AA v1

After months of trying to get sober, and fucking up again and again, I went to my first AA meeting last Friday. It was nothing like I expected. About 75 people crammed into a room, all shapes and sizes. Some were clearly current major addicts, nodding off. Some longtime sober. And everything in-between. But all welcoming. I arrived a bit late, about 5 min after the meeting had started, and with no seats to be seen I stood in the back by the door. Before I even had a chance to completely absorb the scene, the leader asked "do we have any newcomers", and a few people raised their hands. So I did too. She said, so let's have introductions from the newcomers. She said let's start with him, meaning the guy to my left. He said, "my name's and I'm an alcohlic." Everyone in the room joyously shouted "hi " and erupted in applause. Then the leader turned to me. The whole room looked right at me, standing in the back. Without hesitation, I admitted what I was to a group of strangers . . . something I had never admitted directly to anyone before. "Hi, I'm and I'm an alcoholic. The room erupted in applause. The guy closest to me shook my hand. My life changed forever.