I can no longer work a regular job due to my physical health deteriorating. In fact, and this will be the last time I share this on the site, my doctor believes I'll be graduating and completing my thirteenth step some time in the next two to three years. In the meantime, my higher power has convinced me to write and I'm working on a young adult novel now. I would like to know if anyone here on the forum would mind if I shared bits and pieces as the novel progresses. While feedback would be welcome, I'm not convinced that I'll be able to finish in the allotted time, and it would be nice to know that I'll be sharing at least part of it with some.
I know that this is an AA recovery board and this isn't quite on topic, but I'd like to ask for a group conscience.
P.S. It suddenly occurred to me that it might be germane for me to mention the genre... it is a spiritual based fantasy.
-- Edited by Angell on Thursday 11th of July 2013 12:50:02 AM
From a writers standpoint, I see no harm in it. But, then again, I'm only one voice, remember. If it were me, I would wait and see how others respond before you get the final okay. That's the least anyone could do.
You obviously have good intentions, Angell -being the kindhearted man you are, and your writings will only solidify that. But the facts still remain: This is a very diverse recovery forum with varying opinions on everything. So I suggest you take that into consideration before you proceed further.
As a writer myself, I can honestly say it would be a privilege to read your work. Posting excerpts from your book might actually liven things up, if not more. I only hope others would agree.
Just remember one thing: This is still a recovery forum, and not Oprah's book club, and by allowing others to respond you're giving them a voice also. But then again, it would make this place more interesting, wouldn't it?
You have my vote of approval.
~God Bless~
-- Edited by Mr_David on Friday 12th of July 2013 03:11:44 AM
I think this is an absolutely dynamite idea ... I love your posts and your perspective on life ... as long as your book is morally and ethically sound, and spiritually uplifting, I'll be in the front of the line to buy your book ...
And as far as anything I have ever said or posted here on MIP, I'd feel honored if any of it was ever referred to or written about ...
I trust your abilities and I pray your health hold out for you to complete your goal ... this is just one more way to ensure your spirit will live on, as an inspiration to others here now, and those yet to come ...
Love you Angell and God Bless,
Pappy
-- Edited by Pythonpappy on Thursday 11th of July 2013 08:33:52 AM
__________________
'Those who leave everything in God's hand will eventually see God's hand in everything.'
I would like to know if anyone here on the forum would mind if I shared bits and pieces as the novel progresses. While feedback would be welcome, I'm not convinced that I'll be able to finish in the allotted time, and it would be nice to know that I'll be sharing at least part of it with some.
I know that this is an AA recovery board and this isn't quite on topic, but I'd like to ask for a group conscience.
P.S. It suddenly occurred to me that it might be germane for me to mention the genre... it is a spiritual based fantasy.
Sorry to hear about your health situation. Hope it's manageable.
As for this site, it is not an AA group nor is it affiliated or registered with AA World Services.
You can pretty much do anything as long as John, the owner, thinks it's OK.
This site is a place where we, obviously, talk about recovery. Mostly AA recovery, since that is what most of us are.
Tanin! I had that understanding of the 13th step... Imagine my surprise when I was warned about '13th steppers' in the program when I first began going to meetings. LOL- I honestly had no idea what people were talking about..."watch out for him... He has a history of 13th stepping- don't take him up on a ride home" hahaha- what?!? I sure won't!
LOL. Not many people use the orginal meaning of 13th stepping, seems to me. The newest version gets talked about all the time. Somewhat of a big problem in AA. And AAers don't do much about it. Generally, AAers frown upon it, but turn an apathetic eye toward it. So it's been an internal problem for the most part.
That may be about to change.
The Karla Mendez 13th stepping case in Santa Clarita CA promises to be a hassle for AA. And a new one, the Paul Jeffrey Corrigan case in Philadelphia PA, is possibly worse for AA, even though it didn't result in a death. That old internal problem is about to become an external threat, I fear. AA may be getting a harsh dose of (legal) reality.
-- Edited by Tanin on Sunday 14th of July 2013 02:37:08 PM
Angell, what do you mean by, "...the doctor believes I'll be graduating and completing my thirteenth step..."
Graduating from what? The thirteenth step colloquially refers to sex between members of AA. Is that how you're using it?
__________________
The sway of alcohol over mankind is unquestionably due to its power to stimulate the mystical faculties of human nature, usually crushed to earth by the cold facts and dry criticisms of the sober hour. ---William James
Originally, the 13th step referred to the final step for the AA member: having worked 12 steps in life, at the end there was one more to be done, the step from life to death.
So, all of us will be 13th steppers at some point . . .
Tanin! I had that understanding of the 13th step... Imagine my surprise when I was warned about '13th steppers' in the program when I first began going to meetings. LOL- I honestly had no idea what people were talking about..."watch out for him... He has a history of 13th stepping- don't take him up on a ride home" hahaha- what?!? I sure won't!
Ah, I see. I wasn't aware of the original meaning. I'll stick with sex though - it's more fun than death.
__________________
The sway of alcohol over mankind is unquestionably due to its power to stimulate the mystical faculties of human nature, usually crushed to earth by the cold facts and dry criticisms of the sober hour. ---William James
I apologize for getting off topic, but thank you, Tanin, for that last post and mention of those cases. Extreme examples- yes- but I attended a meeting for 9 months before someone let me know that a gentleman I chatted with regularly had a history of following women home from meetings... I walk home from most meetings alone and it took 9 months for somebody to mention this to me. Its something that's not supposed to be spoken of, but it can be a true issue that not only threatens sobriety for some, but can pose other dangers as well.
Angell, what do you mean by, "...the doctor believes I'll be graduating and completing my thirteenth step..."
Graduating from what? The thirteenth step colloquially refers to sex between members of AA. Is that how you're using it?
Tanin had it right. I came in to AA long enough ago that the original use is still the one my mind associates with despite it rarely being used that way these days.
We're around predators and sick people everywhere we go - not just in AA right? Best to take the same precautions everywhere.
Maybe.
But confused 16-year old girls in addiction probably could use some caretaking from AA to assiduously protect them from 47-year old men who offer themselves as sponsors, knowing that AA is so loosely organized and non-vigilant, they can get away with it.
AA at large says it isn't involved and the local group says it is an informal entity with no authority. Kind of nice conditions for predators. More favorable than most.
Actually, why in God's name do we allow unsupervised underage people to attend AA meetings anyway?
I'd say that the third tradition allows underaged people and we probably couldn't disallow them to attend closed meetings because their chaperone wasn't a member. I am an adult child of an alcoholic as well as an alcoholic myself. I was court ordered to attend AA at thirteen years old (after three treatment centers, two detoxes and a half-way house) and I'd hate to think who would have chaperoned me. Just thinking out loud...
I found myself in much more dangerous situations as a practicing alcoholic. I feel safer in AA even WITH the dangers of predators vs. the dangers I was in as an alcoholic hanging out with sick people who were throwing drugs or alcohol on top of their problems.
Bad things happen everywhere - in churches, schools - in your own home. I'm very aware of that right now. But thanks to this program, I'm also very aware that being hyper aware of negativity and the bad things going on in life are easy to find and I'm robbing perfectly happy joyous and free moments from myself, when I'm searching out negativity to feed myself.
And trust me, I do it. Today, I've been researching the dangers of feral cats and parasites. Apparently 90% of humans have some sort of parasite or worm, and it's becoming clear to researchers that this could be the cause of many mental illnesses like bi-polar, schizophrenia... and my mind wanders... but what about addiction? We apparently eat lots of things to feed these parasites... what about drink/drug?
Most of us are getting these parasites when we're little and playing in sand boxes that cats or other rodents have pooped in. Then they can lie dormant for up to 20 years. It's kind of a crazy unspoken epidemic from the sounds of it. There are millions more if I look for them.
So what do I do - get freaked out and read read read - buy better shoes for the kids - no more flip flops - no more playing in sand - no more swimming in the river - no more running barefoot... and it goes on and on and on until I realize...> SSSSSTOOOOP! I'm robbing sanity from myself AGAIN!
I must ask myself at some point... where do I stop? Where is my faith? How much valuable time do I waste looking for something to worry about? At this point - I have come to see that I can educate myself on stuff, live life, do the best I can without letting it ruin my quality of life - or my kids - and try to NOT look at the next possible doom that if I want to find... will be in line with a million zillion other things to follow if I search.
I turn off the news. I quit my subscription to magazines and papers. I stopped the emails and facebook subscriptions. I walk away from conversations which rob my spirit whenever possible. My downfall is still our toxic Earth - but even that I'm letting up on. I buy my food organic, and I take a few supplements/multi-vitamins and probiotics. I eat my birthday cake - and enjoy life whenever possible these days. I've wasted enough time being miserable due to my own bondage of self
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Thanks for everything. Peace and Love on your journey.
We're around predators and sick people everywhere we go - not just in AA right? Best to take the same precautions everywhere.
Aye. It's the world in miniature, and new members are sooooooo vulnerable - not just girls. We all just need to keep an eye out for each other because it isn't just a boy praying on girl thing. I've seen a couple of double digit sober girls chase n00bs.
It's very confusing though. I think that an AA girl is what I need. But when am I ready? When is she ready? If one of us busts is it the other's fault? I have no answers so I just avoid the whole question by not letting anyone of the opp sex get close to me. That might be to our detriment but this isn't a game. I can't afford to get this wrong.
I just have to remind everyone of AA's primary purpose. If we go down the path of micromanaging other peoples' relationships, we've lost our way. We need to stick to the principles of the program. When it comes to predatory behavior, yes, we certainly can and should warn others of the danger, but that is all we can do. Ultimately, situations like the Mendez and Corrigan cases are under the purview of the law, where they should remain. It's no different from any other organization outside of AA.
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The sway of alcohol over mankind is unquestionably due to its power to stimulate the mystical faculties of human nature, usually crushed to earth by the cold facts and dry criticisms of the sober hour. ---William James
This made me think of all the nasty germs 'n stuff I must have been exposed to as a kid (raised on a farm) ... I always thought that exposure to these things were for the purpose of getting our bodies stronger and immune to more serious illnesses ... when kids get sick, it's usually their body attacking and building antibodies to their infections that in turn make their bodies more durable to other diseases ... or better able to fight off future infections ...
This reminds me of the "War of the Worlds" where the aliens were taking over the world and were just about to finish the humans off when they got sick due to our 'germs' ... their bodies had not had time to build up an immunity to our bugs 'n stuff ... The comedian Ghallagher had a bit once where he said he knew of people that wouldn't eat 'hot dogs' and were organic vegetarians or something ... he pulled some hot dogs out of his pocket and started eating them on stage and said that he wanted his body to build up a resistance to the chemicals in our food ... he said one day his friend will eat a bite of hot dog by accident and it'll lay his ass out flat because he won't have any immunity to what's in the dogs ... LOL
If you look hard enough, you'll certainly find people that have contracted some pretty awful diseases and parasites over recent times ... most of this stuff is very rare and not worth worrying your pretty little head over ... and I think from your post, you're realizing this and dealing with it in a more rational way ... good job ... loved your post ...
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'Those who leave everything in God's hand will eventually see God's hand in everything.'
I don't think we should get into micromanaging others behavior, or bar people from meetings, or turn our focus away from the primary purpose of AA. I simply think looking out for each other by giving newcomers or the vulnerable or naive a heads- up about the members that we know to not have their best interest in mind. In my experience, people are more hesitant to do this regarding fellow AA members than in 'real world' situations.
I don't think we should get into micromanaging others behavior, or bar people from meetings, or turn our focus away from the primary purpose of AA. I simply think looking out for each other by giving newcomers or the vulnerable or naive a heads- up about the members that we know to not have their best interest in mind. In my experience, people are more hesitant to do this regarding fellow AA members than in 'real world' situations.
We had an issue some years ago with a man who was a known sexual predator with a rap sheet. He would come around and hit up all the young girls. We got fed up with having to warn everyone about him, and his very presence evoked some violence from other members that wanted him gone.
Our group conscience was to kick him out, which is rare in AA, but we had had enough. We asked the pastor of the church whose space we were renting to inform him that he was no longer welcome on the premises, and if he showed up again, we would call the police and have him removed for trespassing.
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The sway of alcohol over mankind is unquestionably due to its power to stimulate the mystical faculties of human nature, usually crushed to earth by the cold facts and dry criticisms of the sober hour. ---William James
