Each week, I get scores of letters and emails pleading for help. Usually they are framed by circumstances and conditions intended to explain or otherwise mitigate reality's harsh truth. While there are a lot of reasons why people get in trouble when they get high, there is only one reason they keep getting high despite those consequences. They're addicted to alcohol or other drugs.

Only infrequently do I receive a short and to-the-point inquiry from a person in trouble who already knows they need help and isn't looking for an easier, softer way to find it. Here's one:

Dear Mr. Moyers: I have been trying for two years to quit drinking. I do good until my husband leaves town on business, then all willpower is out the window, and I've got a glass of vodka in front of me. My question is, do you think getting a sponsor and working the steps with someone could help me? I've been putting it off because I'm so private. I would appreciate your thoughts. — Claire D. in Tyler, Texas

It is rare to hear from somebody who not only wants to get help, but actually already knows where and how to get it.

Dear Claire: I am touched by your email because you want help, not an excuse, plain and simple. First, there is hope. You can make it. And you will get sober and stay sober if you accept the fact that you cannot do it by yourself. Addiction is a disease of isolation. The antidote is the first word of the first step of AA: "We."

That doesn't mean that the 12 steps are for everyone. From afar, I cannot tell you that those steps are for you, either. But a vast majority of addicted people find and hold onto recovery via the 12 steps, so I urge you to do exactly what you have already asked about in your email: get a sponsor, somebody who can mentor you in understanding how to use the 12 steps, and then start working those steps in your daily life.

How to do that? You must find an AA meeting in your community.

I am sure there is one nearby. At that meeting, raise your hand and tell the group that you are new to the program, you want to find sobriety and you need a sponsor. The response will amaze you. I suggest you get a woman sponsor.

Don't expect miracles overnight. Getting sober is easy — staying sober is tougher. But take it a day at a time, trust the process, connect with a higher power (mine is God), and stay the course that will be filled with ups and downs, twists and turns, potholes and slick spots. Remember: The only thing more difficult than living life sober is living life drunk. So it will be a challenging experience.

I've been sober since 1994. But the only way I put years together was to first put days together, and I have stayed sober despite myself and despite an illness that wants me dead. If I can do it, you can, too. But we cannot do it alone. Hang in there.

If you are a regular reader of this column, then you know that I often suggest the 12 steps as the primary foundation for recovery. For obvious reasons, I am biased. But I also know that there are many pathways to help and healing. What matters is that people have a willingness to find a way they believe in. Then they must work hard to make it work.

William C. Moyers is the vice president of external affairs for the Hazelden Foundation and the author of "Broken," a best-selling memoir. The paperback edition was released in August 2007. Please send your questions to William Moyers at William@williammoyers.com. To find out more about William Moyers and read his past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2008 CREATORS SYNDICATE INC.