Goodbye Letter to My Addiction: Prompts + Example
A letter to your addiction is a goodbye you write to the drink as if it were a person: what it promised, what it took, and why you're done. This page gives you questions to start with, a short example, and lined pages for your own.
Many people write one in their first weeks or around their first chip. It names the truth on paper, which makes it harder to forget the next time the drink starts sounding like an old friend.
Download free PDFFree. No email, no sign-up. A printable PDF, letter size: questions, an example letter, a prayer and lined pages.
Before you write
- What did drinking promise you at the start?
- What did it take from you? Think of people, money, health, time, faith.
- What did you hide, and who did you hide it from?
- When did you first know it had to end?
- What are you afraid you'll miss? Be honest.
- What do you want your life to look like a year from now?
My letter
- Dear ______________,
An example letter
Dear Alcohol,
You showed up when I was nineteen and made me feel brave. For a while you kept that promise. Then you started asking for more: Friday became every night, one became six, and the brave feeling only lasted until morning.
You took my evenings with my kids. You took the money for the car repair, and the truth I used to tell my wife. You made me a man who checked the recycling bin before she did.
I kept thinking I could manage you. I can't. I've tried every rule, and you broke every one of them.
So this is goodbye. I'm not writing because I'm strong. I'm writing because I'm not, and I've finally asked God for help. I have people now who answer the phone. I'm going to miss you on some nights, and I'm going to call them instead.
You don't get my mornings anymore. Those belong to God and to my family.
Goodbye, Me
A prayer to finish
Lord, I've held on to this too long. I give it to You now. Forgive me for what it cost the people I love. Fill the empty places it leaves with Your presence and with good people. When I miss it, remind me of the truth on this page. Give me strength for today. Amen.
How to use it
- Answer the questions first. Your letter is mostly already there.
- Write by hand, in your own words. It doesn't need to be good writing, just honest.
- Read it out loud to your sponsor, a pastor or a friend in recovery.
- Keep it where you'll find it on a hard day, and read it again then. If writing it stirs up more than you can carry, call someone tonight.
Safety first. If you drink heavily every day, stopping suddenly can be dangerous. Talk to a doctor before you quit.
Scripture to go with it
“…to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”
““Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”
“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”
Talk it through with Jimmy or Sarah — first month free
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Common questions
Why write a letter to my addiction?
It puts the whole truth in one place: what drinking promised and what it actually did. On a hard day, your own words are hard to argue with.
Do I send it to anyone?
No. It's addressed to the drink. Read it to someone you trust, then keep it, or some people burn it as a way to say they're done.
Is this the same as Step One?
No, but it can help you get honest about powerlessness and unmanageability. Talk it over with your sponsor as part of your step work.
What if I'm not sure I'm done yet?
Write it anyway, honestly, including the part of you that isn't sure. Then talk to someone. If you've been drinking heavily, see a doctor before you stop.
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