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Young & Sober is a collection of Grapevine stories about the joys and challenges of recovering early in life, and about recognizing alcoholism after a drinking history that in some cases has only lasted a few years. Are the stories of those who came to AA in their teens, 20s and 30s different from those who got sober later in life? No … and yes. “Being young, we recover fast physically,” writes the author of “Young Peoples’ Groups.” “But our insides still boil like mad … the young person … has little or no productive past, and organizing a life terrorizes him.”

Chapters One and Two are a collection of qualifications—the places drinking took young alcoholics and examples of how they earned their seat at the table. Chapters Three through Five explore relationships with family members who have long been part of AA, with old-timers who helped show them the ropes, and finally, with people their own age.

Chapters Six and Seven talk about further coming to grips with alcoholism and recovery from it. Several writers did not fully accept their disease until some event finally got their attention. Some describe how getting involved in service helped them feel more a part of things, while others write about how working the Steps showed them a way out of their misery.

“What we are like now” is covered in Chapters Eight and Nine, with topics such as acceptance, growing up, growing older, and experiencing joy and pain in sobriety. “Having the opportunity to watch this program work in young peoples’ lives the way that it worked in mine is one of the greatest joys of my sobriety,” says the author of “Fountain of Youth.” Written by alcoholics of all lengths of sobriety, Young & Sober is about coming into AA at an early age, learning to have sober relationships, doing the Steps and getting service commitments—and most of all, it’s about learning how to live life joyously.