The 12 Step Companion Story

This has been a project many years in the making.

I came to Alcoholics Anonymous later in life.

Neither of my parents drank at all, and we lived in the country all of my teenage years, so I wasn’t exposed to the drinking game very often.

My friends all had parents that would drink and have parties, and sometimes we would “borrow” some of their alcohol beverages and drink them. Rapidly and with a sense of urgency and purpose! Mostly I was repulsed by the taste of alcohol and didn’t understand why anyone would drink it.

That changed as I got into my mid-teens and alcohol had become an ever-increasing part of the landscape of our lives.

Especially when we were able to escape the confines of the country. Although you couldn’t drink legally until you were 21, you could drive when you were 14 with a learners permit. The people making the rules at the time didn’t think that one through very carefully.

So we would all pile into someone’s car on Friday and Saturday nights and head off to the big city. We were going to parties and dances and quite often there was alcohol around.

Usually liquor was obtained through a friendly older sibling, or someone with fake ID, or raiding the parents liquor cabinet, or just asking some passing stranger at the liquor store. Sometimes the game would be a challenge to see who could get into the bar without getting checked for ID. Things were a lot less regulated back then.

I didn’t drink that often but when I did, black-outs usually ensued. I was not a very good drinker, but I persisted because we were all doing it and I liked the effect, and being part of the crowd.

I didn’t like the taste of alcohol, I couldn’t stand not being in control, and the hangovers were way too excruciating, so when I came into my twenties I drank moderately. Not often getting drunk because of those pesky hangovers.

I also took on a new path, getting married, pursuing a music career, and the constant search for a job that would “pay the bills.”

Eventually things changed. I was living on my own, and I handled my mid-life crisis with a thought; “I wasn’t hurting anyone if I enjoyed a more robust drinking career.” I had some money and time, and drinking quickly became the focal point of my life.

I never thought it could happen to me but I got to the point where I was drinking and blacking out daily. My health was failing and I couldn’t stop drinking.

Then a miracle happened – I showed up at the doors of Alcoholics Anonymous.

I had a sponsor after my first few weeks sober, and we went through the Twelve Steps before I was a month sober. I did the steps like I drank; rapidly and with purpose.

And here we are, over 15 years later… Clean, sober and happy!

The 12 Step Companion emerged as a result of my working with others and following Step Twelve.

Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

Nothing ensures sobriety more than intensive work with another alcoholic.

Daniel O