Thousands arrive in Vancouver for international Alcoholics Anonymous conference
It's been 24 years since Carolyn joined Alcoholics Anonymous.
"I think my drinking started like most people," she told CBC's The Early Edition. "It was experimenting, it was fun. There were lots of good times. I think alcohol is a normal part of our society."
In her teens, she noticed her drinking looked different than her friends. She was struggling at work and in relationships, with her behaviour.
But at age 30, it became too much.
"It gets to a point where you just don't want to live like that anymore. And what a relief that there's a way out."
She's one of thousands of people descending on downtown Vancouver this weekend for an international conference for Alcoholics Anonymous, as the organization celebrates 90 years.
Kerry Meyer, an organizer for the conference and a friend of AA — which means she is not an alcoholic, but instead someone who acts as a public face for the organization — said more than 30,000 people from 90 countries are expected at the event, which lasts from Thursday until Sunday.
It will include all kinds of meetings, including a special gathering for "old timers" who have been sober for upwards of 50 years.
Controversy
Formed in 1935 in the United States, Alcoholics Anonymous is a 12-step program for people who have trouble with substance use.
It's been criticized for being too religious, something Meyer denies.
"It is not a religious program, but it is a spiritual program," she said.
People have also questioned what scientific evidence there is to back up the program's effectiveness.
But Meyer said that the sheer number of people coming to Vancouver for this conference alone demonstrates how much Alcoholics Anonymous helps. A study by the Cochrane Collaboration in 2020 found it certainly is effective.
"It is something that a lot of people find not just sobriety, but actual long-term recovery and new lives through," Meyer said.
Anonymity
Carolyn said anonymity was hugely important in her recovery journey.
CBC News has agreed to use only her first name for this story.
"It makes it so much easier to reach out," she said.
"[It] allows you to seek recovery from alcohol on your own time, on your own terms. It's been very important for many people, including me, to know we have that. "
Decades after she joined the program, Carolyn is excited to be attending the conference in Vancouver and has invited her siblings to come and participate in that part of her life.
"I don't think most of the people in my life see me as an alcoholic," she said. "They see me as a sober person in their lives that they can rely on, which certainly isn't what it looked like before AA."
The conference runs in downtown Vancouver, at the Vancouver Convention Centre and B.C. Place July 3 to 6. Registration is required to attend.
Meyer said she hopes the conference will help members feel "re-energized to their own sobriety and then go home to their communities and reach out to the still suffering alcoholics so that they can enjoy this freedom as well."
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