When Virginia and Michael begin recovery from alcoholism in Alcoholics Anonymous, they correspond several times a week. They view letter writing and their deepening relationship as a lifeline in the chaos of change. Letters selected from over 2000 written during the next five years chronicle the raw material of their recovery. As their recovery becomes increasingly mired in conflict between the deception required to maintain their relationship and "rigorous honesty" required to attain lasting sobriety, Hoot and Gin (alter egos) spontaneously emerge in the writing. With the mobility of mental apparitions, these "kids" are traded back and forth by their adult counterparts, nurturing, modeling new behaviors, broaching