Another Atheist in Recovery by SpikedUp Frog

Another Atheist in Recovery, SpikedUp Frog. self-published, 2014. eBook, 107 pps.

@SpikedUpFrog on Twitter (tm)

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/SpikedUp-Frog?store=allproducts&keyword=SpikedUp+Frog


     Yes, this one is also mine, written under my Twitter (tm) alias. Unlike Up the Rebels!, this one is not fiction. It is about my experiences as a recovering non-theist addict in 12 step programs and also how I had to re-write the steps in order to remain clean. 

     Many people "in the rooms" object to changing the literature in any way. Bill Wilson was actually the first one to give approval to modifying the steps to the first A.A. group of atheist Buddhists in New York City. Some deaf folks years ago modified the twelve steps into a form that they related to better-- these were the twelve ideas of A.A. Charlotte Kasl, in her book Many Roads, One Journey presents several ways in which the steps have been modified for groups of people. And I've been reading books put out by AA Agnostica up in Toronto that illustrate how other atheists and agnostics work the steps, complete with their revisions.

     Another Atheist in Recovery presents the steps in the way that I work them. If you don't like that sort of thing, then stay away from this book. Ditto if you are not interested in addiction matters.

     The deal is that for me to use again is to die. I have done and will continue to do whatever I have to in order to stay abstinent. I don't have an ax to grind with believers. I respect that other people have religious practices. If you are an atheist with sincerely held non-beliefs and you are in recovery-- especially if you are new-- then yeah, Another Atheist in Recovery is for you.

     I am in the midst of my second NaNoWriMo but I will endeavor to post more reviews of stuff I've been reading within the next couple of days.

     Sail Strong!

Kickstart Your Recovery by Taite Adams

Kickstart Your Recovery: The Road Less Traveled to Freedom from Addiction, Taite Adams. self-published via Smashwords, 2014. e-book, 153 pps.


     Taite Adams is a pseudonym. I felt it necessary to say that because in the author section of Kickstart Your Recovery, she self-identifies as a member of Alcoholics Anonymous with a decade plus of sobriety. She has written other books about addiction to specific drugs. One book title gave me pause. It is about how to detox at home safely. I found the notion to be a bit scary. Withdrawal from most substances requires medical treatment in order to do it safely and come out of it alive. 

     As of date, Kickstart Your Recovery is available as a freebie. After reading it, I wondered at the subtitle since what was described in the book was standard twelve step addictions industry treatment protocol. To go to rehab or not. To get a capital H capital P Higher Power regardless of sincerely held non-christian beliefs or no religious beliefs. Sponsorship and clubhouses and (the topic I abhor) a part on meeting etiquette. Nothing really new here.

sapphoq reviews says: I found Kickstart Your Recovery to be disappointing. One of the ideas that Taite Adams presents is that the word alcoholic includes addictions to other drugs. It most definitely does not. The word that does is the word addict. I have no quarrel with recovering addicts who choose to attend Alcoholics Anonymous only and respectfully identify as alcoholics (because all addicts are pretty much addicted to alcohol anyway). The bone that I am picking is with the author's specific notion about the word alcoholic. Folks who identify as atheists or agnostics or nones will recognize the standard apologetics in this book regarding the use of religion in the twelve step rooms. Folks who are committed to a return to a program without the glitz that modern rehabs have attached to the rooms (such as the use of chanting phrases in A.A. or holding hands in A.A. or the notion that "addiction is a disease") will also not be satisfied with this one. Verdict: not recommended. People considering abstinence will do better reading other sources for information about recovery from any addiction.

Alcoholics Anonymous: Cult or Cure? by Charles Bufe

Alcoholics Anonymous: Cult or Cure?, Charles Bufe. Tuscon AZ: See Sharp Press, 1997 (revised). 208 pps.


For those who are unfamiliar with See Sharp Press, the company self-describes as a "Publisher of anarchist, atheist, music, and science fiction books." Anyone expecting essays that are unabashedly 'pro-Alcoholics Anonymous' should look elsewhere for reading matter. Those in recovery who are willing to concede that twelve step programs may not be the only way to recover or the best way for all addicts to find recovery should consider reading this book.

A.A. does have some characteristics of a cult. And while A.A. has been successful some of the time, there are some alcoholics who do not recover in a 12 step program. Some atheists who come into the rooms of Alcoholics Anonymous [and other programs using the 12 steps] do find some sort of higher power. Others do not. A few believers who come into the rooms discover after a time that they no longer believe. 

While the rehab market has almost entirely bought into the "Higher Power" stuff, I suggest that a disservice is being done to two sets of their clients. There are some people who are atheist and/or agnostic in orientation. They have carefully evaluated a variety of religions and religious thought. They are sincere about their non-theism and ought not to be pressured by clinical staff into accepting a brand of spirituality that is not genuine to who they are as human beings. There are others who are marked by their beliefs and their religious practices as belonging to the label 'fundamentalist.' Fundamentalist Christians, the born-againers, and those who accept a literal interpretation of their holy literature-- whether Christian, Muslim, or Jewish or other-- will find that the 12-step version of a Higher Power pales in comparison to what they are used to. Additionally, the emphasis by professionals and by folks who bring meetings into the institution on 'keeping an open mind' is something that neither the non-theist nor the fundamentalist will relate to. Are these people to be lost to their addictions?

New Agey 'feel-good' affirmations are not appropriate to offer to an atheist or to a fundamentalist in early recovery. The pop psychology brand of 'treatment' replete with New Age trappings like affirmations, yoga, showing of the film The Secret, lectures on The Course in Miracles or attendance at a Unity service, a strong insistence that 'there are no true coincidences and all of the rest are foreign to both groups. The interesting thing about James Christopher's S.O.S. secular sobriety groups is that both atheists and fundamentalists have found some common ground there. One set of members don't have any sort of gods or higher powers. The other set recognize a very specific God and don't want their religious beliefs or practices to be altered. The S.O.S. meeting in my town is a place where both non-theists and fundamentalists peacefully co-exist.

Addiction is fundamentally a behavioral problem. As such, we do not know enough about competent treatment of people who have it and who are looking for their way out of the mess. Instead, what we have is pretty much the entire recovery industry and 12 step groups who have jumped on the disease concept bandwagon. The practice of the twelve steps has saved many lives from the bondage of addiction. But there are more lives to liberate. 

Ideally, a treatment program ought to grant their clients access to a variety of options: A.A. and all of the other A's [Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Cocaine Anonymous, Methadone Anonymous, Gamblers Anonymous, Dual Recovery Anonymous, Double Trouble [a separate organization which currently has meetings in NY, NJ and PA], Alanon, Alateen, Alapup, etc...], Women for Sobriety, Smart Recovery, Secular Organizations for Sobriety, Red Road groups [for indigenous Americans], Overcomers Anonymous [specifically for fundamentalist Christians] and others. Non-traditional clients who are returning to hometowns that do not have anything other than the traditional twelve step programs around ought to be taught how to network with others in order to form a group that will help them. They should also be given information on recovery options which are available on-line. 

This cookie-cutter approach to abstinence must stop. If rehabs and drug courts are to offer true intervention, then the individual addict [which includes those who are addicted to the drug alcohol] must be considered in the intervention and in the services being offered. "Individualized treatment plans" which do not take into account that the customer of rehab services is a viable human being with his or her own life and way of being are worthless. Those good members of traditional 12 step groups who scream and yell about the evil inherent in alternative notions of spirituality or even of recovery are partly responsible for a perception that A.A. may in fact be cult-ish or a form of group-think.

This book has research and stats to back up its' conclusions. It offers hope to people who have not found A.A. to be the welcoming fortress that others have found. We are talking about people here. We are talking about people who will continue to die because of our shortsightedness. 

sapphoq reviews says: Kudos to Charles Bufe for the willingness to go against the grain. We need and deserve alternates to 12 step recovery. Although Alcoholics Anonymous: Cult or Cure? is an older book now, it is worth reading. 

P.S.: Those who want examples of how to individualize the twelve steps can read Charlotte Kasl's most excellent Many Roads, One Journey. Those who are interested in on-line arguments pro- and con- twelve step programs can turn to http://www.green-papers.org/  and to http://www.orange-papers.org/  for starters.

Secrets of Alcoholics Anonymous Everyone Should Know by Elaine and Dallas

Secrets of Alcoholics Anonymous Everyone Should Know, Elaine and Dallas. ?Eugene, Oregon: Palace Guard Publishing, 2012.  e-book, 50 pps.


The two authors are members of Alcoholics Anonymous and they are for A.A. in spite of the title.  Secrets of Alcoholics Anonymous Everyone Should Know  is a very short e-book which covers whacked sponsors, people on the take [for sex a.k.a. rehab romances or 13-stepping the newcomers], professional criminals and users, and bits of unsavory truth concerning Bill W.

The bits of unsavory truth about Bill W. are not unsavory enough.  The authors leave out the fact that Bill had at least one long term affair [Look up The Orange Papers in your search engine], that he was highly co-dependent [read the chapter to the wives in the Big Book which basically says "Leave the newly recovering alcoholic alone and let him do exactly what he wants to.  Don't stress him out with reality..."], and that he became a sort of mystic [as many folks who claim any sort of special knowledge and/or personal experience with a divinity are].

The stories about rehab romances or early recovery romances, wicked sponsors, and professional criminals are well-told even if a bit dry for digestion.  There is no indication of what percentage of A.A. members fall into the category of "not having your best interest at heart" and consequently I had the distinct impression that the unsavory types described were more widespread than they actually might be.  The authors are quick to say that in spite of their cautionary tale, Alcoholics Anonymous has helped many people achieve sobriety and a life free from the bondage to addiction to alcohol.

sapphoq reviews says:  Secrets of Alcoholics Anonymous Everyone Should Know may be short but useful reading for anyone in early recovery who doesn't know the basic rules about safety, is prone to idealizing people in general, or is naïve.  [N.B.: Or, it may not be so useful].  I am not convinced that "everyone should know" these "secrets."  Certainly, folks who have no reason to attend 12 step meetings can be excluded from the expected or desired readership.  The writing is a bit dull.  Although vulnerable newcomers would do well to heed the advice concerning dating, sex, slime, and sick sponsors, this advice can be neatly summed up by two words:  Pay attention.  Most people will tell you who they are if you allow them to talk long enough.  New folks who either don't know or may have forgotten basic safety rules when dealing with others that they do not know well aren't going to necessarily be helped by Secrets of Alcoholics Anonymous Everyone Should Know.  People in the early stages of recovery need concise information in an easy package.  Give this one a miss unless you feel compelled to read everything with the words "Alcoholics Anonymous" in it.

A.A.? No Way! by Charles Delaney

A.A.? No Way!, Charles Delaney.  Self-published, Smashwords, 2012.  ebook, 59 pps.


Some people find help in traditional [12 step] groups and traditional [based upon the 12 steps] treatment programs and rehabs.  Others don't.  Charles Delaney had been to A.A. and he found the program to be significantly lacking.  The A.A. members themselves appeared to be clones of each other.  Worse, they were not ready to hear Delaney's criticism of the program itself nor what he found in looking for alternatives.

The problem as Charles Delaney sees it is that A.A. has a 95% failure rate.  He states that Rational Recovery has a higher success rate of its members achieving abstinence than A.A. does.  He also states that folks who attempt to quit their addictions by themselves have a better chance of doing so than folks in the rooms of Alcoholics Anonymous and other Anonymous derivatives.  Delaney does quote from some studies but does not provide any footnotes for his stats.  On page 11, he says "The basic idea of those programs are the best of ideas...put to the worst of applications."  He maintains that Alcoholics Anonymous is in fact a Christian and a religious program.  He criticizes the idea that alcoholics are powerless when it comes to alcohol.  He advocates for the assuming of personal responsibility in addressing one's addiction.

A.A.? No Way! offers criticism of the twelve steps from a pagan perspective.  There is an outline of "A 9-Step Recovery for Asatru/Odinists" [which begins on page 40 in my ebook] that I personally thought were excellent.  After that, the book begins to fall apart.  Delaney endorses an old book  written by plastic surgeon Maxwell Maltz and published in 1960 called Psycho-Cybernetics.  [Psycho-Cybernetics espoused positive thinking, if you can dream it you can do it, and mind-body connection woo-woo].  He then detours into a very rudimentary understanding of brain function and creativity.  A.A.? No Way! finishes up with the idea that there is so much more out there in a life of abstinence than can be found in the rooms of Alcoholics Anonymous.

sapphoq reviews says:  Some of A.A.? No Way! rang true to me and some didn't.  To his credit, Charles Delaney was quick to point out that those who have found their help in A.A. ought to remain in A.A.  Although A.A.? No Way! lacks in footnotes and a bit of execution, it is especially valuable for those heathens who want to try some steps written specifically for them.  Quite frankly, except for the woo-woo noted within the book he recommended, I liked this little ebook.  Charles Delaney has the barebones for a longer book within the first 43 pages of A.A.? No Way! .  It is my sincere hope that he will undertake a longer book project related to alternatives to 12 step recovery, complete with footnotes but lacking the feel-good woo-woo and pop psychology that often passes for professional treatment these days.  Recommended for heathens who have failed in A.A. because of its' somewhat quasi-christian approach to recovery.

Addiction

Yes, that's right.  I'm reviewing addiction today, including addiction to alcohol also known as alcoholism.  Because I feel like it, that's why.  And because even though I've read a bunch of books since I last reviewed one, I'm too jazzed up to write about any of them.

I was thinking about Steubenville, teens partying in Steubenville, the sexual assaults in Steubenville on a teen who was characterized as being very drunk, passed out, or "dead."

Not every teen who gets into trouble at a party is an alcoholic or has an addiction problem.  Not every teen who gets raped, even while highly intoxicated, is an alcoholic or has an addiction problem.  The vast majority of teens don't.  Some teens who drink and / or drug heavily will moderate as they get older.  A very very few will be unable to moderate even after they get older.

I qualified as an "unable to."  When I was raped, I was already in the throes of addiction.  I had alcoholic blackouts [not remembering a period of time afterwards] regularly.  I used until there was no more.

Do any of the teens in Steubenville qualify as an "unable to?"  I don't know.  I never met any of them.  And I don't qualify to say.  Maybe yes, maybe no, maybe maybe.  The jury is still out on that one.

There are many lists around of how to tell if one is some kind of an addict-- gambling addict, sex addict, drug addict, alcoholic [addict], overeater, food addict, restricter, binger, co-dependent [addiction to people, supposedly], internet addict [more will be revealed], hoarder [a sort of addiction to junk or sometimes to animals], and so forth.  If you think you have a problem, you might.  Or you might not.  Go find yourself one of the lists and answer the questions.  Seek out a professional if you want to and are able to in order to discuss the results with someone who is objective and not screaming at you.  Find a self-help group if that feels right to you.  Find some other ways to take your life back if a self-help group does not feel right for you.

Yes, here in the U.S.A., twelve-step programs dominate the recovery landscape.  Here is an incomplete list of other ways that people have used to stop addictive behavior: joining an ashram, Women for Sobriety, TOPS: Taking Off Pounds Sensibly, becoming religious and sticking with it, psychotherapy, Recovery Incorporated, continuing to be involved with Drug Court on a volunteer basis after completing Drug Court, Secular Sobriety [S.O.S. groups, or Save Our Selves], quitting cold turkey and never looking back.  The purpose of this review is not to present stats on which way of doing it is best or worse.  I'm just saying there are options.

Some people say that in order to recover, one must find a god or a higher power. That ain't necessarily so. When I stopped using, I was a believer. As the years passed, I lost my mysticism. And I don't want it back. There are people who manage to quit their addictions without any sort of diety. Not many perhaps, but yes we do exist.

Addiction is not freedom is an axiom that I believe.  Here's another one that I also subscribe to: Recovery is not necessarily freedom either.  If I want freedom, then I have to take on some responsibility.  The bottom line is that my addiction is not to be used as an excuse for my bad behavior.  My recovery is not to be used as an excuse for my bad behavior either.  Thinking that I am too fragile to show up at work or keep my commitments or become a knowledgeable citizen of my community and the world is a sell-out.  I did not come into recovery in order to remain trapped by my thinking and worldview.  I stopped using and sought out something better because my thinking and my actions were screwed up. 

We should never leave our brains at the door wherever we go.  We need to think.  One of the ways to get better at thinking is to think.  My best thinking told me that what I was doing was not working.  If I wanted something different, I had to do something different.

No matter where I go or who I am with, I pay attention.  I have found that if I listen carefully, most people will tell me who they are.  Do not assume that everyone sitting at that self-help group is okay or safe just because you are sitting in the same room.  Ask the people who died on the airplanes on 9/11 whether or not they still believe that their fellow travelers are safe-- oh, wait.  They are dead.  Get the point?  Trust has to be earned.  I do not have to trust you just because you and I are on the same airplane together, in the same mall together, in the same park together, in the same room together.

If you are a teen, know that you are a carrier of the future.  What you do today is important.  Make today count.  Because one of these days, us old folks won't be here anymore because we will be dead.  If you are a teen and you are drinking and /or drugging, pay attention to what you are doing.  If you find that you cannot moderate your useage of something or that you are having frequent blackouts or that you have a personality change when you are using, it might be worth a second look.  Whether you are addicted or not, you are valuable.  You are the future.  I believe in you.

sapphoq reviews says: True addiction sucks.  If you think you have an addiction problem, explore your options and get some help.  And be careful out there.  Not everyone has our best interests at heart.  Be well.