The rooms and halls fill, day after day, each evening, and every night Sponsors and Former Users alike grasp the will to claim another day.
“Hello my name is and I am an alcoholic”… is the general introduction. Each participant acknowledges himself as one in recovery in the most powerful life advocacy group in America. “No one speaks for A.A as a whole. When we carry the A.A message to those in treatment, we are just one drunk with another. How we look, act, and talk may be all they are going to know about Alcoholics Anonymous.”
57,000 groups of Alcoholics regularly invite the weak to stand-up to problems; honing in on what is known as a “Higher Power.” Not defined as intangible in every instance, some members claim accessibility to the “Higher Power” by attending a meeting around the corner, or across town, or by picking up the phone and contacting help in the middle of the night, reading books, literature or whatever line one can grab and hold in an effort to avoid the destruction of their addiction.
The Saturday Evening Post published one of the first nationally known articles about the organization. It was written by Jack Alexander in 1941, six years after the establishment of 2,000 men and women as alcoholics. In this article he describes their experience:
“They tell of the eight-ounce bottles of gin hidden behind pictures and in caches from cellar to attic; of spending whole days in motion-picture houses to stave off the temptation to drink; of sneaking out of the office for quickies during the day. They talk of losing jobs and stealing money from their wives’ purses; of putting pepper into whiskey to give it a tang; of tippling on bitters and sedative tablets, or on mouthwash or hair tonic; of getting into the habit of camping outside the neighborhood tavern ten minutes before opening time. They describe a hand so jittery that it could not lift a pony to the lips without spilling the contents; drinking liquor from a beer stein because it can be steadied with two hands, although at the risk of chipping a front tooth; tying an end of a towel about the glass, looping the towel around the back of the neck, and drawing the free end with the other hand, pulley fashion, to advance the glass to the mouth; hands so shaky they feel as if they were about to snap off and fly into space; sitting on hands for hours to keep them from doing this.”
The commitment is real, and the words… “What is said here, stays here.” It allots opportunities to share in a confidential environment and without regret. Grown men cry and Grown women shake their fists…they laugh, they fuss…all are liberated.
“Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism,” says the A.A Grapevine, Inc. a publication of the Alcoholics Anonymous World Service, Inc. The organization believes in a simple program of 12 steps. Its guidelines and rules are clear and give a safe platform for those who want to “stay away from one drink, one day at a time.”
The organization is self-supporting. It has over 2,000,000 sober living members who contribute as individuals and through the sale of books and pamphlets. In a pamphlet written for beginners called, “Welcome to A. A.” and published by the inter-county fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous in San Francisco announces, “ ‘What A.A DOES,’ it explains the goal ‘to help sober alcoholics stay sober,’” while it continues outlines what not to expect as addicts start their new life of sobriety:
“What A.A DOES NOT DO: furnish initial motivation, solicit members, charge dues or fees, operate clinics or drying-out facilities, operate clubs, provide housing, meals or transportation, keep membership records, follow-up on errant members, control its members, hold classes, practice medicine, psychiatry, or nursing, offer religious services, offer professional counseling, accept money from non-members, do research, or join councils of social agencies.”
They encourage the beginner to try the 12 step program, not to take the first drink, live one day at a time, go to the meetings, phone others, read the books, get a sponsor and have a home group. If you or someone you know would like more information on A.A, visit them on the web at http://www.aa.org/.
“Hello my name is and I am an alcoholic”… is the general introduction. Each participant acknowledges himself as one in recovery in the most powerful life advocacy group in America. “No one speaks for A.A as a whole. When we carry the A.A message to those in treatment, we are just one drunk with another. How we look, act, and talk may be all they are going to know about Alcoholics Anonymous.”
57,000 groups of Alcoholics regularly invite the weak to stand-up to problems; honing in on what is known as a “Higher Power.” Not defined as intangible in every instance, some members claim accessibility to the “Higher Power” by attending a meeting around the corner, or across town, or by picking up the phone and contacting help in the middle of the night, reading books, literature or whatever line one can grab and hold in an effort to avoid the destruction of their addiction.
The Saturday Evening Post published one of the first nationally known articles about the organization. It was written by Jack Alexander in 1941, six years after the establishment of 2,000 men and women as alcoholics. In this article he describes their experience:
“They tell of the eight-ounce bottles of gin hidden behind pictures and in caches from cellar to attic; of spending whole days in motion-picture houses to stave off the temptation to drink; of sneaking out of the office for quickies during the day. They talk of losing jobs and stealing money from their wives’ purses; of putting pepper into whiskey to give it a tang; of tippling on bitters and sedative tablets, or on mouthwash or hair tonic; of getting into the habit of camping outside the neighborhood tavern ten minutes before opening time. They describe a hand so jittery that it could not lift a pony to the lips without spilling the contents; drinking liquor from a beer stein because it can be steadied with two hands, although at the risk of chipping a front tooth; tying an end of a towel about the glass, looping the towel around the back of the neck, and drawing the free end with the other hand, pulley fashion, to advance the glass to the mouth; hands so shaky they feel as if they were about to snap off and fly into space; sitting on hands for hours to keep them from doing this.”
The commitment is real, and the words… “What is said here, stays here.” It allots opportunities to share in a confidential environment and without regret. Grown men cry and Grown women shake their fists…they laugh, they fuss…all are liberated.
“Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism,” says the A.A Grapevine, Inc. a publication of the Alcoholics Anonymous World Service, Inc. The organization believes in a simple program of 12 steps. Its guidelines and rules are clear and give a safe platform for those who want to “stay away from one drink, one day at a time.”
The organization is self-supporting. It has over 2,000,000 sober living members who contribute as individuals and through the sale of books and pamphlets. In a pamphlet written for beginners called, “Welcome to A. A.” and published by the inter-county fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous in San Francisco announces, “ ‘What A.A DOES,’ it explains the goal ‘to help sober alcoholics stay sober,’” while it continues outlines what not to expect as addicts start their new life of sobriety:
“What A.A DOES NOT DO: furnish initial motivation, solicit members, charge dues or fees, operate clinics or drying-out facilities, operate clubs, provide housing, meals or transportation, keep membership records, follow-up on errant members, control its members, hold classes, practice medicine, psychiatry, or nursing, offer religious services, offer professional counseling, accept money from non-members, do research, or join councils of social agencies.”
They encourage the beginner to try the 12 step program, not to take the first drink, live one day at a time, go to the meetings, phone others, read the books, get a sponsor and have a home group. If you or someone you know would like more information on A.A, visit them on the web at http://www.aa.org/.
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