We have all heard stories or have known people whose lives were ruined by alcohol and other destructive drugs. This book is not about those poor souls who lost their lives to alcohol and drugs but about people who found their way to Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) by accident. In no way is this book sanctioned or endorsed by Alcoholics Anonymous, nor is it an advertisement for the Twelve-Step Program (“one day at a time”) that has worked for me and many, many others. Rather, I concern myself only with the miraculous way that led those other people to their first AA meeting.
I have PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), and the thought of suicide has always been close to me. Yet, as I turn eight-one years old, I retired as a very successful Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of a billion-dollar bank. My addiction to alcohol nearly ended any chance of a career, and it was nothing short of a miracle that brought me to AA and saved my life. As I related in my book Miracle, Luck, or What? alcoholism turned my life around.
If you are not an alcoholic, and as you read this book, you are going to say to yourself: “What’s wrong with these people? Don’t they realize what they are doing to themselves with alcohol?” If you are an alcoholic and you read this book, then you will say: “Yes, I understand.” Only one alcoholic understands another alcoholic. And that’s why the program of Alcoholics Anonymous works so well. They understand each other. I’ve been sober for 43 years. But it requires staying sober one day at a time.
I chose the title of this book as Don’t Count the Drunk Out. It is filled with stories of people I personally knew. After reading these stories, you will say to yourself: “My God, that must have been a miracle!” Because, without exception, most of them were on a path to destruction. They were either going to die, end up in jail, or be confined to mental hospitals.
Alcoholism is such a serious disease even doctors don’t understand it. The best program doctors can agree on is Alcoholics Anonymous. But their patients will tell the doctors that things aren’t that bad. “I’m not going to go there: things are not that bad.” The doctors will say: “It is that bad. You got the shakes, already. You lost your job already. Your wife and children are all upset. It is that bad.” But the alcoholic will counter: “Well, it’s not that bad. When it gets that bad, I will stop.”
So after reading these stories, you might see a drunk on the street. And you might say to yourself, “Look at that poor guy.” He looks young, but he is dirty, drunk, maybe he wet his pants. You’ll say to yourself: “He’s lost!” So, please, as you read this book, look upon the alcoholic with sympathy. If you see one, a friend, a loved one, a child, an acquaintance who is suffering from this horrible disease, don’t sell out that person. Just remember: Don’t Count a Drunk Out.