I COULD NOT and would not have written this book without the help and encouragement of many people. First, Bill Juby, who read it over and over and helped to make it better every time and who showed the way; Mary Madsen and Stephanie Dubinsky, who gave great suggestions; O.R.M., Paul F., Anna S., and my agent, Hilary, who fielded the panicky calls; Barbara Berson, who got the ball rolling; Nicole Winstanley and Jennifer Notman at Penguin for taking such care with the manuscript and making excellent suggestions; Wendy Thomas for her careful copy-editing; Jerry Blackburn at Edgewood Treatment Centre in Nanaimo, Neal Berger at Cedars in Cobble Hill, and Sue Donaldson from Pegasus Recovery Solutions, for their time and generosity and insights into addiction. Thanks also to the dozens of people who shared their stories so honestly for this book and the millions of people who support each other as part of their own recovery. Gratitude to my mom, my brothers, and my aunts, uncles, and cousins, and to my dear Jimmy: best husband in the world. Finally, I could not have written this or any other book without the help of Heather, Kristine, Grace, Sophie, Gail, and Mary and all the other women who have carried me when I couldn’t walk, as well as my beloved lucky bitches. We are indeed the lucky ones.