Aa history Lovers 2004 moderators Nancy Olson and Glenn F. Chesnut page



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book

was published in 1946. Dr. Bob approved of "The Little Red Book". So Dr. Bob

not

only authorized the publication of the Akron pamphlets, he also endorsed



"The

Little Red Book", both of which were products of the "Beginners' Classes".

Even our first AA group handbook, originally entitled "A Handbook for the

Secretary", published by the Alcoholic Foundation in 1950, had a section on

the

"Beginners' Classes". At the time there were only three types of meetings:



Open

Speaker Meetings, Closed Discussion Meetings, and Beginners' Meetings. There

was

no such thing as an Open Discussion Meeting in the early days of Alcoholics



Anonymous. In the Beginners' Meetings, which are described in the Meeting

section, the handbook states: "In larger metropolitan areas a special type

of

meeting for newcomers to AA is proved extremely successful. Usually staged



for a

half-hour prior to an open meeting, this meeting features an interpretation

of

AA usually by an older member presented in terms designed to make the



program

clear to the new member. (Note: The Chicago Group held their "Beginners'

Classes" a half-hour prior to their Open Meeting. When publishing the group

handbook, the New York office only described Chicago's format.) After the

speaker's presentation the meeting is thrown open to questions." In each of

the


four one-hour classes there was always a session for questions afterwards.

"Occasionally, the AA story is presented by more than one speaker. The

emphasis

remains exclusively on the newcomer and his problem."

The four one-hour classes were taught all over the country. Some other

cities


include Oklahoma City, Miami Florida, and Phoenix Arizona.

If these classes were so important, then what happened to them? Most of the

people who have joined AA in the last twenty-five years or so have never

even


heard of them. Ruth R., an old-timer in Miami Florida, who came into AA in

1953,


gave some insight into the demise of the "Beginners' Classes". "At that time

the


classes were being conducted at the Alana Club in Miami - two books were

used:


"Alcoholics Anonymous" (Big Book) and the "Little Red Book". Jim and Dora

H.,


Florida AA pioneers, were enthusiastic supporters and they helped organize

several of the classes and served as instructors." (Note: Dora was a Panel 7

Delegate to the General Service Office.) Ruth recalled that the classes were

discontinued in the mid-1950s as the result of the publication of the book

"Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions" by Alcoholics Anonymous Publishing Inc.

In

the Miami area the "Twelve and Twelve" replaced both the "Big Book" and the



"Little Red Book" and "Step Studies" replaced the "Beginners' Classes". In

the


process, the period for taking the Steps was expanded and modified from 4

weeks


to somewhere in between 12 and 16 weeks. The Fourth Step inventory was

modified


and became a much more laborious and detailed procedure. What was originally

conceived as a very simple program, which took a few hours to complete,

evolved

into a complicated and confusing undertaking requiring several months.



Studying the Steps is not the same as taking the Steps. In the "Beginners'

Classes" you take the steps. The Big Book says, "Here are the steps we took"

not

"here are the steps we read and talked about." The AA pioneers proved that



action, not knowledge, produced the spiritual awakening that resulted in

recovery from alcoholism. On page 88, the authors of the Big Book wrote, "It

works-it really does. We alcoholics are undisciplined. So we let God

discipline

us in the simple way we have just outlined. But this is not all. There is

action


and more action. Faith without works is dead."
(This concludes the description of the "Beginners' Classes" during Wally

P.'s


talk in Masa, Arizona on November 23, 1996. Wally P. is an AA Archivist from

Tucson, Arizona. For two years he researched and studied areas of the

country

that held "Beginners' Classes" back in the 40's and '50's. He then started



teaching the classes under the guidance of his sponsor who took the classes

in

1953 and never drank again. In March of 1996 Wally mentioned the "Beginners'



Classes" as part of his historical presentation at the Wilson House in East

Dorset, Vermont. Wally then wrote and published a book entitled "Back to

Basics:

The Alcoholics Anonymous Beginners' Classes - Take all 12 Steps in Four



One-Hour

Sessions." Since then, there have been over 1000 "Back to Basics" meetings

and

groups started all over the world. Now, almost 60 years since the classes



were

first originated, newcomers are once again being taken through the Twelve

Steps

in four one-hour "Beginners' Classes".



On Saturday 4/11/98, members of the "Into Action Big Book Group" of Berkeley

Heights, N.J. went to see Wally give a presentation of the "Beginners'

Classes"

in Philadelphia. Members went through the Steps in the four one-hour

classes,

all in one day. This group then began facilitating the classes in June 1998

in

various locations throughout New Jersey and has taken thousands of AA



members

through the Steps since. They have expanded the classes to be five,

one-and-one-half hour sessions, to include more of the material for each

Step in


the Big Book.

The Cherry Hill Group of Southern New Jersey has taught Beginners' Classes

every

Sunday evening since May 1997.



The Woodlands Group in Texas have been conducting the "Beginners' Classes"

since


April 1998. Within one year, about ten "Back to Basics" meetings resulted

from


the Woodland group and approximately 1,650 alcoholics were taken through the

Steps that year! The Woodlands and subsequent groups in Texas are enjoying a

75-93% success rate like the Cleveland groups had in the 1940's.

Wally P. has a website containing much information on the AA "Beginners'

Classes" at www.aabacktobasics.com on the World Wide Web.)
-----Original Message-----

From: friendofbillw89 [mailto:friendofbillw89@yahoo.com]

Sent: Tuesday, January 27, 2004 5:16 PM

Subject: Back to Basics


I have attended a few *cycles* of the Back to Basics meetings in my

area. It is where we do all 12 steps in 4 one-hour sessions. What

is the history of working the steps in this method? I was told this

was the way it was done in the early days in Akron.


Nisa
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++++Message 1628. . . . . . . . . . . . Periodical literature, Christian Science Monitor, Jan. 21, 2004

From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/30/2004 2:30:00 AM


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This was sent to me by John B., but without a proper subject line, so I have

copied it and am sending it for him.


Nancy
From the Christian Science Monitor, January 21, 2004, edition
How far can 12 steps go?
Thousands attest to the power of 12-step programs in breaking the hold of

addiction. But might the popular programs be wrong for some?


By Jane Lampman | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
Americans have a penchant for 12-step programs. The original beacon for a

path out of addiction - Alcoholics Anonymous - has grown past 50,000 groups

in the US (and twice that worldwide). And its message is being reincarnated

in self-help fellowships to fight drugs, gambling, overeating, sexual

addictions, smoking, and even indebtedness.
Conventional wisdom has it that the 12-step approach -- in which an

individual acknowledges his or her powerlessness before the addiction, turns

to a higher power, and takes specific steps to change -- is the most

effective route out of addiction. Its popularity seems to support that. Some

90 percent of residential and outpatient treatment programs draw directly on

its principles.


Yet there are many who question not that it helps thousands, but whether its

predominance may get in the way of some people finding their freedom. There

are issues, some critics say, related to its quasi-religious nature, its

definition of addiction as an incurable disease, the creation of long-term

dependence on the program, and the way courts and other agencies mandate

addicts' participation. Are some with alcohol or drug problems being coerced

to follow a path that may not be suited to their needs and beliefs?
"The problem is that people think AA is the only correct treatment," says

Lance Dodes, assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical

School. "That's true only for a subset of the population, and many people

are harmed by it."


An AA representative declined to respond, saying it is the group's tradition

to refrain from controversy and not comment on what others say about

alcoholism or about AA.
Over the past 70 years, AA has helped huge numbers to find sobriety and a

new lease on life. "If you look at the number of groups and 2,000,000

members worldwide, it's clearly got longevity and appeal," says Barbara

McCrady, clinical director of Rutgers University's Center of Alcohol

Studies. Yet AA's own surveys show that of the people who attend a meeting,

9 out of 10 drop out within the first year. Research hasn't yet been done on

its siblings, Narcotics Anonymous (NA) and others, she says.
For many who stay with it, the benefits can't be overestimated. A big-time

drinker who turned to drugs after a family tragedy, "Alan" was in denial

about his situation. Near the end of college, though, he was weary and tried

unsuccessfully to quit. It was only when he tagged along with a friend to an

NA meeting that his turnaround began.
"Listening to people's stories, I knew I was an addict and these were people

I could relate to," he says. "Going to meetings, I'd stay clean for a while

and then use. It took six months 'til I got clean for the last time." He's

been free for six years but attends meetings several times a week.


"Once you stay clean for a while you realize drugs were only the tip of the

iceberg," adds Alan who asked that his real name not be used. "You also need

to change your compulsive behaviors and how you react to situations. There's

a wealth of knowledge in that room."


Keith Humphreys at Stanford University's School of Medicine sees this kind

of "instillation of hope" as a crucial factor in changing addicts' lives.

"Most people feel defeated and have a frightening sense they can't control

their own behavior," he says. "They go to a group and see others who've had

the same problem now doing well, and that instills a lot of hope."
Twelve-step groups provide a valuable public health benefit, says Dr.

Humphreys. Not only are they widely available, but one cost study showed

that people going to the groups require $5,000 less per person from the

healthcare system annually. "Multiply that by more than a million people

getting treatment each year, and they are taking an extraordinary burden off

the system," he adds.


At the same time, the very limited research done so far doesn't back up the

conventional wisdom. Comparisons of professional treatment based on 12-step

with other professional treatment modes show no superior outcomes.

Longitudinal studies of self-help groups in treatment showed them comparable

on most dimensions with any other kind of treatment except in the area of

abstinence, where they had better results.


Given the limited evidence and quasi-religious nature of 12-step plans, some

object to the way courts and other agencies mandate addicts' participation.


"Several aspects of AA don't work for everyone -- such as its spiritual or

religious nature, or the emphasis on powerlessness, or its group approach,"

says Stanton Peele, a psychologist and lawyer who has written several books

on addiction, including "Resisting 12-Step Coercion."


Some courts have ruled it unconstitutional to require participation because

they deem the program religious, while others have ruled it is not. AA

literature emphasizes that its message is spiritual but not religious --

that people decide on their own what the higher power is, and for some it is

simply the group itself. The only membership requirement is the desire to

stop drinking.


Other issues some find troubling relate to theories of addiction. The

12-step message is that addiction is an incurable disease, that while

alcoholics can become sober, they remain alcoholics, and should stay in the

program to maintain that sobriety. In each meeting, people introduce

themselves: "I'm [name], and I'm an alcoholic," no matter how long they've

been clean.


The disease model isn't helpful, Dr. Peele says. "If you had an 18-year-old

drinking way too much on weekends, would the best approach be to take him to

AA and convince him he has a lifelong disease?" he asks.
Dr. Dodes, who has treated various forms of addiction, says the disease idea

takes the moralizing out of it, which is good, but discourages people from

understanding the problem. "They think it's a physical problem, which it's

not, or a genetic problem, which it's not, or a biological or chemical

problem, which it's not," he says. In his book "The Heart of Addiction," he

describes it as psychological.


"All addictions are an attempt to treat a sense of overwhelming

helplessness," which is accompanied by rage over that helplessness, he says.

He helps people identify the kind of helplessness that's troubling them and

address it, "not by white-knuckling it but because they understand what is

happening."
While AA requires you to make "a fearless moral inventory" and make amends

to those you have hurt, Dodes adds, that sometimes leaves people feeling

something is very wrong with them while not getting to the root of their

emotional trouble.


While many talk of a genetic element to alcoholism, Dodes reviewed the

genetic research and says there is no such gene, that there is at most the

idea of a susceptibility gene, but it's not been discovered either. McCrady

suggests addiction has psychological, genetic, and/or social components.


Others object to what they see as the creation of a dependency on the

program itself. An alternative program, Woman in Sobriety, for example, aims

to help people take responsibility for themselves and then move on with

their lives on their own.


Yet the ongoing group support offers valuable benefits, some argue. People

who leave addictions behind usually require new friends who don't drink or

take drugs. "I have friends that have over 20 years of abstinence," says

Alan. "They've been through all kinds of crises ... but didn't return to

use. That gives you strength."
Practitioners and problem drinkers, however, say drinking problems differ

greatly and it's a fallacy that one must be in lifelong recovery. "There are

people with less severe problems who can benefit from a limited period of

counseling and then they are just done with it," says McCrady.


In fact, a 1996 study showed that three-quarters of those who'd recovered

from alcohol problems had done so on their own. For her book, "Sober for

Good," Ann Fletcher interviewed some 200 people who had recovered through

various means, from AA to secular self-help groups, psychological

counseling, and religion.
But there are also millions who don't know where to go for help. An

estimated 14 million Americans have drinking problems; only 1 in 10 receives

treatment. Experts say more treatment options for addictions need to be

supported.


Meanwhile, those in AA and NA point to results. "I was at a regional NA

conference in Richmond last weekend with about a thousand people," Alan

says. "All these people who used to be addicts, what was their drain on

society? Now they're clean and working and productive. It's amazing."


The Twelve Steps
1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol -- that our lives had become

unmanageable.


2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to

sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as

we understood Him.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature

of our wrongs.


6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make

amends to them all.


9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so

would injure them or others.


10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly

admitted it.


11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact

with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us

and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried

to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice these principles in all

our affairs.
Source: Alcoholics Anonymous
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++++Message 1629. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Periodical literature, Christian Science Monitor, Jan. 21, 2004

From: Mel Barger . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/30/2004 11:12:00 AM


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Hi Nancy,

I appreciate your going to the effort of copying the Jane Lampman article

from the Christian Science Monitor. It is a good article, although some AA

members may feel it's too critical.

I have followed criticisms of AA ever since the first major one appeared in

Harper's magazine in 1963. This was really the first time AA had received

serious criticism in an important publication, and many of us were enraged

by it. While AA World Services made no direct reply to the article, Bill W.

did offer an excellent response in the April, 1963, issue of The AA

Grapevine. This can be found today in "The Language of the Heart," a

collection of Bill's articles published over the years in The Grapevine. See

"Our Critics Can Be Our Benefactors," p. 345. I consider it a masterpiece of

conciliatory writing.

Since then, we've had much more criticism of various kinds, and there are

even several books which take AA to task. While some of the critics are

malicious, others are honest and sincere in pointing to problems with the

way our program is presented. Bill often acknowledged that we don't have all

the answers and should never present our program as the only solution to

problem drinking.

Criticism is almost always difficult to accept, but Bill explained that we

can benefit from it. I feel very secure about our program. As for any

statistics about its success percentages, my answer is 100%. I haven't had a

drink since I fully accepted the program on April 15, 1950.

All the best,

Mel Barger
~~~~~~~~

Mel Barger

melb@accesstoledo.com
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++++Message 1630. . . . . . . . . . . . Tyler Tex Morning Telegraph 2004 -57th anniv

From: t . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/31/2004 5:34:00 PM


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MEMBERS SHARE STORIES, SUPPORT AT AA ANNIVERSARY
By: MEGAN MIDDLETON, Staff Writer January 10, 2004

Gayle S. still wells up with tears when she thinks about the day more than 20 years

ago that a pastor told her about Alcoholics Anonymous.
She said he threw an Alcoholics Anonymous book down on the table in front of

her,


letting it make a loud thud, and told her, "'These are the only people who

can


help

you. There's more love in Alcoholics Anonymous than there is in my big old

...

church.'"


And that night she went to her first AA meeting.
"Those women just grabbed me and welcomed me," Gayle, a former Tyler

resident,

said.

"They overwhelm you with love because they know how you feel."


And for more than 20 years Gayle has remained sober.
"This is a deadly disease, treated, in my case, only by abstinence from

alcohol," she

said.
About 700 AA members from East Texas and throughout Texas and the country

attended


Saturday's celebration of the group's 57th anniversary in Tyler, which began

Friday


and continues Sunday at Harvey Convention Center.
AA members identify themselves with only their first names and initials to

preserve


the anonymity on which the group is based.
On Saturday participants listened to several speakers from across the state

and


nation tell their stories of dealing with alcohol and its effect on their

lives.
They also had a barbecue dinner and a dance.


More speakers are scheduled for Sunday, beginning at 9 a.m. The cost for the

weekend


is $10.
Gayle, who came from Kerrville to attend the conference, said the AA

anniversary

celebrations are important because "it tells us there's continuity in

Alcoholics

Anonymous."
"If Alcoholics Anonymous had not arrived here, many of us would not have

found


sobriety," she said.
A Saturday afternoon speaker, Maryann W. of Corpus Christi, kept the crowd

laughing


while also bringing a message of the importance of AA.
Maryann was married and became a mother at 15 years old, she said, and to

deal


with

her feelings she eventually turned to drinking.


"My solution was alcohol," she said. "It was my best friend."
She described the kind of drinker she was, comparing how different people

would


react

to having a fly in their drink. She said the non-drinker would ask for a

Diet

Coke, a


heavy drinker would ask for a different glass, and "I would have the fly by

the


nape

of the neck saying, 'Spit it out, spit it out!'"


"It was never enough," she said to the laughing crowd.

She explained that her husband, who also drank, was her "cover" and the


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