"My girlfriend tried to talk to me about my drinking a number of times, but I never listened. We would get into screaming arguments about it. I can't believe she didn't give up on me, but she didn't. She got my best friend and this guy from A.A. to confront me one day as I was coming out of class. The fact that she had to involve other people really woke me up. I couldn't ignore the fact that two of the most important people in my life thought I had a problem."

"The way my sorority sister brought up the subject was really important, because I might not have listened to her if she had called me an alcoholic. Instead, she told me she cared about me and that the way I was acting really scared her. She dIdn't want to see me hurt myself. Her words really hit home."

"At first, I tried to deny that I had a problem. But my friend gave it to me raw and uncut. She listed the things I did when I was drinking--like sleeping with strangers, passing out on the front lawn of our house, throwing up for hours on end. I couldn't argue with her because all the evidence was right there staring me in the face."

"My fraternity brother didn't just accuse me of having a problem. Before talking to me, he'd gotten information about the A.A. meetings and other self-help groups that were available in our area. He told me he wanted to go with me. The fact that he was willing to spend his own time to help me made me realize how serious my problem was."

"For me, it was timing. My roommate and I were playing racquetball when he just brought it up out of the blue. He told me he was worried that my drinking was getting out of control. He pointed out how badly I was blowing the game, and we both knew it was because I was totally hung- over. I know that if he had tried to talk to me about my problem when I was drunk, I would have ignored him."