"Relapse is a part of recovery", or; "You can't have recovery without relapse"  I've heard this concept quite a bit, mostly coming from people who relapse.  Although its not exactly "AA" to question anything "AA", that is what a blog is all about, in my opinion. My story includes 5 or 6 relapses, usually after about a day or a week of binge drinking, before getting back to the business of getting sober.  I don't know if relapse is part of the plan, but I do think that sometimes, because of my hard head, I'm most likely going to learn the hard way....beat into a state of reasonableness, if you will.  If it makes you feel better, think of it as many paths to the same goal.  There are easier paths to take, and one's that are much safer.  Lets say you are walking along a path in the woods and you come upon a fork in the road.  In front of this fork is two bridges, one is nice and steady looking but about 1/4 mile further than the other one that is right in front of you.  The one closest is a rickety older bridge that seems to be swaying in the wind, and not very safe.  An alcoholic that is not vigilant sees both bridges basically the same.  Make sense?