Well for one, I had to come to a point where I wanted to be sober more than I wanted to be drunk. I did attend AA, it's not something that I'm interested in pursuing further than I did (and this really isn't an aa versus non-aa thing..). There are a LOT of ways to get and stay sober, there's a ton of people here that are testament to that. I read, I have support through friends and family, I attend addiction counseling 2x a week, and I just don't drink, I live my life, and have found how much more life I can put into my days without alcohol involved. I don't know anything 'profound' that worked for me, nothing worked until I was at the point of making a permanent decision, I got there, and here I am, tho only 70some days sober.
Please don't feel boxed in to AA, or any program. I don't know who told you that you couldn't achieve sobriety without AA but that was irresponsible dangerous information. You must find your own way, be it AA, counseling, secular recovery, spending time here, talking to friends, talking to your dog.. whatever it is that works for you.
Sorry if I just rambled, I don't want to bash or talk bad about any method, I just want to make sure to express there's lots of ways out there, we're all different, and respond differently to different approaches, luckily there's LOTS of options!