Your Comments
The following are excerpts from comments sent to Buddy T in response to features published on the Alcoholism site at The Mining Company.
Engaged in a Race?
Hi Mitchell!I read with interest your editorial on early relapse rates. There's no question that most current AA groups don't have a 75 or 93% abstinence rate, but look at how many more people have access to our program today.
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In any event, I doubt Bill's figures. Both Pass It On and AA comes of Age state that Bill's early efforts in New York City were dismal failures. I doubt Bill kept records and think it very likely that he engaged in puffery when arguing the success of the fledgling program.
As far as doing the steps, it says nowhere in the literature that we are engaged in a race. My personal experience was a long, slow recovery. I doubt I personally would have gained much from the 28-day forced march up the Steps which many inpatient programs charge thousands of dollars for; yet it is obvious to me that many others have worked the steps both faster and slower than I have without hurting themselves.
What worked for me
I'll leave it to them to share their experience, I can only describe what worked for me, which was laying a solid foundation of faith, trust, and experience staying sober before beginning a thorough inventory and proceeding to the defect-removal and amends steps. I was nearly six years sober before I could truthfully say that I had taken all the Steps.Today, my life is full of peace, joy, and the love and respect of my family and friends. If I got here by doing it all wrong in your eyes, I'll gladly do it all wrong again to get the same result. Mitchell, in your little editorial you didn't say a word about what your own experience has been, only what you think others should do. While I'm glad I read your piece because it made me think, I can't help but wondering if your talent for writing would be even more useful to your fellows if you shared your own experience, strength, and hope.
One drunk talking to another is truly "how it works," and this is one drunk who's quite grateful for the process and for the individuals who made it all possible over sixty years ago.
-- Wendell F.
Bull
Maybe it is time to alter the basic messages that I hear at many meetings:
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A step a year is all you need.
90 meetings in 90 days.
I think the foregoing is a disservice. Rarely do I hear that the program of recovery is in the book "Alcoholics Anonymous" With the help of Joe and Charlie, I do believe that the message is being delivered more and more.
I am hopeful that those that follow will be lucky enough to get a sponsor or someone that will show them them the path. Yet there are those that have stayed sober without the steps, or at least they claim to have. So, I guess it is not for me to decide how someone else works the program of recovery set forth in the big book.
However, I do believe I should carry the message that as a result of the steps of AA I have had a spiritual awakening which brought about a personality change sufficient to recover from Alcoholism.
Keep up the good work
Jim
Program of Action
My name is Jack W, and I'm an alcoholic. My sobriety date is 2/16/91.
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I purchased all of the A.A. books that I could get me hands on, and I not only read them, I studied them as if my life depended on it, because I for some reason in early sobriety knew that it did.
Bill W. said that this was a program of action, and that is the way that I was sponsored, that is the way that I sponsor and I also suggest that should be the way my sponcees work with newcomers. I believe that instead of a lack of action and just hanging around A.A., becoming fully involved in my sobriety is what has helped keep me sober to this day.
I got involved in group service work at six months sobriety (Treatment Center chairperson), at one year, I was sectetary for my home group, at 18 months I was the grapevine chair for the S.W. Texas area. I have been sponsoring people since I had one year sobriety.
That's enough about Jack W. If I keep going on, it's my ego and I should be talking to my sponsor.
Bottom line for me is "Don't forget where I came from, trust God, Help others, and go to meetings".
Your friend in sobriety,
Jack W.
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