I cannot EXPRESS how grateful I am that I got sober when I did--three years before I retired. Had I not done that, there is no question in my mind but that I would have spiraled downhill rapidly once I retired--that is, assuming I didn't flush my career/pension down the drain before I was eligible to retire.
I am on my awesome second career now, and loving it. No way I could have gotten this job--let alone done the work--if I hadn't gotten sober when I did.