We look at history—why? Isn’t this a contemporary, or even future gazing look at recovery and addiction?
Well yes and yes. Yuval Noah Harari, PDH author of Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind says, “History is not the study of past; history is the study of change; it’s not about remembering the past; it’s about liberating ourselves from it.”
Episode 75 of Rebellion Dogs Radio explores three calls to action by Alcoholics Anonymous that need our attention in 2024:
1. New stories of AA diversity today are needed to update the 48-year-old Do You Think You’re Different? Let’s get our freak on; if you ever felt you can’t or won’t blend into AA, we want you to help demonstrate what we mean by, “We are people who normally would not mix. But there exists among us a fellowship, a friendliness, and an understanding which is indescribably wonderful.”
2. About our primary literate in AA—The Big Book + 12 & 12: rewrite it? Or reify it? Grappling with a need to adapt to changing times, being sensitive to change-resistant tendencies, the trustees’ Literature Committee is polling members, looking for their marching orders: preserve what’s written; or breathe fresh life into last millennium’s AA message and widen our gateway? Directly from AA’s General Service Office, we have these seven questions for you.
3. The 2022, much anticipated, AA membership survey is posted with current data on AA for all to see; counselors, healthcare and criminal court diversion professional who refer people to AA, the general public and last but not least AA members to show how we are doing, from our home groups to the USA/Canada General Service Conference at reaching all those who want or need AA to be available, equitably, and effectively. Our responsibility declaration nudges us to look at this new info, see who were are serving, who we may be failing and confront how, whenever, wherever, someone reaches out, we want the hand of AA always to be there (for everyone regardless of age, race, gender, creed, cultural touchstones). There’s information for the first time about USA/Canada AA’s use of online meetings and our preferences. It’s like those pioneering driving blind days all over again.
DIVERSITY: What makes you different?
If you are someone in recovery and you were helped by peer-to-peer, maybe AA specifically, did you immediately feel at home at your first meeting, or did you feel different that the group you were exposed to? If you felt or feel different, we have a humble writing assignment for you as our first topic.
The AA Literature desk wants your story, 500—800 words. DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DIFFERENT? is the 48-year-old pamphlet #13 that tipped the scale in my own should-I-stay or should-I-go sobriety. I found people (stories) spoken in my language for the first time in AA. If you do not know this collection of AA stories, click the link to read. Thirteen essays of people who felt marginalized, a teenager, atheist, clergy, high bottom, low bottom, movie star, person of color, LGBTQIA+, share the barriers and bridges navigated to find a rightful seat in AA. How timely to hear from a 15-year-old when I was a teenage alcoholic. I was happy to read what Ed the AA atheist and Jan the AA agnostic had to say about sobriety without an anthropomorphic personal higher power.
It's a great recovery tool; and it’s old. Today’s teenager doesn’t have any use for 1970s teenage angst; it could be unrelatable, leaving gender identification, pronouns et al alone for now—yes we need to attend to contemporary, sensitive, inclusive language, but—it all starts with a story, one person in recovery talking to another with alcohol use disorder. This