Originally Posted by
brad12step 
Meeting makers make it... I truly believe that. And I believe it because I've tried weening off meetings before. 4 times to be exact. Each of them resulted in relapse after several years of sobriety. It's not the meetings per se that keep you sober. But it's the fellowship. I need other people in recovery surrounding me in order for me to stay sober. I need to help others for me to stay sober. I need to see the newly sober person who stumbles into the door and cries at the table to remind me that my last drink/drug/whatever actually was THAT bad.
People with cancer need chemo. People with strokes need blood thinners. People with diabetes need insulin. People with addiction need meetings.
There are plenty in AA who will disagree. They believe the 12-steps keeps them sober. That meetings while helpful are not what keeps them sober.
Personally I feel the "secret" to sobriety is to keep sobriety close. You can go to meetings, work on your steps, post on SR or any combination which you feel comfortable.
The key is keeping sobriety fresh. Not forgetting.
In my 25 years in AA I have rarely heard of someone with a lot of sober time simply decide to pick up a drink after a meeting, doing step work or whatever.
What I usually hear is they got busy with life and simply drifted away from what was working for them.
Then one day they are fishing and someone sits next to them and offers a beer... They take the beer and there goes 19 years of sobriety.
What happened is they forgot. They forgot they are an alcoholic.