Edwin Throckmorton Thacher (Ebby)
By bob k The story of Ebby Thacher is one of large privilege and poor performance, the tale of a classic underachiever. Iconic television character, Al Bundy, peaked at seventeen years of age by...
Tagged: AA
Beyond Belief: Agnostic Musings for 12 Step Life
Review by Carol M. Finally! A daily reflection book for nonbelievers, freethinkers and everyone, Beyond Belief: Agnostic Musings for 12 Step Life offers 365 quips for every alcoholic/addict. Drawing on quotes from writers, skeptics,...
The Great Divide
By Brent P. It’s conventional wisdom. If, as an organization, you want to be as inclusive as possible and avoid controversy, you don’t allow sex, politics or religion to influence your mandate. Yet in...
Personalizing the 12 Steps
By Neil F. On the 13th of April 1986, during a drive from Montreal to Toronto, I broke into a cold sweat and started shaking. I felt like I was losing control of my mind...
Is the AA Program a Procrustean Bed?
Procrustes: a mythical host who stretched or cut his guests to fit his “magical” bed, often killing them in the process. By Frank M. I should probably start by explaining that I have no...
A Message of Tolerance and Celebration
A Message of Tolerance and Celebration: The Portrayal of Multiple Pathways of Recovery in the Writings of Alcoholics Anonymous Co-Founder Bill Wilson (2010). The unredacted paper, with references and background reading, was originally posted...
Christmas, Christians, Lepers, and Alcoholics (Revisited)
By bob k This is a terrific time of year, but not for all of us. Alcoholism is an illness of loneliness and of loss, and these already powerful emotions are easily intensified by...
We Are Not Saints
My name is Roger and I am an alcoholic. It was snowing on Friday evening, the last day of November, in downtown Toronto. I didn’t know that until I hauled my bicycle out of the porch...
Without a Higher Power
One size does not fit all for this atheist in recovery By Greg H. (San Diego, CA) Copyright © The AA Grapevine. Originally published by the AA Grapevine in January 2010. Reprinted with permission. This atheist...
Twentieth Century Influences on AA
By bob k It is fairly common knowledge that there are religious roots to AA. Much has been written about our earliest existence as part of the Christian revivalist Oxford Group. From Carl Jung comes...
The Bird In Your Hands
By Ivan K. A salesman was traveling from Toronto to London and got lost. He stopped at a farmer’s place to ask directions, and this is the conversation between the two of them: Salesman,...
The Lord’s Prayer and the Law
By Roger C. North Americans appear to be getting used to life without the Lord’s Prayer. Many now accept that the recitation in public of a prayer associated with one particular religion is a...
An Atheists Unofficial Guide to AA
By Vince H. I am an atheist alcoholic who believes that many people who could be saved from drink by AA do not embrace the fellowship because they are put off by a higher...
Short of a Game Changer – Appendix II
By bob k Possibly the most famous single play in the history of American football took place in 1984, and involved a player who would later star for the Toronto Argonauts in the Canadian...
