By Richard Clark Since 1939 we have been living with the twisted, religious idea that recovery has three principal components: staying sober, finding some version of ‘God’ which includes any watered-down declaration of higher...
The founder of Alcoholics Anonymous Bill W. spoke at the 1953 General Service Conference on variations in the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, commenting “The more we insist on strict conformity with these Steps...
By Jude, Bill Wilson’s founding vision for Alcoholics Anonymous remains a landmark achievement in the history of recovery movements — a rare fusion of practical psychology, moral philosophy, and spiritual action. His genius lay...
By Murray J. This article is being written in support of my secular group. I call my AA home the Beyond Belief Suburban West Group in Mississauga Ontario. How did I get here? My...
By Andy F. My name is Andy, and I am an alcoholic. I attended my first meeting in London on the 15th of May, 1984. I believe I was an alcoholic from my first...
By Bobby Beach A small number of Facebook warriors continue their battle against the Plain Language Big Book. In many ways, they are (very much) like the folks bemoaning the old news that the...
By Roger C. I recently celebrated being sober for fifteen years! I drank for forty years, from the age of twenty to the age of sixty. And that was awful. It ruined a marriage...
By Andy F Loneliness and aloneness: What’s the difference? As a newcomer, I kept hearing about the differences between loneliness and aloneness. In AA, drunk or sober, a pervasive and consuming loneliness is considered...
By Jason W. When I attended my first AA meeting in 1987 in an attempt to lessen the consequences of my 2nd DUI I was shocked at all the “god stuff”. It was on...
By bob k. After a slow start, the Jack Alexander article in the March 1st, 1941 edition of the Saturday Evening Post made AA a national institution. The newish mutual aid society quadrupled in...
Why God beliefs, prayer, and forgiveness are not a solution to addiction—they make it worse. By Richard Clark Very few people accept that addiction is a mental illness. Addiction has predictable symptoms, both mental...
By Tom Barnum My exposure to alcohol has been lifelong and extensive. Every adult in my life drank significant amounts of alcohol with two exceptions. My paternal grandfather did not for his own religious...
By John M. The world has been enchanted for a very long time. It’s not supposed to be this way, as we were told quite a long time ago by theories of secularization. According...
February 16 Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can. —Arthur Ashe 1943-1993 The advice from the great tennis player and civil rights activist applies particularly well in the world...
By Andy F. First exposure to step one When I first got sober, I was a mass of contradictions. On the one hand, my self-image was fragile; on the other hand, I saw myself...
