“You will become happy, respected, and useful once more.” — 24 Hours a Day

Before sobriety I wasn’t really happy. I wasn’t all that useful. And I definitely wasn’t respected. Truth was, I was a 20 year old selfish punk. I was also lost in the world, trying to find myself the only way I knew how, through drugs and alcohol. Instead, all I accomplished was to temporarily get away from the feeling of being lost, but eventually even that stopped working. 

Giving up the mind altering stuff helped, but I still felt alone until I embraced the principles of our program. But I it was the people in the rooms that held my hand and showed me the way back home, to a place where once again I could find peace, contentment and even happiness without needing to drink or get high. And I found a useful purpose too, to guide others down the path and away from misery, which gave me both self-respect and the respect of others. 

The gift that AA, Al-Anon, and the members of both programs have given me, is like a priceless diamond. And when I remember its value by making it a priority to take the time, to do my part, in practicing and sharing the program each and every day, ILML! 

– JamieQ