I got sober at 21 after a five-day coke and alcohol bender. I remember knocking on my parents' bedroom door and saying, "I'm ready." They got out of bed and stayed awake with me until the hospital would take me. I was completely shot. I didn't want to live, and I didn't want to die.
I spent 90 days in rehab, where I turned 21, and I got out on my dad's birthday, 12/1/1987. I went to AA, but I didn't listen. I got two jobs, a girlfriend, and plenty of excuses.
I drank for the last time on 1/23/1988, after falling out of a moving car onto a busy Long Island road trying to throw up. I'm lucky to be alive.
More than 38 years later, I've lived the life of my dreams, and I'm still striving for more. Now it's time to share this journey. I hope you'll stick around for the ups and downs, just like I did.
What I write, and who it's for
Sober Through the Years is writing from inside the work — what recovery actually looks like when the pink cloud fades and real life shows up. It's grounded in the principles of Alcoholics Anonymous, but it's written for anyone who has decided they want to live differently, whether or not they ever walk into a meeting.
I'm not a counselor, a clinician, or a spokesperson for anything. I'm one alcoholic writing honestly about staying sober, one day at a time.
It works if you work it.