1. How old were you when drinking became a problem for you?
Well, just to show that not everyone fits the typical pattern, I was a normal social drinker until my late 30s or so. It’s hard to identify exactly the point at which my drinking became alcoholic — it was a gradual, insidious slide over a period of years — but by the end, I certainly had all the symptoms of the "malady." In hindsight, many of the psychological issues that contributed to my being susceptible existed well before I developed the condition.
2. How old were you when you quit drinking for good?
I was 45 when I first realized I really had to quit drinking. I was 52 when I finally was able to kick it for good. That was 17 months ago.
3. What, if anything, did you do or experience that motivated you to quit for good?
When I reached the point that I really wanted to stay sober more than I wanted to be drunk. When it became clear even to my alcohol-besotted brain that it wasn’t working anymore. When I totally accepted that I could never again recapture the effect alcohol had in the early days. I’m not in AA, but the term "surrender" aptly describes the fundamental shift in my thinking that made quitting for good the only option.