Hey everyone, my name is Guy. I’m your garden variety alcoholic and drug addict.

Drinking and drugging started for me when I was 9 and completely took over my life by the time I was 13. I grew up on Long Island, New York, in a middle-class home with hardworking, loving parents. My childhood was good until things started changing around 11 or 12. My older brother was an alcoholic, and a lot of what came into our house came through him. He was 9 years older than me, and let’s just say he wasn’t exactly gentle.

I went from being a star baseball player to a daily drinker and pot smoker almost overnight. From that point on, all I cared about was getting high, listening to music, and chasing things I didn’t have the confidence to go after in a healthy way. Deep down, I didn’t think I was worth much.

By 19, I was in the hospital with an esophageal hemorrhage, and a doctor told me I had 5 years to live if I didn’t stop drinking. My response was, “Can I still smoke pot and take mesc?” That tells you everything you need to know about where my head was at.

I went to rehab in October of 1988 and got out on December 1, on my dad’s birthday. I turned 21 while I was there. I went to AA, but I didn’t really listen. I was young, stubborn, scared, and still convinced I could do things my way.

On January 22, 1989, after fighting it every step of the way, I drank again. That night ended the way these things usually do. Badly. I don’t remember much, but I do remember enough to know I was done.

I called my sponsor the next day. He told me to go to a meeting. I didn’t want to hear it. He hung up on me.

I’ve been going to AA ever since.

What has AA given me over the last 37 years? More than I could ever put into one newsletter.

It gave me a life.

It gave me the ability to handle life on life’s terms. It gave me a way to talk about what was going on inside me instead of burying it. It taught me how to listen, how to be willing, how to keep going, and how to change direction when I’m wrong.

My life has not been perfect. Not even close. I’ve been through grief, divorce, disappointment, and hard lessons. I lost my mom, and that pain hit hard. I’ve made mistakes. I’ve had to start over. I’ve had to face myself more times than I care to admit.

But I stayed sober through all of it.

Because I stayed sober, I got to build a life I thought I would never have. I have a beautiful family. My wife is my best friend. We raised five kids. I’ve worked at the same job for 20 years. I’ll be 60 this year, which is not bad for a guy who was once told he probably wouldn’t make it to 25.

AA gave me lifelong friends. It gave me perspective. It gave me resilience. It gave me a front-row seat to watching people completely change the course of their lives. I’ve seen people come in broken, hopeless, and beaten down by life, and I’ve watched them become people others respect and look up to.

To say AA saved my life is a massive understatement.

So why did I start this?

Because I want to tell the truth. I want to share what it was like, what happened, and what life looks like now. I want to tell stories, give suggestions, and hopefully offer something useful to people who are trying to stay sober one day at a time.

This won’t be polished nonsense or fake inspiration. It’ll be honest. Recovery, growth, setbacks, lessons, gratitude, and everything in between.

If you stick around, that’s what you’ll find here.