Part 13: The novelty of being sober is long gone

Part 12: Can you imagine the looks I would get if people saw me drinking a glass of wine?

Part 11: Life is not always going to go as planned and if we can accept this then maybe we can handle the suffering when it comes

Part 10: I recently read that observing clouds in the sky is very good for our mental health. I thought it was just me who found it so calming

Part nine: I am wondering if I should perhaps try AA again. It might be a different experience when I’ve had several months’ sobriety. We’ll see

Part eight: The next time an opportunity to travel comes along, maybe I can enjoy a little of the anticipation

Part seven: I was anxious going away with my wine-loving friend but I felt accomplished stepping off the plane home sober

Part six: The longer I am sober, the more incentive I have to stay sober. Do I want to throw that away?

Part five: I am in the middle of a family crisis. Not to take a drink requires a discipline I would compare to the training of Olympian athletes

Part four: I hate to dash other drinkers’ hopes of quitting, but this isn’t getting easier yet

Part three: I joked with her about cleansing her soul and asked if she had tried confession

Just a handful of people knew I was in rehab, partly because of my fear of failure. What if I fall off the wagon?

I shocked myself when, one morning at a meeting, I spoke about my terrible temper