"I had thought I was happy in
that first eighteen months of sobriety, but now everything began to look
brighter; people seemed nicer; and I had moments of tremendous insight. It was
as if words and sentences I had heard all my life had a deeper meaning and were
reaching my feelings, rather than my intellect. It was as if my head and my
heart finally had gotten glued together. I no longer seemed like two people in
one, engaging in a tug of war. I experienced within this six-week period a
feeling of being totally forgiven, and never since have I felt the guilt that I
had throughout my life prior to that time. More than once, I had a sense of
Presence which I can describe only as being marvelously warm, uplifting, and
comfortable."
1973 AAWS, Inc., printed
2004 Came to Believe, pg.
58