I was ready to quit, but I was 52 years old with 20 years of getting sober for awhile and then falling back into the party life. You don't have to wait that long (for your own health and for your kids). If you think detox would get you there maybe it makes sense for you.
Some would say I never hit bottom, and truth be told my first few months of sobriety were a lower bottom than my last few months of drinking. It's a challenge. I wasn't entirely aware of the depth of that which I was running or escaping. Once I quit drinking I had to face my sense of inadequacy, past traumas I had been pretending never happened (or refused to face and process), and things I did (albeit out of ignorance or intoxication) for which I am not at all proud. I then had to shed the self-loathing and befriend myself through self-compassion and meditation practice. Basically, I had to sit and face the roots of the anxiety and disappointment that was causing my drinking. I replaced alcohol with mindfulness and meditation and it's working for me.
Just some things to consider, TL. For me, sobriety takes a warrior's courage.
When I think of the community I live in, I really have taken the road less traveled. It's lonely sometimes, and my wife doesn't get it, but she doesn't drink and she has commented that though the first year was rough, I am now better company. Still, people are suspicious. Many people believe the old stereotypes of the alcoholic as a homeless drunk passed out in the gutter.
Last week I was sitting with some folks at work, and they were talking about the administration at the building where I used to work (I changed positions and buildings about 18 months ago). They were talking about the turnover there and how no one wants to work there and why haven't the higher ups fired my old supervisors... I had mentioned that I worked under them for a decade, and I had a moment (or a slip) of bold honesty and stated that "I worked over there so long I had to quit drinking." Everyone at the table stopped talking and just stared at me, jaws dropped. I guess I didn't think my little joke would get that reaction because a lot of people now know I no longer drink. But that joke was somewhat true. I don't think I would have sunk as fast and hard as I did if I hadn't been so miserable in that job. It was the same pattern with my mom, and at about the same age. Alcohol was our friend until we became miserable; then it became our enemy.
I guess my point is the easy but eventually horrible path is to keep drinking. The challenging but totally worth it path is to get sober and begin the path of recovery.