For me the only thing, now, that keeps me sober is keeping spiritually fit and having a close conscious contact with my HP (God), there are lots of other tools to make sure i enjoy my sobriety and help me to move forward though.
Yeah i've heard all the stories, and met people in real life, about relapsing after a long time not drinking, my sponsor is 24 years sober, he's never relapsed so i'm more keen to learn from and listen to him on how he has done this rather than listen to the guys that relapsed after decades...i know how to relapse;-)
I'm not showing disrespect to the disease (whatever you want to call alcoholism) and it is cunning, baffling and powerful but to me spending too much time on this subject would be like me starting my own business then seeking the experience of people who had done the same and gone bankrupt instead of seeking the experience of those who had run a company successfully for years and still are doing so...does that make sense?
I like to remember...my sponsor says no matter how long you have you will have days in your sobriety where the best thing you can do that day is just not drink...and he is a very sober person...i don't know why but i find that quite comforting, progress not perfection and all that:-)