[Rembrandt_fan]

You wrote, "My husband quit on his own after 24 years of drinking..."

Speaking only for myself, I couldn't do it alone. I tried and tried. Finally hit bottom--homeless, jobless, newly divorced, I came out of a blackout in jail, covered in someone else's blood from a bar fight, looking at seven years' hard time for felony assault, with no memory of any of it. It isn't necessary for one to give it all away to get sober: job, home, marriage, freedom, but it was necessary for me. At that point, I asked a God I didn't believe in to make me well or let me die.

Thankfully, the criminal charges were reduced to misdemeanors, so I only did a few months in county jail, not years in prison. I went from jail to a rehab center, from the rehab center to a halfway house, from a halfway house to the world.

AA saved my life, but I believe there's many paths leading to the same clearing. If your husband can stay sober on his own, then good for him. I mean it.

[SeaBiscuit]

Thanks for the mini fourth, that was a meeting in itself. Hang on to it.

[cardinal4]

Good post-I took something from it...

[L,TOWM]

AA saved my life, but I believe there's many paths leading to the same clearing.

And thank you for posting that. In 1985, a 30 day spin dry, NA (primarily), and AA (secondarily) saved my life. But most importantly, it started me on a path that led me to being born again. Eventually, God got me to a place where the 12 steps never took -- a complete removal of the obsession and desire to drink and use drugs.

Some have stated that 12-step programs can be a form of replacement addiction -- looking back on it, I see that was where I was at in the late '80s. I don't recommend my path to anyone else, but I thoroughly believe it was for a purpose. People that had a life like mine in their teens and 20's don't get to have a life like mine in their 40's. Except if God wills it.

Today, I try to live as a follower of Christ -- I do a few things for my church, but my Savior's burden is much lighter than my "daily program for recovery" was circa 1989. And I don't obsess about what I can't do anymore. It hardly ever occurs to me.

God Bless you -- may your sober years be many and filled with joy.

[Riverman94610]

I would like to personally commend you for your courage and refusal to give up under the most trying of circumstances.
I never went through anything close to what you did but I am SO glad I am away from that whole drinking-drugs-destructive behavior syndrome.
I can't even say I've found"peace".But I have accepted who I am with warts and all and don't need anyone else's validation for my existence on this planet.