Gay and sober meetings

LOS ANGELES

LAS VEGAS

RENO

Before I got to AA, I did not feel like I matched up with anyone or fitted anywhere in society. I identified more with women than men but tried to accentuate the male by riding a motorbike with a shaved head and beard. It was not working; I had no place in life.

As a teenager, people always seemed to be calling me a poofter. This made me very anxious and alcohol gave me the bravado to face such a hostile world. However, unnoticed, booze also gradually led me into a double life.

I came to AA when I was 23 years of age. I had lost all ambitions for my life. I was no longer a gregarious, entertaining drunk. I drank alone in my bedroom. I was isolated from other lesbians, the gay community and my family. I was plagued by fear and shame.

Like a lot of people I started drinking in my teens, but rather than just having a not many and stopping I always went in hard. I always drank to get drunk. I managed to keep a lid on things f