A Lawyer Gets Back On Track
An ambitious 35-year old lawyer, happily married with no problems, feels confident and successful. Loving his work and eager to become even more successful, he continues to ‘go, go, go’ and starts to spend less and less time with his wife. When they do spend time together, it is often at social events . . . cocktail parties, where, like everyone else, they consume their share of alcohol.
As time goes by, his wife suggests that he seems to be drinking a little too much and a little too often. He feels that she, too, may be drinking more than necessary, but denies that either of them has a problem. They continue to socialize, attending business and community activities ‘appearing’ to be happy and successful.
In reality, the young lawyer’s relationship with his wife is in serious trouble. He is drinking daily and is unable to acknowledge that alcohol is to blame for problems in their relationship. He becomes less efficient at work and unable to accomplish what he did when he was sober. To ease the pain, he drinks more.
Not long after that, the once confident and successful young lawyer loses his job, his wife and most importantly, his ability to solve his problems himself. An addiction to alcohol has taken hold of one more individual and has dramatically affected his life and the lives of all those around him. He is finally alone with his alcohol.
Fortunately, someone in the community takes the time to talk intimately with him about changing his life, one drunk talking to another. The friend tells him about Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). There he learns that for some alcoholics, there would be no recovery without the loss of a job and family. Because there was no else to go, the young, unemployed lawyer is able to find the strength to choose to become involved in AA, where he truly comes to value the persistent, patient, counseling approach to dealing with his alcohol addiction. He accepts the fact that he has a serious problem and begins the long road to recovery.
Fifteen years later, today, the once again employed lawyer, sees people like himself being processed through the current court system that most often leads to incarceration. He knows there is a better way. While he is keenly aware that public safety is extremely important and that incarceration is sometimes the most viable alternative, he believes that programs like Drug and Alcohol Courts are far more valuable to the community. They offer an opportunity for addicts to actually change the course of their lives. They provide the kind of persistent, patient, counseling approach that enabled him to be the kind of person he is today . . . an established leader in his workplace, and someone who is eager to give back to his community and help others reclaim their lives.
