Let me do sobriety my way

Sat, 18 Aug 2012 16:00:00 +0000

I quit drinking in 2009 without the help of AA or rehab. There was no intervention, medical crisis or new low that finally spurred me to action. I got sober as I had gotten f-ed up—alone, under my own power. Three weeks into my sobriety, a survey I took at a public health clinic flagged me to an outreach program, Project Link, and they hooked me up with an addiction specialist at Weill Cornell Medical Center. I've attended counseling sessions there for the last couple of years and my relationship with my doctor has been a huge help to both my sobriety and my overall happiness but we've been clear the entire time that I own my sobriety—it is my creation and I define its parameters. I got myself sober and I alone am ultimately responsible for keeping myself sober. I feel good about my sobriety but I don't necessarily feel pride about it. As my parents pointed out to me when I was a little kid, you don't get extra points just because, for once, you did what you were supposed to do.

Salon.com > Mishka Shubaly

Let me do sobriety my way