The 'last' house on the block: higher power or personal power?(FROM THE FIELD...)

In 2008, I spent 30 days in a 12-step-oriented treatment facility in San Diego and began my journey in recovery. For me, this facility--and the program of recovery it offered--was the "last house on the block."

My caregivers urged me to do three things following discharge: first, attend 12-step meetings at least once a day for the first 90 days after my release; second, find a sponsor; and third, accept a "higher power" of my understanding. The final task proved arduous. While my 12-step peers insisted that any power greater than myself could fill this spiritual void, I feared that my inability to find a God would lead ultimately back to the subterranean exile of my disease. …