AA

Shame?  You bet.  Don't think I've been more ashamed in my life, still, gotta go thru with it.  I smile wanly at Jamila as we enter the Community Center.  AA meeting.  As in, she's going and I'm her moral support.  She just wouldn't dare go alone.  Women's only meeting of course, think we'd discuss this in mixed company?
My mind runs a mile a minute.  Surely these people think the worst of me.  I have a burning desire to blurt, "I'm not here for real, just keeping her company."  Still, I don't, loyalty goes a long ways, she saved my life during the siege of Sarajevo.
The chairperson calls the meeting to order, tells rules.  No one has to talk, but you can if you choose.  Gradually as I hear short vignettes, I cease to concentrate on my own misery and shame.  By the end of the meeting, I can see the sufferings of others.
I end up going six times.  By then Jamila has made friends, doesn't need me anymore.  Now I see if for what it is, not a sign of moral weakness, but a disease.  Don't believe me?  Fine, go ask the American Medical Association. They've classified it as a disease for years.