I was eight years old when I found out what alcoholism was. My best friend would always be at my house for dinner or just to be away from home because her mother would be passed out from being intoxicated. My best friend would have to care for herself and sometimes after our soccer games we would have to give her a ride home because her mother wouldn't show up. I watched my best friend go through this for years until her mother went to a AA meeting. Thanks to the meetings her mother has now been sober for years and is a completely different person from the one I once knew. This childhood memory is what motivated me to write about the AA meeting. …show more content…
In fact NACCD has found that 17.6 million people, or one in every 12 adults, suffer from alcohol abuse or dependence along with several million more who engage in risky, binge drinking patterns that could lead to alcohol problems (NACCD,2016). With so many people struggling with this problem it’s amazing that the AA program is used. AA meetings were founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio. Both Bill and Bob were hopeless alcoholics at the time and came up with the idea for AA meetings that now have helped millions achieve sobriety. The primary purpose for the meeting are to help people stay sober and to help people achieve sobriety. Bill W. knew the main keys to sobriety were to follow the twelve steps for Alcoholics Anonymous. The 12 steps are tools that help you achieve soberness and help you maintain it. The first step is for one to admit they have a problem and the following steps are tools to maintain sobriety. People who are new to AA are not asked to accept or follow these Twelve Steps in their entirety if they feel unwilling or unable to do so("Alcoholics Anonymous Australia," 2016 ). Another great thing about AA meetings are that they are completely free. Most rehabilitation programs for alcoholic's for 30-day inpatient programs can be priced anywhere from $2,000 to $25,000, depending on a variety of facility factors("Addiction Rehabilitation," 2016 ). So one can recover for free just by attending AA meeting. Some groups do collect donations for expenses such as rent or coffee. Alcoholics Anonymous is an amazing program that helps people take control of their