Why is the Big Book Sacred?
Sacred: Connected with God (or the gods) or dedicated to a religious purpose or deserving veneration. Cui Bono (to whom is it a benefit?) By Paul W. Prelude The Big Book, which is the...
Tagged: Alcoholics Anonymous
Non-Religious Identities and AA Participation
By Zach Munro The emergence of an organized network of secular AA groups has coincided with a recent turn in the sociology of religion into an increasing interest into a sociology of non-religion. The...
John’s Recovery: Step Twelve
By John B AA Step 12: Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs....
Schaberg’s Book on the Big Book – A Few Thoughts
By John B In his book, Writing the Big Book, Schaberg wastes no time dropping a bomb on any version of AA history originating from Bill Wilson or any of his closest associates who...
The Rainbow Group
By bob k On Saturday, October 26 of last year, at the Alano Club in Oshawa, some courageous folks held the first ever LGBTQ-friendly AA meeting in the Durham region. It’s called, appropriately enough,...
Must one attend meetings forever?
By Zarina Macha When we come into AA, we are broken; emotionally, physically, spiritually. Suddenly, these doors open, filled with possibilities, and people welcome you with open arms. Things you once suspected about yourself...
WRITING the BIG BOOK: The Creation of AA
Bill Wilson, the man who contributed more “factual” information than anyone else to the traditional story of AA, was by far the worst offender when it came to accuracy regarding that early history… Wilson’s...
The Common Sense of Drinking and Alcoholics Anonymous
An alcoholic should always realize that he himself does the actual work which produces the actual cure… The Common Sense of Drinking By Charlie M. I find it unlikely that Bill Wilson or other...
Why Bill W. Wrote the 12 Steps Twice
By Susan Cheever Originally posted on April 16, 2012 on The Fix The AA founder penned two versions of the 12 Steps, separated by 15 years and a lifetime of troubles. Their differences will...
Dr Wilson and Mr Hide
By life-j Biographies of Bill Wilson, while not telling us anything which is actually untrue, do tend to look mostly at the Saint Bill, “plus a few problems too hard to overlook”, such as...
“Spiritual, Not Religious” – The Hollow Claim of Alcoholics Anonymous
“Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.” – Aldous Huxley By Paul W. Introduction As an organization, Alcoholics Anonymous has long claimed to be, “spiritual, not religious.” Admittedly, this is the intent...
Critique of Chapter 10 – To Employers
Rigorous commonsense is by no means obvious to much of the world. Indeed, commonsense sometimes requires ceaseless vigilance in its defense. Richard Dawkins By Paul W. The prior critiques by Clara M., life-j, and...
Recovery Spirituality
By Ernest Kurtz (Adjunct Assistant Research Scientist, Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan Medical School) and William L. White (Emeritus Senior Research Consultant, Chestnut Health Systems). Originally published on January 27, 2015. Abstract There...
Which God, Whose God, What God?
“I grok, I am god, you are god.” – Mike, the Man from Mars in Stranger in a Strange Land By Paul W. In Alcoholics Anonymous, “God” is simply defined as a Higher Power...
