AA Thoughts: Being "Lucky"

Lucky I was one of those "lucky" ones
who glided through life without major disasters.
For the last twenty years of my drinking career,
I was drunk almost every night;
I often went to bed unconscious and woke up sick. . .
Over that twenty years,
I managed to strip all sense of worth from myself,
and to damage my relationships with the people I loved. . .
Finally, the world started closing in around me.
I hated myself.
I was ashamed of the things I was doing,
in pain every day. . .
My marriage was hurting,
my employers were taking a close look at me;
I was risking arrest almost every time I drove. . .
At this point, somehow through the grace of God,
I found the courage to ask for help.
At my first AA meeting, I knew I was in the right place.   
from the AA Grapevine November 2002
 - brought to you by our treatment centers