Alan stood to leave. “You will, Brandon. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but one day soon, you will.” He took a card out of his wallet and put it on the bed. “If you ever want to talk, feel free to call me anytime. You’re going to discover an enormous network of people who want to help. If you don’t want to talk to me, talk to one of them. All you have to do to gain access to all this help is take the most important first step you’ll ever take in your life.”

“What’s that?”

“Admit you need it.” He turned back when he reached the door. “Oh, and you’ll want to remember today’s date.”

“Why?”

“Because your new life begins today. Good luck to you, Brandon.”

After Alan left, Brandon got up from the floor and reached for the card he’d left on the bed. Printed on the card was only the name Alan and a phone number. Brandon studied the card for a moment and then tossed it into the trash.

Brandon stood in the circle holding hands with the people on either side of him. He fixated on a spider web in the corner of the room while the others recited the Serenity prayer: “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things that I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

When the twenty or so people took their seats, the group leader, a young guy named Steve, looked around for a volunteer to go first. Brandon kept his eyes down so Steve wouldn’t connect with him.

The room reeked of burnt coffee, and the walls were papered with slogans like “Live and Let Live,” “Easy Does It,” and one Brandon had heard often in the last five days: “One Day at a Time.”

“Danielle?” Steve said. “Would you like to share with the group?”

Danielle blushed to her blonde roots and cast her blue eyes downward. Brandon wondered if she’d been a cheerleader thirty or forty pounds ago.

“Um, my name is Danielle, and I’m an alcoholic and an addict.” She twisted her hands on her lap.

“Hi, Danielle.” The group replied so loudly that they startled Brandon. After five days in bed suffering through detoxification—or the DTs, as it was known here—this was his first time in group, and he had no idea what to expect.