[nandm]

"I don't know. I see that I am quite a bit like these people, but if I can just quit drinking for a while I will be okay. Maybe if I only drank beer I wouldn't get into so much trouble. I see what the symptoms of alcoholism are and though I exhibit some of them I am not yet willing to accept that I am an alcoholic. I feel that I am different than the authors and that I do not need to adopt such an approach to solve my drinking problem."

The authors, being just like us, anticipated our reluctance to admit our alcoholsm. The short term laying off from drinking that we hepe will serve as a solution is sown to be wishful thinking. One by one our objections are addressed by the example of the authors' own experience. We are allowed to make our own diagnosisi of our condition.

The authors describe our greatest obstacle and share the fact that the admission to ourselves that we are alcoholic is the first step in our recovery (30:7-8). The progresssive nature of alcoholism is presented (30:10-14, 30:16). Some of our attempts at controlling our drinking are outlined (31:11). Two methods of determining if we are truly alcoholic are proposed (31:10-14, 34:3-4). The authors show that even long periods of abstinece will not restore our ability to control our drinking. If we admit we are unable to drink moderately, then the question is how to quit althogether (34:9). The baffling nature of alcoholism, our inability to quit entirely even when we sincerely desire to do so, is descrived (34:12-15). The mental states that precede the first drink are illustarted and we are shown the undeniable insanity of resuming drinking after having determined not to do so and having a full knowledge of the consequences (35:6-37:9). The seeming hopelessness of our situation, being presented to us in this way, leads us to the inescapable conclusion that left to our own resources we are certain to return to drinking (43:15-16).

We are presented with a clear picture of the alcoholic problem. Our hope of recovering on our own is dashed as we discover the truth of our situation. There is nowhere else we can turn to find relief but to a Power greater than ourselves.