What is rehabilitation, sobriety, temperance, AA? Living a sober life is more then just not drinking or doing drugs. It's about finding your purpose, finding hope to live again in a world that is totally unfamiliar and frightening without the crutches you've used in the past to face it. I am not perfect, I've relapsed, I've abandoned my principles and promises to myself on multiple occasions, but I always come back to the same reality. That drugs suck the soul and the life out of an otherwise hopeful and meaningful existence and when I indulge, things start to fall apart, and I begin to lose a grip on the basics. I'm a better person when I am not using. That’s the reality.