I'm so glad this piece found its way to me. The "one thing" I learned in reading it is that it's possible to write honestly about emotional things that evoke deep emotion without writing about it from an emotional place!

Reading this brought up sharp memories but manage to smooth them as well. I'm 36 years sober (started and crashed young) and sometimes feel far away from my old drunk self, like a character in a movie I watched long ago. I needed to reconnect in this way today.

Happy Birthday, and thanks for sharing. I'd love to wind up in a meeting with you just for the story telling.