title: Little by Slowly: a Story of Love and Recovery
author: Hina, Paul
description: On the night that Sam receives his token for three months of sobriety, he meets Jessi. The past several months have been lonely months for Sam, and he's happy to have some hope in his life. But, since Jessi is new to AA, their friendship has to strike a delicate balance. She wants Sam to help guide her through the program, and Sam doesn't want to turn her down. But he'd like to avoid charges of thirteenth stepping-- a term given when someone makes sexual advances toward someone new to the program. Still, Sam can't deny that he's attracted to Jessi, and he wonders if his willingness to help her is to keep her sober, or to help guide her closer to him.
  On the same night that Sam meets Jessi, he gets a phone call from his ex-girlfriend, Kelly. Their relationship ended just before he started meetings, and it ended badly. Sam still needs to make amends with her as part of his recovery, but she has news for him that complicates his recovery in unexpected ways.