When we look back on our life, we may feel again the pain of how things used to be. But we know that our life doesn’t ever have to be as difficult as it once was. It never has to be as out of control, as unmanageable, as terrifying. It isn’t nec essary for our addiction to haunt us at every turn. Time has moved on, as it must. The past is over and we’ve begun to know real safety.