Another thing I learned was about my so called friends when I was using. After my first few days sleeping in my car I was totally clean. You see I had no money to buy drugs or alcohol. One day I went to a few "friends" houses looking simply for a blanket. But you see since I had no drugs or $$ to buy them I was no longer useful to them. Took me several tries to find a real friend that gave me one. All I'm saying is many new comers struggle with this. Saying their the only friends I have. But are they really.....

Hi Bob, what a powerful message you have. Congratulations on 15 years!

Every time someone posts about their clean and sober anniversary I feel it brings a ray of hope to those still struggling that recovery from alcoholism and addiction is possible if we work for it.

True friends are like diamonds and unconditional love is a precious gift, yet I was guilty of not valuing either in active alcoholism and I was oblivious to the loss of it.

In recovery I have learned how to be a true friend and learned how to give altruistic and unconditional love. I would not swap what I have today for anything.

Relapse was an unfortunate part of my journey but I have friends in recovery who did not relapse, so I do not think it is necessarily a part of the illness. I drank again because I was mentally deluded that I could at the time. I always paid the price which increased until I had a lucid window of opportunity to get out of the downward spiral and reach out for help.

Thanks for you post and message.

Congrats on the 15!!!

Hugs,
Dennis

Congrats on 5,479 one day at a times

Congratulations! You should be very proud. Thank you for your inspiring post. It gives people like me hope!

Good stuff.

happy happy joy joy/....yes I know sleeping in my car and looking for a friend both....I finally became my own friend by no longer drinking or drugging...

Congrats on 15 years!

How fortunate or unfortunate that you "learned" relapse is part of the disease for some it is and they come back stronger. I did all my relapsing the thousand times I tried to quit on my own. When I got to treatment and AA I was 44 and I have not relapsed. I have just over 6.5 years and I still do the things I did when I first came in to AA.
I also believe that if I stop the action and working 10,11 and 12 I will eventual take a drink. Alcohol is a subtle but powerful foe.

I like what you said at the end its not the stuff that happens but how we deal with it. Boy is that the truth! Thanks for your post and congrats again on your sobriety!!

Congrats on 15 years of life. that's amazing. That's also how I look at sobriety...real life. The other "life" is a thin grey shadow compared to sobriety. Sobriety is richer in its feelings and experiences and for this alcoholic, that has meant feeling some things that I would have rather not have felt at all in the past.
I don't agree that relapse is part of recovery. Its part of the disease, its part of alcoholism, but it doesn't have to be part of any journey.
I relapsed many many times post AA. So far, a day at a time, I haven't in AA. I hope to experience 15 years of uninterrupted sobriety. Till then I'm so grateful to be sober today. What a blessing.

Congrats!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEc8rGonrQw

Don't get complacent. I fell after 24 years of sobriety. It took me 7 years to get back.

Nice to read Bob. There was a counsellor in my rehab who use to give me some fair dinkum truth in friendship. Pissed me off too, but struck a nerve. Onwards...

15 yrs! WOW! congrats
My first goal is 15 days, then we see...

I hear the 16th year is the hardest.

Re reply #14, I wouldn't take much notice of people who say certain years are more difficult or more dangerous for relapse than others. When you think about it that makes no sense, long term sobriety, if you are in AA, is dependant on being in fit spiritual condition and how committed you are to carry on doing what works for you if you are not.

To me that kind of talk is just scaremongering.