Alcoholics Anonymous

I was at the library scrolling around trying to find my next book to read when I came across the Alcoholics Anonymous book and decided to check it out. I have never been an alcoholic by any means and haven't had a drink myself in 7 years, but I was always interested in hearing testimonies of people who were and how they were able to heal from it. I wanted to know the kind of trauma they went through and what led to the day in and day out of drinking. While writing this I had a patient earlier who talked about being an alcoholic and how much it has affected her relationship with her spouse, nine-year-old and her immediate family. She has been to rehab twice but it hasn't helped, and her family has tried everything they can to help her with no success that her husband is moving out today along with their nine-year-old. She didn't ask for this and wants to stop but she can't.

She told me she drinks to take away the pain and reading this book I have learned a lot. No one wakes up and decides to become an alcoholic, and this book has taught me that. In the testimonies I have read so far, a lot of the patients in the book started at a young age but it was all different circumstances. One of them in the book would sneak drink when their parents weren't aware at the age of ten and by sixteen, they were finding ways to get drunk in all the different ways they can. Another person grew up in a Christian household in which there was no drinking, and their parents were the perfect example, but things changed when they got to college and were introduced to a sense of freedom. Drinking was a way for them to fit in, and one drink turned into multiple hangovers per week and drinking before class. The book takes us through the beginning of AA and how 2 people coming together helped to establish the programs all around the world from New York to Detroit, Chicago, Canada, and all over the world. It all starts with one person, and the main person is Dr Bob.

It all started with him and his willingness to make a difference in the lives of people and get them help. In one chapter an individual had been sober for a couple months but decides to go to a bar, sees a drink, and determines one won't hurt but you already know what happens next. One turns to two and by the end of the night the person is back drinking for the next couple of weeks. Another individual lost both parents by the age of 30 and trying to navigate the losses and the struggles during the great depression led to constant drinking with no way of stopping. Kids, wives, and everything encouraged them to stop but in moments like this the person is so far gone that it will take a higher power to help them stop and it is the only higher power we have, God. The one constant through a lot of these stories is God and his ability to heal. One patient had been drinking for 18 years but one day through the introduction by Dr. Bob asked him if he believes in God.

He didn’t but one day decides to surrender and pray "God, for 18 years I have been unable to handle this problem, please let me turn it over to you". He talks about the peace he felt after and said, "I had tried to be the center of my own world, whereas God was the center of a vast universe of which I was a very tiny part". God is the constant in all of this and none of them were able to do it without him and the support of their family and others in AA. One thing that is also preached so far in the book is the power of community. The power of all of them coming together to share their testimonies and be a support system for each other because no one can do it alone. That is the amazing part of the AA groups and the number of members all around the world. People coming together for the same cause will always lead to success and healing. I am halfway through this 500-page book, but I highly recommend and you don't have to be an alcoholic to read it, but I think there is a lot to be learned from it. Here's a link for anyone interested. https://www.aa.org/the-big-book