- Alcohol
Dear everyone!
First of all I want to congratulate whoever created this website! It is one of the most positive, uplifting and hopeful websites on the subject. Obviously everyone contributing with their stories is also helping to make this website what it is.
I also have a story. During my life I’ve spent 14 years as an alcoholic. The years “normal” people spend creating families, developing careers and just enjoying life in their prime, I chose to pour down the drain. I am now 45 years old, and on the 4th of July this year, I will be 6 years sober. Looking back on my life, I can see that my alcoholism started a long time before I hit the bottle. Due to my upbringing and background, things happening to me and just the way I am as a human being, I saw alcohol as a substance that made life easier to handle. Sadly I couldn’t handle alcohol at all, and I had time to destroy most things in my life before finally being able to kick the bottle.
A couple of years ago, when I felt I had enough mileage between me and my drinking years to be able to see things clearly and honestly, I wrote a book called “Bring Your Own Bottle.” I gave my book that name, because it takes “bottle” (courage) to become sober. The book is my life’s story looked at from the point of view that it is never the drink itself that makes a person an alcoholic; but it also shows that after a while you can’t continue to blame your past on your drink. At some stage you have to accept that it is the drink that has become the one thing destroying your whole existence. In “Bring Your Own Bottle,” I tell the reader how I managed to get sober. I hope that by doing so, I can at least encourage someone out there who is ready for a change to try and do the same in the way that is best for them.
After writing my book, I thought I had done my bit for sobriety, and I thought I would get on with the rest of my life without touching that subject again. At the beginning of this year I gave up, or shall I say, gave in. I realized I can’t ever get away from the subject. First of all, I will always be incredibly grateful that I managed to get out of the bottle. Secondly, people around me always want to talk to me about my sobriety, because a lot of the people around me sadly also saw me at my very worst, and they are amazed over the life I live today. I have a life that is healthy and happy, and I have a lot of creative plans for my future life. My final reason to get more involved with sobriety issues again is that my background is in journalism and writing. I live for my writing, and if I can help someone through what I write, it becomes a bit more meaningful. A few weeks ago I decided to start a blog called “Chris Nolan Writes about Alcoholism and Recovery.” In my blog, I draw from my own experience and write about issues I feel can help someone looking for encouragement and hope. I also write for people who have to live around an alcoholic, powerless to help.
Take care! – Chris