Alcoholics Anonymous chapter turns 60

Alcoholic's Anonymous is marking 60 years of sobriety in New Westminster.

Besides drinking, denial is something alcoholics can be very good at. And Pearl was a master at it.

In her drinking days, she totalled her car, lost custody of her children and chased away friends without ever admitting she was an alcoholic. Other evidence she ignored included growing up in an alcoholic family.

“I knew I had problems, but didn’t realize I was an alcoholic,” said Pearl, a longtime member of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) in New Westminster.

“We all have visions of what an alcoholic is and that wasn’t me. I pictured someone drunk all the time and staggering around in a trench coat.”

Then one night Pearl had a moment of clarity when her drunken stare caught her reflection in a mirror.

“I saw my problems for what they were. The denial wasn’t there for a few seconds,” she said.

It’s been 27 years since Pearl had a drink and she still thinks of herself as an alcoholic. Despite her abstinence, she doesn’t say she’ll never drink again. Instead, every morning she promises not to drink that day.

“What we do is one day at a time, and the program is based on one day at a time.”

Pearl, who’s name was changed to protect her anonymity, believes she owes much to friends way back then who told her she had a problem. “What that achieved was it helped break down my denial.”

Today she thanks members of the New West AA, which celebrates its 60th year next month. “I handle life so much better now. I’m able to go with the flow.”

Despite being sober for so many years, she still goes to an average of four AA meetings per week.

New Westminster AA is one of the oldest groups in the province with only Vancouver being around longer. There are five groups in the Royal City with members able to attend a meeting every day if they want to.

And many alcoholics do, said Pearl. “The meetings remind me what would happen if I drink again. If I didn’t go I would forget what it was like.”

Someone told her the letters I, S and M in alcoholism stand for incredibly short memory, and she believes that.

Alcoholics Anonymous celebrates its 60th anniversary in New Westminster, Sept. 8-10 at Queensborough Community Centre. It was originally formed with just five members and covered New West and the Lower Fraser Valley. Now there are hundreds of members and each is a cause for celebration, said Pearl.

Burnaby News