As a result of these Steps
By Gabe S. AA’s twelfth Step says “Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics.” But what is this message? What on Earth...
Tagged: AA
God and Diet Pills
By Steve B. I have come to believe that God is to sobriety what diet pills are to weight loss. The diet pills I’m referring to are the over the counter supplements you see...
A Lesson for AA from our Betters
By Frank M. “You’ve got a higher power problem,” my old AA sponsor told me. It’s something he’d asserted on a number of occasions when the subject of God and the Steps and my...
Slips and Human Nature
Dr. William Silkworth (1873 – 1951) was the Medical Director at the Towns Hospital and treated Bill W and other early members of AA. He was the first 20th century physician to advocate that alcoholism is...
Anonymity in the 21st Century
By bob k A Nameless Group of Drunks In the 1930s the whole concept of “anonymity” was very simple. Bill Wilson’s “nameless group of drunks”, helping themselves by helping each other, were progressing into...
My Last Binge
By Laurie A. My wife thought I would get up and walk out from my first meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous. The meeting started with a recitation of the 12 Steps suggested as a programme...
Agnostics Groups in AA: An Interview
William White is the author of Slaying the Dragon: The History of Addiction Treatment and Recovery in America and co-author with Ernest Kurtz of The Varieties of Recovery Experience By William L. White Some...
Spirituality for a Non-Believer
By Ed S. My parents sent us three children to Catholic school. After twelve years of attending Catholic schools, first grade through high school, I went away to college and began to question my beliefs....
Megan D.
Megan D. and Charlie P. co-founded the first ever group to be called “We Agnostics” in California in 1980. This is an article she submitted to the AA Grapevine, but was never published. She...
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...
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...
