I’ll be the first to admit, some of the phrases former alcoholics use can be pretty cringe-worthy. “Trudge the happy road”, “Sobriety is a gift”, “One day at a time”.  These platitudes got under my skin in early sobriety.  I found the distillation of such a difficult, important, and painful process undermining.  The one that bothered me most, though, had to be “gratitude”.

“Yes,” I thought, “I get it. I have a car, somewhere to live, that’s awesome. I have some good people around me, that’s awesome too. Why do I suddenly have to become someone that marvels at the freaking trees to be a good sober person?” Continue reading →