Sober 36 years since 1/3/1983 at age 21 when his mother Polly was only 6 years sober, James shares what it was like to find Recovery early.
Having grown up with an alcoholic, suicidal mother, he did not drink for effect until he was 15 after his mom got sober.
His dad got recovery first in Al-Anon where he learned to stop enabling Polly.
When, at age 14, he heard from a counselor on Family Day a definition of an alcoholic as someone who is not comfortable in their own skin, he said to himself:
"That is me exactly." - and he had not yet started to drink.
The counselor also said alcoholics are fully of belligerent denial and that he had a 50/50 chance of becoming an alcoholic.
He made a commitment to never drink. That lasted for five months.
(55 min) (9.5 MB) (id#2716)