There are no ‘sides; here (in Recovery). You don’t have to go to AA and do the 12 steps if you don’t want to. There are, thankfully, other methods to get sober, some paid and some free. Seek the one that fits you best and don’t settle for anything less than the freedom that is possible. Anyone who struggles with a substance use disorder is a warrior – and they need all the support they can get.” Veronica Valli
I recently read a piece on Veronica Valli’s blog titled “The Misinformation About AA and Sobriety” which made me think “I wish I’d written that” – well most of it anyway. There is a plethora of misinformation about AA, as Veronica rightly notes, much of it, ironically, perpetuated by the fellowship of AA. Please don’t get me wrong. I love AA, I love meetings, they are a big part of my recovery, but I have heard it said before, they are just the “froth on the cappuccino, not the coffee, without the froth it ain’t a cappuccino but it is always a cup of coffee!” What I love above this is the “program”.
I have some thoughts of my own on the historic contributions of ancient wisdom that makes up the 12 Step program and have to admit it was not the Gnostics that first sprang to mind but I take the point. Personally I can see a line from Stoics, through early Christianity (which seem to have lifted a lot of Stoic elements) through to the Renaissance thinkers, the Scottish Enlightenment which in turn informed the American Pragmatists who influenced both the James brothers and beyond.
This also got me thinking about the “roots of recovery”, so this piece will be the first posting in that “strand”, hopefully we can post regular pieces that reflect the ancient wisdom traditions within the 12 Steps as well as pieces that reflect realities in recover today.
Like Veronica I have often been drawn into debates about the 12 Step program of AA, not claiming any special knowledge but grateful for a clear and concise program that helps me in life and I have found AA literature clear on certain things, getting professional help when you need it, get spiritual help from those whose spirituality you admire and if you choose, try the program it may well help you.
Unlike Veronica it was not the meetings of AA that initiated my recovery, but rather a period of treatment in a 12 Step informed treatment centre that encouraged use of the program. I also agree with her that there is no one path to recovery and that, as one might expect, an organisation with a horizontal structure, free to use and full of people like me may not always be the safest or sanest place in the world.
AA coined a term in it’s fledgling years describing the “bleeding deacons” who felt that they had the “right” reading of everything 12 Step. Zealots are attached to any organisation and AA has it’s share. Equally the voices against AA, NA and all the other “A’s” have their “zealots” too, as Veronica points out (as AA always has) there is no monopoly on Recovery, no “sides”, just a vast number of pathways to freedom.
So enjoy Veronica’s article, she is neither zealot, spokesperson or evangeliser, rather an intelligent, well informed and thoughtful person in recovery. Thanks Veronica.
If you would like to know more about Veronica’s ideas, methods and courses click here
