, really. It’s encouragement to give something that looks ridiculous a shot at saving your life.

What It’s Not
This is not a book that will solve your problems. You will have to do that yourself. Whether your problems were caused by forces outside your control or were self-inflicted, you’re the