Hi thisibelieve. I can empathize with everything you said. Binge drinking, black outs, wrecking my car and a DUI. The DUI and one other *horrible* incident happened at the tail end of my worst days, in July. I have since then come here, admitted to my problem, talked openly with friends and family and started going to AA meetings. It has been hard and I've had slips but I know there's no other option. And it sounds like you've arrived at that point to. Congrats, and hopefully you're able to see the grace in it
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To answer your questions:
1. See if you can find a women's meeting. I feel most comfortable at those still. Not sure if you're in an area with lots of meetings to attend, but try a bunch. My friend who's been sober for six years said I need to expect to try 10 before I find one I love. That said, when you go, FORCE yourself to say you're new and that you want a sponsor. You don't need to *know* your sponsor, you don't need to *connect* with them, you just need someone to be accountable to who will start you on step work.
2. Exhaustion - YES. I felt like I was walking through fog or oatmeal for weeks. Still get dips of that. Think about the shift in your body - you've been abusing it heavily for nine years. Someone told me to treat myself like a newborn and just worry about the most basic things: good food, water, sleep and if you can, exercise. Keep it very, very simple.
3. The cravings are outrageous; I still can't believe it. Apparently your body gets used to processing incredibly high amounts of sugar when you're drinking and when you stop, it wants to maintain those levels. Also, sugar and carbs and fat increase the dopamine levels in your brain, which is what booze does, before it drops you on your ass
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Hopefully this helps, keep coming here, you can do it and it'll be worth it.