Don't Tell,edited by Roger C.

Don't Tell: Stories and Essays by Agnostics and Atheists in AA, edited by Roger C.      Toronto: AA Agnostica, 2014. 
ebook, 368 pps.

https://aaagnostica.org/

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     It took me a bit to realize that the first word in the title is the word "Don't" followed by the word "Tell." It seems to me that I read it wrong. I read "Don." I couldn't figure out who "Don" was but I got the book anyway. I was glad that I did.

     Don't Tell divides up the stories and essays into ten parts. These ten parts are, in order of appearance, In The Rooms, 12 Steps, Book Reviews, Founders of We Agnostics in 1980 (Hollywood), Lord's Prayer, Many Paths to Recovery, Early History, An AA Pamphlet for Agnostics and Atheists, Controversy in The New Millennium, and Moving Forward. Each section has between two and eleven stories or essays in it. The construction of the book was logical. And the material was highly readable.

     There was a bit of new information for me in Don't Tell. I hadn't known the name of the atheist salesman who got drunk. [Jim Burwell held on to his atheism and his sobriety for the rest of his life. Bill overstates his case for Jim's change in beliefs in the Big Book]. I didn't know that Bill W. gave permission for the first Buddhist A.A. groups to re-write the steps to fit in with their atheism [Some Buddhists are atheists and some are not. The first groups referred to apparently were]. (p.23)

     Nor was I aware of how the designation "Conference approved" is being used to de-list freethinker A.A. groups from various Intergroups' meeting lists. (p. 97). The info about the protracted fight to get the Literature Committee to produce and publish a pamphlet tentatively titled "AA - Spiritual Not Religious" for newer agnostic AA members and those who are religious who wish to understand more about those of us non-believers who are achieving long-term sobriety (pp. 273 - 276) was news to me. [N.B. I read somewhere that the Literature Committee has finally produced a pamphlet about "alternative spiritual paths" which should be coming out at the end of 2014 and which does not include atheists or agnostics. ~ sr].

     The best parts of Don't Tell for me were some A.A. history that I didn't know about along with finding some essays by agnostic and/or atheist members with long-term sobriety.

sapphoq reviews says: Roger C. has done a fine job of editing Don't Tell. I especially appreciated the non-judgmental tone taken toward believers in Alcoholics Anonymous. This book is written for those of us in recovery who have found ways to remain in recovery without recognizing any gods. Believers in recovery who are not threatened by the subject matter (and who understand that there is zero evidence of any attempts by anyone in the book to de-convert them) may also be interested in reading this book. Professional helpers within various rehab structures which use the twelve steps as a basis for treatment ought to be urged to read Don't Tell. Highly recommended.

   


   

A History of Agnostic Groups in AA by Roger G.

A History of Agnostic Groups in AA, Roger C. Toronto: AA Agnostica, 2012. ebook, 40 pps.

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https://aaagnostica.org/

     In 2011, two Alcoholics Anonymous groups were kicked from the list of A.A. meetings in the Greater Toronto Area. Reason: the groups used a modified form of the twelve steps. Agnostics, atheists, and secular humanists in recovery have a long history of conflict with christians in recovery. To be sure, some christians get along with non-believers. But some percentage does not. Unfortunately, the percentage that does not "won" the G.T.A. vote during that particular session.

     Jim Burwell was the first known non-theist in Alcoholics Anonymous. He was the fellow who contributed the "as we understood him" part of the third and eleventh steps. He got sober and stayed sober for thirty years or so until his death.

     A History of Agnostic Groups in AA provides history ranging from the first known agnostic group in Chicago to Los Angeles, Austin, Des Moines and more. Toronto was not the first area to deny a Quad A group listing. Indianapolis We Agnostics group was-- in 2010. They were kicked out again in 2011 after a brief re-instatement.

     The appendices in the back of this too-short book include a secular version of the twelve steps. Rather than ending a meeting with the Serenity Prayer, folks in agnostic groups generally hold hands and recite "Live and Let Live" together. And that is the indeed the slogan that fits.

sapphoq reviews says: Although A.A. as a whole does not kick out individual members who are non-believers, it is troubling that several areas have voted to kick out whole groups. This is in direct violation of what Bill W. wrote in the July 1946 Grapevine magazine, quoted on page 24 of the e-book:

You may download to your computer and save, you may upload to any site.
n.b.: This is a correctly attributed quote. So bugger off copyright trolls and
copyright monopolists and others of the same ilk. 

For those in recovery interested in secular versions of working the steps [n.b.: which have always been optional], absolutely highly recommended.