As my sponsor asked me after my last drink "what step were you working on before you picked up"?, and, "why didn't you call me before you picked up"? AA is not just about going to meetings. Meeting don't get you sober, the 12 steps do, helping other do, and doing whatever in the world you have to do in order to NOT pick up that first drink. I was taught that my next drunk starts long before I pick up that first drink.
I've been sober a long time. My first two years was hard learning to live life without drinking. I wanted the easy way to grow up. But, yOu can't learn to deal with situations without drinking until you live through situations without drinking. If you want AA to work for you, then you have to do the work AA says you have to do to overcome your alcoholism.