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Getting sober and staying sober isn’t easy at any age. But its starting place is clearly marked: “Recovery begins when one alcoholic talks with another alcoholic, sharing experience, strength, and hope,” says one foreword to the book Alcoholics Anonymous. It begins with stories like the ones in this book.

Most of us alcoholics are convinced that we are different, that we are too young or too old, too smart or too savvy to have a problem with drinking; we couldn’t possibly be drunks. But, after hearing other peoples’ stories, we discover that no one is immune to suffering. Others have felt the same soul-searing pain that we have. Others have felt just as desperate, angry, and afraid. After listening to AA members’ stories, we realize that other people understand us. We are not alone. People like us recover. We begin to have hope.

That is what you can find in this volume. A collection of stories by AA members who got sober in their teens, twenties, and early thirties, In Our Own Words not only articulates some of the difficulties faced by alcoholics young in years, but also describes some of the sober joys that await.

The stories in Section One are candid accounts of the drinking lives of ten young alcoholics. Some, like “Wanted” and “Far from Innocent,” depict the dark places that drinking took the writers. Others, like “Ten Minutes of Oneness,” capture the emotional and spiritual ravages that many alcoholics endure.

The stories in Sections Two through Four point to a way out. Talking about how they managed to get and stay sober, the writers describe what happens in meetings, how others have helped them, and the impact that practicing the principles of AA has had on their lives. In Sections Five through Seven, the stories describe what life in recovery can be like. In “Family Connections,” writers reflect on the unexpected ways AA can heal families; in “Friends We Haven’t Met Yet,” AAs discover the unexpected pleasures of helping others; and in “Happy, Joyous, and Real,” they describe the challenges and rewards of finally learning to live and love, one day at a time.