Unfortunately, the world and its people don’t cooperate in the long run, and the pink cloud experience begins to unravel. Sometimes it happens suddenly, as in the rude ending of an early-sobriety romance. Other times it seems to degrade over time, trending toward a dangerous condition for the newcomer. Ultimately, we in recovery have to learn to face—and accept—reality as it is and to respond to it effectively, using the tools of recovery and establishing new habits of being as we go.