Despite caustic, contradictory commentary in opposition to the reality, Alcoholics Anonymous does not demand that you be convinced you are an alcoholic. Once again, from Mel B.; “In other words, the AA founders were not zealously committed to the task of convincing any person that he might be an alcoholic, or of citing scientific proof that he could never be a controlled drinker. This was something the individual would have to decide for himself, even at the cost of getting drunk again. Is it irresponsible to tell an alcoholic to try drinking again if he thinks he can get away with it? Not really, because any person who believes that he can drink will probably do it no matter what is said to him. Our experience has certainly shown us that... [Read more]

Significant March Dates in A.A. History from AA History Lovers at Yahoo! Groups; March 1936 – AA had 10 members staying sober. At end of 1936 A.A. had 15 members. March-May 1938 – Bill begins writing the book Alcoholics Anonymous. Works Publishing Inc established to support writing and printing of the book. March 1940 – Mort J. came to LA from Denver; started custom of reading Chapter 5 Big Book at Cecil group. March 1941 – Second printing of Big Book. March 1941 – 1st Prison AA Group formed at San Quentin. March 1946 – The March of Time film is produced by NY AA office. March 1949 – Dr. Bob considers idea of AA conference premature. March 1951 – American Weekly publishes memorial article for Dr.... [Read more]

Anger is another topic that has received little play in meetings in this locale in recent memory. A lot can be written and said about anger by alcoholics. I am in full agreement with Mel B.; “What really is behind a temper outburst? A temper explosion is not something that just blows up out of nowhere, a storm without a cause. It is actually a surface manifestation of inner hostility, of the emotions we often call ‘resentments’ in AA. I’ve learned that I am subject to moments of rage only if I allow myself to wallow around in a swamp of resentful, self-pitying thoughts. It is easy to become outwardly angry, for example, when I have spent several hours thinking about past mistakes, or going over how badly someone treated... [Read more]

I’m going to take a few liberties with some of A.A.’s literature… From pages 32-33 in the 12&12; “To clergymen, doctors, friends, and families, the loveaholic who means well and tries hard is a heartbreaking riddle. To most L.A.’s, he/she is not. There are too many of us who have been just like him/her, and have found the riddle’s answer. The answer has to do with the quality of faith rather than its quantity. This has been our blind spot. We supposed we had humility when we really hadn’t. We supposed we had been serious about religious practices when, upon honest appraisal, we found we had been only superficial. Or, going to the other extreme, we had wallowed in emotionalism and had mistaken it... [Read more]

A lot of thoughts and energies went into this… Mike left a comment today, the gist of which was that some folks were reading letters from a prison inmate at a meeting, looking, in some apparently misguided way, for help for the inmate. The inmate was not attending the meeting. The folks offering the readings also offered comments on the inmate’s daily living challenges. At an AA meeting. Then looking for feedback from the meeting. Of course this felt awkward, even angering some. My first thoughts ran along the line that this was somehow a violation of our Fifth Tradition. Then I read “The Language of the Heart” page 133 where Bill W. mentions that, “by 1937, some of us realized that AA needed a standard literature.... [Read more]