There's a lot of discussion online about multiple pathways to recovery within and outside of 12 step groups. It's prompted me to reread this great paper by Ernie Kurtz and Bill White. I tend to think that the prevalence of one-wayism is overstated by critics of twelve-step groups and treatment. This paper makes it very clear that … Continue reading Tolerance and Celebration
Category: Mutual Aid
Not God
One atheist AA member shares her story: It wasn’t magic; it was brutally hard work to get from point A to B. I do believe I’d be dead without the help of the people and the structure of the steps in AA. But I don’t believe in God.
The “I Program”
Ugh... I've got no problem with alternatives to 12 step programs (Whatever path to recovery works for an addict is fine with me.), but I do have a problem with professionals who adopt and promote condescending attitudes toward people in 12 step recovery... It is our opinion that many AA/NA members have substituted one addiction … Continue reading The “I Program”
Going it alone
This piece sounds like someone trying to quit drinking without a community of recovery: For decades I defined myself as a drinker, spent weekends and evenings in the cozy confines of a nice, steady stupor, but now I confronted a problem bigger than the mere practical issue of where to meet. Indeed, it was the … Continue reading Going it alone
Sentences to ponder
An ironic facet of a fellowship honoring humility and anonymity is that the first person willing to stand and speak for NA may, if that act is any indication, be the least qualified to do so. —William White
The second ‘A’ in AA (con’t)
More on anonymity in AA: COLMAN: ...does it make sense, really, for everybody to have to hew to this anonymous line? CONAN: Have to hew. That's a critical point. You say it should be a choice. COLMAN: I do think it's a choice, and I would never argue that somebody should be outed in the … Continue reading The second ‘A’ in AA (con’t)
Calling out the outliers
From The Fix: Does abstinence from booze, coke, heroin and other substances include medications for common mental health problems like depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, even schizophrenia? Many people in recovery—particularly those in 12-step programs—seem to think so. And some, often out of an excess of conviction, attempt to persuade fellow members that "clean and sober" … Continue reading Calling out the outliers
Continue to continue to continue…
An article about living with bipolar offers and important insight for anyone living with a chronic illness, including addiction: You can’t choose to have or not have an illness, but you can choose the way you opt to cope with it. You can choose to lie in bed all day and think negative thoughts, and … Continue reading Continue to continue to continue…
Eleven Steps Forward…
"Humility—the acceptance that being human is good enough—is the embrace of ordinariness." —underlined by David Foster Wallace in his copy of Ernest Kurtz's The Spirituality of Imperfection. (source) People who know me well know that I've been thinking a lot about David Foster Wallace's 2005 commencement speech at Kenyon University. I think it has profound implications for … Continue reading Eleven Steps Forward…
The second ‘A’ in AA
Am I the only one who is really underwhelmed with these recent pieces on whether anonymity in AA has been rendered quaint? To me, they seem to fundamentally misunderstand AA's anonymity. There's plenty of room within AA's traditions for activism and public education, AA members are just advised not to identify themselves as AA members in the media, avoid … Continue reading The second ‘A’ in AA
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