I've had that conversation with my wife and a few close friends a couple times. For a non drinker or a "normal" drinker I think it's hard for them to grasp the significance of getting sober. I used to kind of secretly laugh at people who had addictions (alcohol, food, gambling, etc) because I thought, "just don't eat that pizza and get a little exercise and you won't be 200lbs overweight." Now I get it. Addiction of any kind is all consuming, and beating it is a hard fought battle.