Introduction: There is a need for a better understanding of clients who undergo treatment for substance use, especially to avoid relapse. Aims: To identify our clients’ discourses which led to their substance problems and to determine those discursive strategies which have kept them sober.

Method: A total of 14 participants at a Swedish municipally-operated treatment program were interviewed about their childhood, teenage years, early experiences with substance, how they recognized they had substance problems, found out about treatment, adopted strategies to maintain sober and whether they noticed identity changes during treatment.

Results: Participants saw themselves as the main actors in their life stories even although professional support was one of the important factors in the change to a sober life style. The group mentioned different causes of substance problems such as adverse childhood experiences and loss of stable life patterns; a variety of reasons for seeking treatment, here “turning points” as keeping job and support from others; and different strategies to avoid relapses such as avoiding places where there was alcohol, being frank about their alcohol problems, focusing on one day at a time, attending AA meetings, avoiding romanticizing about alcohol, and participating in new activities and in a government-controlled personal savings program.