Yes, my brother was an alcoholic and finally went "cold turkey" after too many failed relationships, job firings, etc. He had all the "correct" excuses; had been to Vietnam twice, had a lousy/difficult childhood, I never blamed him for his alcoholism but there were a lot of lousy choices in there (hopping a train on the East Coast and going to San Francisco and then calling me on the East Coast to ask what to do, he only had $12.42 in his pocket, had been drinking all the way). I think at some points we are "powerless" to help ourselves or maybe only think we are but it doesn't matter which; it's "true" and everyone gets that way. I too could have made straight A's in school if I'd wanted to :-) Alcoholics and smokers, drug users, etc. are known for their denial and bravado that they can stop if they want. But they don't/can't. It's not entirely about will power/choice. A very few people luck out and get out of it that way but not everyone has that ability. AA is a tool to help and admitting one needs help when one does, never hurts. When I was in 9th grade my French teacher suggested I have a tutor, I was doing so poorly, and that really angered me but my mother got me a tutor and I liked her and did really well after that, I'd needed the "companionship" of another person. I don't know that going one's own way and toughing it out is necessarily a good choice, especially if one is a "loner" in the first place. I think here are more skills/things to learn by being part of a group process than just kicking an addiction. AA doesn't work very well but it works a heck of a lot more often than going alone. Same is true with dieting or any other human "behavior." We were meant to work/live with others.