I certainly believe this was a 'key' addition to the BB ... ... ... An honorable doctor who made it his mission to cure these hopeless people ... it showed he had little ability to effect a cure ... and yet his experience allowed him to pause and reflect on the miracle of recovery in front of him ... Yes, this was and is a definite attraction to those seeking recovery to read the BB, if they feel 'hopeless' and want a solution to their drinking problem ... ...

I never understood what was wrong with me, until I studied this section of the book. This taught why I could not drink. I found out that alcoholism was not a moral problem only but a physical biological problem, in my body and it's chemistry, that compelled me to drink, beyond my body's own natural defence mechanisms.
Thanks for the post, Stepchild. We need more of these on the board. Please keep posting them.

The doctor's Opinion made an impression on me as well. Answered a question I didn't know I wanted to ask?

So very true.

@ Stepchild: The group that I attended on my re-entry into AA, never bothered with sobriety count. The convener would would teach us for 1 hour every week on each step. We did a preview study on AACA and the family disease before we started on step1 proper. The result was permanent sobriety from that day, despite many difficulties, mostly from my own defects of character. Most of that class of 1988 who listened to our common sponsor and did what the book asked for are still sober. The book tells us, that no further authentication is needed, which means that it is very accurate in it's presentation of the subject matter at hand.

I wish I'd got the message that I should study the book much sooner than I did. I was told to read the book which I did, and when I reutrned it the lady asked me what I thought. I said it's very interesting but a bit too American for me. Perhaps they could rewrite it in a more New Zealand way! I missed the point completely because I read it like a novel.

In those days there were no literature based meetings at all, no speaker meetings, just 50 to 60 discussion meetings each week. Some of the true oldtimers would point out the solution was in the book, but they were thought to be a bit past it, many expressed the view that the book was outdated. Somehow my sponsor rescued me from that and took me through the steps and seems to have taught me an AA that would be similar to Clarence S - very simple. Nearly everyone in those days went through the same treatment centre which had its own language and culture (it was known to be a very good treatment) and I felt somewhat the odd man out getting sober in AA. Many, even the centre itself told me I would never get sober unless I went there. As it turned out, it would be truer to say the opposiote was the case. Many of those folks fell by the wayside, and generally our fellowship reduced in size.

Then last year our top medical dude in alcoholism addressed an AA public meeting and confirmed everything Silkworth said as established medical fact. Not so outdated after all.

Good stuff F.S. and Ruby.

I missed the point completely because I read it like a novel.

I think this is something that is very common. You start reading Bill's Story and you think you are reading a novel. One message I try and carry in meetings is that it is a text book....And should be treated as such....Study it...And DO it. Quite a bit of ACTION in it.

A couple things that I didn't get the first time through. When I saw the word ALLERGY....I immediately think of puffy eyes and sneezing....But when you take the definition: An abnormal reaction to...It was a little clearer for me...Once I ingest it....My body craves more. Craving was another word I always associated with the mind...I'm craving a steak tonight. The concept of a physical craving was new to me....But I had many a night that I'd keep drinking....Sometimes when I didn't even want any more. That's an abnormal reaction to something.

A friend of mine shared in a meeting once...That he always drank to get to that point of euphoria....But everytime he got close to it....He passed out. God love him.

I am living proof of the obsession to drink being removed - and I thank God every day for that - but i have a different obsession now that i have not been able to get past. I will try again to do what worked with the drinking, and surrender to the fact that i can't make my brothers and sisters talk to me about the death of our sister from alcoholism. it seems that it is just too horrible for them to acknowledge and its been almost 4 years of pain and hurt and anger, because those of us that need to talk it through have been censored at every turn by those that want to avoid the subject and that has been hell on earth. I always thought we would eventually talk about it, but i have been told in no uncertain terms that we have talked ad infinitum about it...how can that be when we've had a couple stilted talks with a quick change of subject in almost 4 years? the answer from my brothers and sisters from the beginning has been that those of us who need to talk are the problem in our family and should get professional help with our anger and questions, and spent much more time protecting her husbands feelings than be there for each other - so hard to understand and i obsess about it every day...will keep trying to surrender to the fact that i can't make them work it out with me....

This was a key part to the book, as well. I actually read most of the BB before going to my first meeting while I was getting myself detoxed at home (NOT recommended!!). I ordered the book to be overnighted through Amazon... It absolutely changed my life. I remember reading this and thinking "yup- THAT'S what's wrong with me- this is it'. The obsession began for me almost immediately. I remember being 12 years old obsessing about where I was going to get more booze. It wasn't even about the drink I had in my hand, but the next one- I needed it. I had no conception of being physically dependent on alcohol- I suffered through 'hangovers' that i knew were not normal gritting my teeth until work was over and I could drink. Before reading the BB I had no understanding of alcoholism- my parents didn't drink and I had no idea why I never drank like a normal person- I always felt very alone in how I drank until reading this. It got me into my first meeting, and hundreds after that :) thanks for posting this!

Interesting point Gonee. I came across a document produced by our district health board recently, - we have free public health. In it the stated that no more than 1% of alcoholics require medically supervised detox, therefore they have allocated 6 beds for a population of abt 1.2 million. Part of the context of the report was that detox is not a solution in itself and provision of this service without an adequate long term care plan, was an exercise in futility. It represents a big change in the thinking of our medical professionals as they are now indicating that the best long term outcomes can be achieved in cooperation with organisations, such as AA , in the community. Bring it on ! :)

God bless,
MikeH.

And welcome yeller22...I hope you'll stick around and post here!

oh i guess i should have posted this in a separate place - this is my first and second time sharing and i forgot to

Hi Yeller22, ...

I don't think any progress can come from forcing your sibs to open up regarding your sister's death from alcohol right now ... in time they may chose to discuss it, but it seems obvious, to me anyway, the the pain is just too fresh, and it may be too deep ... and, they may be in denial to some degree about alcohol having that kind of power ... ... ...

If you've had some lengthy sobriety, they may come to see that you are a miracle, and again, in time, open up about the subject ... I guess what I question in my mind, is just what you hope to accomplish by discussing your sister's problems ? ... just getting everything out in the open ? ... we have to remember what it says in step 9 ... whether or not we are making an amends here, we do not want to push any situation forward which may injure them or others ... that would be very 'counter-productive' ... ... ... so much so in your situation that it may sever family ties for a long time to come ...

Another thing to consider, be sure your displeasure with your family is not because you are not seeing the results that you want ... try to be sure it's not a selfish thing that you're dealing with ... I'm speaking as an outsider here and I don't mean to imply that the problem is with you, just want you to view this from a different angle is all ... No judgement here ...


Love ya and God Bless,
Pappy

Hey Yeller, ...

I don't know for sure, but it seems to me, that talking this out with your sibs is not going to solve any existing problem here ... perhaps none of your sibs want to admit they suspected something and did not make an effort to intervene ... then you have a whole new 'ball game' of pointing fingers ... not good .... not good for sobriety at all ... it could breed anger that will lead to the bottle ...

Nothing you're suggesting will bring your sister back of course ... and for the only reason I can see, it's to satisfy your curiosity for why ya'll didn't see it coming ... I've got a simple mind here, but I just fail to see any 'healing' benefits of coercing your sibs to talk about it ... Sorry ... your motives for wanting this are not clear to me ... Again, I'm not judging, but it almost sounds selfish ... I'm just trying to be honest here ... totally honest!