March 1986

/ Stayingon Course 1 by Abraham J. Twerski, MD

I was driving to a mountain resort for several days of rest. Earlier that day, I had arranged for the adrnisline and crawled along at a slow pace, I would be able to avoid disaster. Following this course, I eventually sion of “Arlene” to a halfway house. made it out of the fog. At twenty-five, Arlene had already Upon arriving at the hotel, the first gone through the ravages of severe al- thing I did was send off a note to Arcoholism and sedative addiction. It lene. I described my experience in the was evident that she needed time in a fog and the panicky feeling of not safe environment, and she had reluc- beiig able to stop, or turn off, or go tantly agreed to admission to an AA- ahead. I then added, “It makes little oriented halfway house. difference whether the fog is outside About thirty miles away from the or inside your head. However, you resort, and just as twilight was d e have a white line, which is AA. This is scending, I ran into the thickest fog your only stable contact with reality. I have ever encountered. I could Keep your eye on the white line, and see neither the taillights of the car don’t lose sight of it.” ahead of me, nor the headlights of A year later, I received a card from the car behind. Arlene. “Well, it is one year now. .. I did not know what to do. I could and I’m still hanging in. . .I remember not pull over to the side of the road that letter you wrote when you were because I had no way of knowing up in the mountains. That’s the path where I was turning off to. I could not my life is taking. It’s a long, hard, stop because the car in back of me slow road, but it’s worth every bit of would plow into me, nor could I go effort to learn about myself, accept ahead with any speed because I would and actually like myself.” hit the car in front. I experienced an Arlene stayed at the halfway house intense panic, the likes of which I had for several months, and remained innever had before or since. volved with the program. Inside our- There was one saving grace. Out of selves, however, there are frequent the side of the windshield, I could see a patches of fog. Fortunately, Arlene white line along the edge of the road. has a white line to help guide her If I kept the car aligned with the white through life.