Last May, Jane thought she was going to lose everything: her job, her friends, her family, and maybe even her life.

For as long as she can remember, she used alcohol to unwind. But when she was caught for driving under the influence seven months ago she turned to Alcoholics Anonymous.

At each meeting, members, who asked that their real names not be used, share their experiences with the group, and everyone's story is different. Yet there is an underlying similarity members can obviously sense, shown by frequent nods to eyes filled with tears. The atmosphere is full of understanding, hope and love.

Jane's father, mother and oldest sister were alcoholics so she thinks her alcoholism is partly hereditary.

When she was caught for driving under the influence, her alcohol level was .31. As a result, she had to undergo a rehabilitation program and counseling. She took the first step toward sobriety and joined AA.

But combating alcoholism is a lifetime commitment, members agree, and there is always the danger of a relapse.

Recently, one Friday Jane had a bad day at work, stopped at the liquor store and bought bottles of scotch and vodka. By Friday night the scotch was gone, and by Sunday she had finished the vodka. She then bought a bigger bottle of vodka and proceeded to get extremely sick. Her counselor sent her to the hospital to "dry out and learn to deal with these problems that I just don't know how to deal with except by taking a drink."

Men and women -- young and old -- from various professions shared their experiences at a recent open meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous at Centre Community Hospital.

Anyone is welcome to attend the open meetings -- family and friends of alcoholics as well as the general public. The group holds several closed meetings every day of the week in Centre County and surrounding areas.

Tom said problems with his personality led him to drink. He was always envious of the "life of the party" and wanted to be outgoing. Tom knew he did not just have to stop drinking, he had to change his whole personality.

His brother was also an alcoholic so he always pointed to his brother as the one with the problem rather than admitting his own alcoholism. However, he confessed, he was well past his brother in his degree of alcoholism.

" 'Not drinking' came to be the problem. AA is not to keep you from drinking. It's to keep you from wanting a drink," Tom said.

A younger man, Bill, said his brother was also an alcoholic and in AA.

His brother often used AA's familiar saying, "one day at a time," for his own benefit. For instance, he used it to decide if he was going to go to work on a given day. With this as his only experience with AA, Bill hated the group and its proverbs.

He said as an alcoholic he was a quitter and a user. He joined the Navy because he thought it was something he could not quit. Though he found with enough drinking and partying his naval career was soon over.

Once, he did try to stop drinking without AA.

"I found when I quit drinking I couldn't have fun," he said, adding that, without AA, he was not sober, just dry.

When he was drunk, Bill said he was the "life of the party" and was always surrounded by "friends."

He said he knows now those relationships were superficial and those people did not care about him.

"I know they would never save my life," he said. "Now every time I get advice (from another AA member), they're saving my life."

He wrecked a car when he was drunk last February and again tried offbeat ways to stop drinking. When those failed, he came to AA.

"I learned living 'one day at a time' is not a cop-out," he said.

Another man, George, said as an alcoholic he had no self-esteem and was dishonest with everyone, including himself. A good friend finally convinced him to join AA.

"I couldn't tell the truth from lies when I came in," he said. "When someone did something nice for me I wondered what they were after."

Many years in the program taught him that people do care about him, and he has learned to care about himself.

"For one hour out of 24 I can really feel comfortable," he said, describing the daily closed meetings he attends.

George said he also feels closer to the 'higher power" that AA encourages its members to create in their minds.

"I feel I have someone with me all the time. It's a great comfort when things are bad," he said. "Every day we get through without picking up a drink, we grow a little bit."

Liz said she was lonely as an alcoholic and often drank to keep the loneliness from being too painful.

Liz would try to relieve her loneliness by calling her best friend in Hawaii when she was alone and "half-tanked" at 4 a.m.

Her first months in the program were hard, but the other members were always supportive. She often called another member when she wanted a drink.

For Liz, being sober is worth the perseverance.

"When I drank, I could not have imagined a life this good," she said. "I don't ever want to be back there. I'd rather die."