Page 292 - The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous

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THE MISSING LINK

He looked at everything as the cause of his unhap-
piness—except alcohol.

hen i was eight or nine years old, life sud-
W denly became very difficult. Feelings began to
emerge that I did not understand. Depression crept
into my life as I started to feel alone, even in crowded
rooms. In fact, life didn’t make much sense to me at
all. It’s hard to say what sparked all of this, to pinpoint
one fact or event that changed everything forever. The
fact of the matter was, I was miserable from early on
in my life.
It was all very confusing. I remember isolating on
the playground, watching all the other children laugh-
ing and playing and smiling, and not feeling like I
could relate at all. I felt different. I didn’t feel as if I
was one of them. Somehow, I thought, I didn’t fit in.
My school marks soon reflected these feelings. My
behavior and attitude seemed to become troublesome
to everyone around me. I soon began spending more
time in the principal’s office than in the classroom. My
parents, perplexed by such an unhappy son, began
having difficulties. My house was soon filled with the
sounds of arguments and yelling about how to handle
me. I found that running away from home could sup-
ply me with some sort of temporary solace. Until of
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