29 years sober today.. [View all]

And grateful to be here.

My life is completely different from 29 years ago. The job was gone, the marriage was gone and the house was gone.

Today I have a long term relationship and a nice home, and I was able to retire from a long term job, with a pension. My health has held up okay so far, at age 77.

I'm very lucky. I'm aware every day that none of those things was guaranteed by my sobriety, but none would have been possible if I continued on the path I was on.

I started my sobriety in AA; I know that's not for everybody, but it made a world of difference to talk to others who were facing the same challenge.

For those coming up behind me in sobriety, let me just say that this was the most difficult challenge of my life, but it was a thousand times worth it.