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Home - Seat 11A: The Addict Who Walks Away
Alysse Bryson

Seat 11A: The Addict Who Walks Away

Alysse BrysonBy Alysse BrysonJune 16, 20255 Mins Read
Seat 11A The Addict Who Walks Away
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I was sitting in seat 11C on my flight home from Las Vegas, and I found myself staring at the window seat just two seats over to my left, when I couldnโ€™t stop thinking about him.

The man who walked away from seat 11A on Air India Flight 171. The only survivor. The one who lived.

Maybe it was the altitude. Or the exhaustion after spending nine full days in Las Vegasโ€”the City of Sin, the capital of overindulgence and escapismโ€”completely sober. Nine days navigating the chaos with clarity. Nine days in the heart of temptation, knowing exactly who I am and why I donโ€™t drink anymore.

But as I sat there, buckled in at 38,000 feet, I found myself staring at that empty middle seat between me and the windowโ€”and I felt the presence of something holy and heavy.

The Unbearable Math of Survival

On that doomed flight, 241 lives were lost. One manโ€”in seat 11Aโ€”walked away. Not ran. Not rescued. He walked. From fire. From wreckage. From death.

I think about that a lotโ€”how survival makes no sense. How it’s an equation that doesnโ€™t balance. How addiction, like a plane crash, shouldโ€™ve taken so many of us. And did.

But some of us walked.

We made it out. Not because weโ€™re smarter or stronger or more worthy. Not because we had a perfect plan. But because somethingโ€”call it grace, chance, divine intervention, or sheer stubbornnessโ€”carved a path through the wreckage.

I Sat in 11C, But My Soul Was in 11A

Iโ€™ve lived that walk.

Not from twisted metal, but from the carnage of my own addiction. From the bottle that lied. From the life that looked polished on the outside while it was decaying on the inside.

I got out.

And sitting there in 11C, still buzzing from nine days of being the only one not ordering vodka tonics or mimosas with breakfast, I realized: Iโ€™ve become the witness.

Because every sober breath I take in places like Vegas is a quiet rebellion. Every clear-headed conversation, every dance without a drink, every full-hearted laugh that doesn’t need liquid courage is a defiant middle finger to the voice that once told me I couldnโ€™t survive without drinking.

Itโ€™s proof that I did.

The Weight of Walking Away

The man in seat 11A lost his brother on that flight. Iโ€™ve lost people too. Friends who didnโ€™t make it. People I loved. People I didnโ€™t even know, whose stories ended in addiction, just like mine, could have.

When youโ€™re the one who survives, you carry them all.

You walk with their names tucked inside you. You smile for them. You hold space for their unfinished stories. You sit in silence sometimes, wondering why you were spared.

Because survival isnโ€™t just a giftโ€”itโ€™s a responsibility.

A sacred one.

Living in the Aftermath

Every day I live clean, every time I raise a glass of sparkling water instead of whisky on the rocks, every time I go to Vegas and come home more alive, not lessโ€”I honor seat 11A.

I remember that Iโ€™m not just sober. Iโ€™m a statistical impossibility. Iโ€™m the decimal point that didnโ€™t round down to zero. Iโ€™m the math that shouldnโ€™t workโ€”but does.

And maybe you are too.

We Are the Living Memorial

You donโ€™t need to have sat in that exact seat to understand what it means. Seat 11A is every addict who survives. Every person who crawled out of the wreckage of their own life and decided to walk.

And when we walk, we walk with purpose. In the olden days, they called this trudging the road to happy destiny.

We become the living continuation of the story. We turn chaos into clarity. Pain into presence. Trauma into testimony. Grit into grace.

We donโ€™t just survive. We show others how. We won’t ever tell you how to get sober or that you need to. But we will show you, with our actions, how it works, if you work it, one day at a time.

We say: โ€œYou can dance in Vegas without blacking out. You can face grief without numbing it. You can build something beautiful from the ashes.โ€

Weโ€™re the walking, breathing evidence that miracles donโ€™t need explanations.

Seat 11A. Seat 11C. Doesnโ€™t Matter.

What matters is that weโ€™re here.

That we choose to live with intention. That we refuse to take one sober Tuesday for granted. That we treat coffee with a friend like communion and ordinary laughter like a holy rite.

The man on Flight 171 walked out of the fire. I walked out of addiction.

And on that flight home from Vegas, as I sat in seat 11C, I understood something profound:

I am the miracle.
You are the miracle.
We are the miracle.

And with that comes responsibilityโ€”to witness, speak, remember, and live like it all matters.

Because it does.


Speak Out Speak Loud

SPEAK OUT! SPEAK LOUD! at The Sober Curator is a celebration of authentic voices in recoveryโ€”echoing Madonnaโ€™s call to โ€œExpress yourself!โ€ Here, readers and contributors take the spotlight, sharing transformative sobriety journeys, creative talents, and new avenues of self-expression discovered along the way. Through videos, poems, art, essays, opinion pieces, and music, we break the silence that often surrounds addiction, replacing it with connection, hope, and inspiration.

Your story mattersโ€”and we want to hear it. Submit your work to thesobercurator@gmail.com or DM us on social media.

Disclaimer: All opinions expressed in the Speak Out! Speak Loud! Section are solely the opinions of the contributing author of each individual published article and do not reflect the views of The Sober Curator, their respective affiliates, or the companies with which The Sober Curator is affiliated.

The Speak Out! Speak Loud! posts are based upon information the contributing author considers reliable. Still, neither The Sober Curator nor its affiliates, nor the companies with which such participants are affiliated, warrant its completeness or accuracy, and it should not be relied upon as such.


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Help is Available

THE SOBER CURATOR RESOURCE GUIDE: At The Sober Curator, we provide high-quality content centered around the vibrant and fulfilling lifestyle of sobriety. While our focus is on the positive aspects of sober living, we also acknowledge that life can present challenges without the aid of alcohol or substances. Coping with these challenges alone can be daunting, which is why we strongly believe in finding recovery within a supportive community because it is the opposite of addiction.

If you or someone you know is struggling with alcohol use disorder, substance use disorder, a co-occurring illness, or a behavioral health disorder, we urge you to seek help. While the task may seem daunting, itโ€™s important to remember that support is readily available and that there are people out there who want to help.

Itโ€™s crucial to remain persistent in your search for assistance until you find the right solution for your unique situation. In some cases, it could be a matter of life or death, so itโ€™s essential to never give up on finding the necessary help.

If your life or someone else’s is in imminent danger, please call 911. If you are in crisis and need immediate help, please call:ย 988.

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Alysse Bryson
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Alysse Bryson is a strong woman in recovery, an innovative media maven, marketing guru, and gal about town. "I'm just a laid-back old school Seattlite...with sober superpowers. You can take the girl out of the party, but you can't take the party out of the girl."

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