He had a job, a place to sleep, and a secret that kept growing. When the drinking turned to pills, the losses stacked up—work warnings, a broken lease, strained family calls. After detox, “E.”* didn’t feel ready for home. He chose a men sober living community in Houston and enrolled in intensive outpatient care (IOP). The house gave him curfews, chores, and peers who noticed if he skipped meetings. IOP gave him a schedule, group work, and a counselor who named the patterns he couldn’t see. Six months later, E. still checked in with his sponsor and paid his share of the bills. Recovery wasn’t quick. It was repeated, ordinary effort in a city big enough to start over.