In a recent study in the March 2011 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research it was discovered that as one becomes more committed to Alcoholics Anonymous, one's spirituality increases. Overall the study concludes that after attending AA one's drinking goes down as one's spirituality increases and the overall outcome is effective.

In other words: AA works.

Here is a link to the article on Phyorg.com. The study itself is available online but if costs something so I didn't provide a link.

The effects of spirituality in Alcoholics Anonymous on alcohol dependence

Alex H.

Mary Karr has come out with a new book "Lit". I heard her interviewed today on the radio show "To the Best of our Knowledge". You can listen to the show at the link below...

Listen!

Her interview is about a third way into the 1 hour show about addiction and various ways people handle the issue. Some of it is total BS from my point of view, but if it works for them I wish them well. (Really.) The person I identified with most was Mary Karr. She has that sort of sing-song rhetorical style that is so familiar in Alcoholics Anonymous. She is quick-witted, inspiring, quietly shocking and funny all at once. I have not read the book but I will certainly pick it up. I believe the book relates to her conversion from atheism to Catholic. If you can manage that, then pick up the book. It's not going to bother me.

You can listen to an interview she did on NPR on her book of poetry, "Sinners Welcome".

She also did a longer (30 minute) interview on the NPR radio show Fresh Air.

Alex H.

There is an idea that has been going around AA for a long time now. It is the idea of choice. I've heard things like "Today I choose not to drink." That makes no sense to me.

I have a choice not to drink in the same manner that I have a choice not to play Russian Roulette. While I understand the arguments regarding choice and I don't want to change anyone's mind about it, I do not think of this subject in the same manner. I see it differently and it works for me.

I have no choice. I had no choice but to drink before AA and now in AA I have no choice but NOT to drink. I was let out (yatzah). I was released from slavery not to freedom but to a different service. I was released from slavery to booze and was retained as a servant to my Higher Power. I am an indentured servant. I have a debt to pay. There is no choice except life or death. I want to live so there is no choice. The day there is a real choice is the day I am in real trouble.

This is not to denigrate the ideas being offered regarding choice. I understand what they are saying. I am saying something different. I don't approach my sobriety in the same way that many others do. If they are sober, then they are doing things right, but I am sober too. This is working for me and has been working for me for a very long time.

Between life and death, choose life.

Alex H.

AA is not a substitute for religion.

Early on in AA history many pastors and priests (read as: major and obvious leaders of religion) hesitated to recommend AA because they worried it might subvert religion. AA tends to complement religion, adding to it or emphasizing certain aspects of religious teaching. It is not a substitute any more than a 13mm wrench is a substitute for a full Craftsman metric socket wrench set. AA does one thing well and it looks religious because as any shade-tree mechanic knows, most of his work is done with two wrenches but we should not mistake a shade-tree mechanic with two wrenches for a master mechanic with a full complement of wrenches.

Secondly, I believe most people do not understand what religion is. Such a discussion is beyond the scope of this list. Suffice it to say that the Bible commands one in how to dig a latrine. Most people do not associate religion with normal sanitary laws yet religion is involved as much as it is in defining what is holy on the Sabbath day. So whatever one thinks religion is, if your definition does not include what to do with your feces during a field march, then the word "religion" does not mean what you think it means.

From a practical standpoint (and AA is VERY practical) for the purposes to staying sober having a rigorous definition of the word "religion" is not very useful. It is enough to know that religion in the USA is the purview of certain well-known and obvious leaders of religion and AA will leave it to them to define their own work. AA seems to complement their work at some points but is not a substitute for it.

I am an alcoholic and an Orthodox Jew.

Alex H.

Those who are handicapped live in a small world. We try to make it as large as we can.

My world is larger due to this computer. I am limited to my bedroom with the drapes drawn. It is difficult for me to get around, but easier than for others. One day I was preparing for a seminar on Drugs, Sex, and Integrity. I was joining a Reform Rabbi in speaking to middle school kids and their parents. He wanted an Orthodox perspective. I had to blow off the Jail meeting I usually attended on Wednesday so that I could be in good enough shape to attend. I can't do both on the same day. It would destroy me.

I find it essential that I travel through the Internet, answering questions and commenting where I can. It helps me to remain centered. This is situation where depression is a very real threat. I fight it by getting out of myself and looking to help others. I don't actually have to help anyone. I simply have to turn outward and look. I scan this various email lists for example, looking for some place to insert myself. I try to add. If I cannot add, I usually remain silent.

I love Transactional Analysis. I'm always working it, it seems. It has been so helpful to me in understanding my communications with others. It also informs me when communication is not possible.

I read a lot, but mostly I listen to audio books I order from the library. I also connect to various radio shows and listen on-line. This wides my world.

Very few people come to visit any more but we have good neighbors. My wife is here. My kids are old enough to drive. I can get around if need be but I can no longer drive.

I'm an Orthodox Jew who is recovering from alcoholism.

It's working.

Alex H.