Great post, soberlicious.
For me, whether theist or non-theist, had nothing to do with pouring alcohol down my throat and therefore nothing to do with deciding to never drink again.
Admittedly, when I read someone post "I am powerless over alcohol" my knee jerk thought is hmmm, AA. I believe this is likely due to years of former conditioning.
You posted, "She looked me directly in my eyes. and the power of that interaction was hard to describe". That kind of interaction transcends all belief systems to bring one back to the very core of life, which is indeed, the power of love.