This is a lovely post, and this particular sentence the truest part. As someone many miles farther along on that road, I can say I also recognize several of the rough patches you’re facing right now: new surroundings; challenging social structures and aspirations; personal changes; physical co-morbidities — all of these will test that solid sobriety, as I’m sure you know.

I hope you can find other sober people, groups, to walk this path with you, there where you are.

For me, it’s one or two understanding people and 12-step principles — not some addiction to a group, thank you very much, all you armchair diagnosticians out there — that have helped me put together the last 19 years of sobriety. Maybe for you it will be something else — like sharing your story this way. But I do believe it’s true what they say: no one can do it for you, and you can’t do it alone.

Anyhow, thanks. I appreciate the flashback to myself at a time when I also didn’t know what to say when people offered me a drink. Now, I just say, “No, thanks. I’ve had enough.”