Is AA An Effective Program?

The data seems positive, albeit mixed.

I’ll start this one with an anecdote.

I used to spend a lot of time day-side drinking. Like, a lot of time. It was a curse of two things: (1) being an addict, and (2) when I went freelance/contract in late 2015, I had more time on my hands. I could write 3–4 things in the morning, invoice/make money on them, and be “free” by 11:30am. Instead of scaling the next e-commerce brand, I often chose to drink by the Trinity River in Fort Worth.

My long, twisted, ratchet history with day-drinking

Why would someone drink 10 beers on a random Thursday?

I had kicked tires on the idea of AA a few times. I think I went to one meeting in 2010 in New York City in a church basement. I honestly probably only went to that one because my ex-wife, who at the time was my girlfriend, had encouraged me to. I didn’t love that meeting. I lived in NYC until June 2012 and in those…