Steve,
My past kept dragging me down time and again for over 20 years. I put together long stretches of sobriety during that time but I kept trying to ignore sorting out my past and hoping those memories would just fade away. Some did, but most did not, and eventually I would drink again. By the past I don't mean 3 weeks or 3 months ago, I'm talking about memories I kept ruminating on for years and/or decades.
I found that writing things out helped. I use AA as my program of recovery and dealing directly with the past is built right into the steps, specifically step 4 (inventory), step 5 (sharing inventory with another person), step 8 (making an amends list), and step 9 (making direct amends). After being in and out of AA and sobriety for over 20 years without ever working the steps I finally became willing to try them and it was a difference maker. Desperation has a funny way of changing one's mind about what they are willing to try.
If AA and taking the steps is a hard no-go for you I would suggest watching a few videos by Dr. Jordan Peterson on YouTube. He's a well known clinical psychologist, professor and author from the University of Toronto who focuses much of his time helping people learn how to "sort themselves out" mentally and emotionally. I have added his philosophies to my sobriety "toolkit" in addition to AA and SR. While he doesn't address alcoholism specifically, I have found that most of his philosophies on life resonate strongly with me as an alcoholic. In addition to that he is just a really interesting guy.
Here is a 7 minute video clip from a lecture he did where he is discussing sorting out the past:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoJ79r_54fc
If you want an expanded video where he is discussing many topics, he was a guest on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast (3 hours long) which has been viewed by nearly 3 million people:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USg3NR76XpQ