Recovered, recovering or "in recovery" What does AA say is possible?

Having been to many thousands of AA meetings over my 26 plus years of sobriety I've heard members announce themselves in a number of different ways.

First simply as an alcoholic.

Secondly, I have introduced myself as a recovered alcoholic now and again. Many of my Big Book enthusiast friends also announce themselves as recovered alcoholics. I usually say (to avoid any confusion) that I am recovered but not cured. I say this because I've been "talked to" by some AA members who confuse the words recovered and cured. They think those words mean the same thing. They think that saying your recovered means your cured. But in the Big Book AA makes a definite distinction between being cured and recovered. Being recovered from an illness does not mean one is necessarily cured. In fact I know I am not cured. I believe that the Big Book says. We are like men who have lost their legs, we never grow new ones. Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic.

Many members will also tell how they have been in "recovery" X number of years. Or how great "recovery" is and how it changed their lives. This sounds nice but one does not have to be perpetually in recovery.

Still overs will announce themselves as grateful and "recovering" alcoholics.
Some who I have heard introduce themselves this way have many years of sobriety. Why? Why do they still consider themselves recovering? Unfortunately, as is the case all over the world, more than likely they have not studied the literature and not seen or understood that they too can be recovered from alcoholism.

I can understand that new commers or people who have started on but have not yet completed the steps might consider themselves "recovering".  But to have 5, 10, 15 or more years sober and consider oneself recovering. Obviously these folks have not heard the good news. AA says one can be recovered after working all 12 steps! 

Just as the first 100 alcoholics in the book "Alcoholics Anonymous" recovered so can you!

I question those who have years of sobriety and announce themselves as "recovering". Why are they still recovering after 5, 10, 15, 20 even 30 years sobriety? It doesn't make sense and is not AA. AA says we can be recovered from alcoholism!

Why this misunderstanding of the program, even from people with years of sobriety? The problem is unfortunately, that there is quite a bit of misinformation about the program of AA being talked about in the fellowship of AA. Much of it is brought in from for profit treatment and rehab "centers" and from "recovery" professionals who have been trained in medical perspectives of addiction and alcoholism. My experience is that many if not most of them have never really studied The Big Book or 12 and 12 that closely. Still other ideas leak in from the other fellowships that have different and a bit watered down view about what the 12 step program is and how to do it.

Fortunately there is the program of AA which is free and promises being able to be recovered through continued practice of the 12 steps.

Throughout the Big Book (The book entitled Alcoholics Anonymous) the authors tell how they had recovered. The word recovered in fact occurs many more times than the word recovering throughout the Big Book and 12 and 12.

In my opinion the word is used because of the HOPE that it can promise. There is light at the end of the tunnel! One does not have to be always "recovering". One does not have to be perpetually "in recovery". In fact after giving this some thought it does not make too much sense. If one is 5,10,15 years sober. Why is it that they have NOT recovered? Why are they still recovering if that haven't had a drink in so long? How can their lives NOT have recovered from the illness.

AA certainly DOES NOT PROMISE A CURE BUT IT DOES PROMISE RECOVERY IF THE 12 STEP PATH IS THOROUGHLY FOLLOWED. SUCH A HOPEFUL THING!

A wonderful thing about the 12 step program of AA is, if it is worked thoroughly, brings about recovery from alcoholism!. We can be recovered! In the Forward to the First edition it states just that.

In fact even the first page of the book where we find the title the sub heading states: The story of how many thousands of men and women have RECOVERED from alcoholism.

The word "recovering" only occurs twice. Once in the family afterward and once in a asterisk sub text in the chapter "A Vision for you" regarding Al Anon. That says a lot already.

Here I will list all the places in the book where the word "recovered" occurs.

FORWARDS:

We, of Alcoholics Anonymous, are more than one hundred men and women who have recovered from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body. To show other alcoholics precisely how we have recovered is the main purpose of this book. For them, we hope these pages will prove so convincing that no further authentication will be necessary. We think this account of our experiences will help everyone to better understand the alcoholic. Many do not comprehend that the alcoholic is a very sick person. And besides, we are sure that our way of living has its advantages for all.

    ...      Sixteen years have elapsed between our first printing of this book and the presentation of 1955 of our second edition. In that brief space, Alcoholics Anonymous has mushroomed into nearly 6,000 groups whose membership is far above 150,000 recovered alcoholics. Groups are to be found in each of the United States and all of the provinces of Canada. A.A. has flourishing communities in the British Isles, the Scandinavian countries, South Africa, South America, Mexico, Alaska, Australia and Hawaii. All told, promising beginnings have been made in some 50 foreign countries and U.S. possessions. Some are just now taking shape in Asia. Many of our friends encourage us by saying that this is but a beginning, only the augury of a much larger future ahead.

    ...      Hence the two men set to work almost frantically upon alcoholics arriving in the ward of the Akron City Hospital. Their very first case, a desperate one, recovered immediately and became A.A. number three. He never had another drink. This work at Akron continued through the summer of 1935. There were many failures, but there was an occasional heartening success. When the broker returned to New York in the fall of 1935, the first A.A. group had actually been formed, though no one realized it at the time.


AA     The Doctor's Opinion

    ...       In the course of his third treatment he acquired certain ideas concerning a possible means of recovery. As part of his rehabilitation he commenced to present his conceptions to other alcoholics, impressing upon them that they must do likewise with still others. This has become the basis of a rapidly growing fellowship of these men and their families. This man and over one hundred others appear to have recovered.

AA     Ch. 2 There Is A Solution
    ...      We, of Alcoholics Anonymous, know thousands of men and women who were once just as hopeless as Bill. Nearly all have recovered. They have solved the drink problem.

    ...      You may already have asked yourself why it is that all of us became so very ill from drinking. Doubtless you are curious to discover how and why, in the face of expert opinion to the contrary, we have recovered from a hopeless condition of mind and body. If you are an alcoholic who wants to get over it, you may already be asking What do I have to do?"

    ...      Further on, clear-cut directions are given showing how we recovered. These are followed by three dozen personal experiences.

AA     Ch. 4 We Agnostics
    ...      If a mere code of morals or a better philosophy of life were sufficient to overcome alcoholism, many of us would have recovered long ago. But we found that such codes and philosophies did not save us, no matter how much we tried. We could wish to be moral, we could wish to be philosophically comforted, in fact, we could will these things with all our might, but the needed power wasn't there. Our human resources, as marshalled by the will, were not sufficient; they failed utterly.

AA     Ch. 7 Working with Others
    ...      Sometimes it is wise to wait till he goes on a binge. The family may object to this, but unless he is in a dangerous physical condition, it is better to risk it. Don't deal with him when he is very drunk, unless he is ugly and the family needs your help. Wait for the end of the spree, or at least for a lucid interval. Then let his family or a friend ask him if he wants to quit for good and if he would go to any extreme to do so. If he says yes, then his attention should be drawn to you as a person who has recovered. You should be described to him as one of a fellowship who, as part of their own recovery, try to help others and who will be glad to talk to him if he cares to see you.

...      If he thinks he can do the job in some other way, or prefers some other spiritual approach, encourage him to follow his own conscience. We have no monopoly on God; we merely have an approach that worked with us. But point out that we alcoholics have much in common and that you would like, in any case, to be friendly. Let it go at that. Do not be discouraged if your prospect does not respond at once. Search out another alcoholic and try again. You are sure to find someone desperate enough to accept with eagerness what you offer. We find it a waste of time to keep chasing a man who cannot or will not work with you. If you leave such a person alone, he may soon become convinced that he cannot recover by himself. To spend too much time on any one situation is to deny some other alcoholic an opportunity to live and be happy. One of our Fellowship failed entirely with his first half dozen prospects. He often says that if he had continued to work on them, he might have deprived many others, who have since recovered, of their chance.

AA     Ch. 8 To Wives
    ...      If he is enthusiastic your cooperation will mean a great deal. If he is lukewarm or thinks he is not an alcoholic, we suggest you leave him alone. Avoid urging him to follow our program. The seed has been planted in his mind. He knows that thousands of men, much like himself, have recovered. But don't remind him of this after he has been drinking, for he may be angry. Sooner or later, you are likely to find him reading the book once more. Wait until repeated stumbling convinces him he must act, for the more you hurry him the longer his recovery may be delayed.

AA     Ch. 9 The Family Afterward
    ...      So we think cheerfulness and laughter make for usefulness. Outsiders are sometimes shocked when we bust into merriment over a seemingly tragic experience out of the past. But why shouldn't we laugh? We have recovered, and have been given the power to help others.
    ...      Now about health: A body badly burned by alcohol does not often recover overnight nor do twisted thinking and depression vanish in a twinkling. We are convinced that a spiritual mode of living is a most powerful health restorative. We, who have recovered from serious drinking, are miracles of mental health. But we have seen remarkable transformations in our bodies. Hardly one of our crowd now shows any dissipation.

AA     Ch. 10 To Employers
    ...      After your man has gone along without drinking for a few months, you may be able to make use of his services with other employees who are giving you the alcoholic run-around -- provided, of course, they are willing to have a third party in the picture. An alcoholic who has recovered, but holds a relatively unimportant job, can talk to a man with a better position. Being on a radically different basis of life, he will never take advantage of the situation. 

The word "recovering"

Ch. 9 The Family Afterward
    ...      Our women folk have suggested certain attitudes a wife may take with the husband who is recovering. Perhaps they created the impression that he is to be wrapped in cotton wool and placed on a pedestal. Successful readjustment means the opposite. All members of the family should meet upon the common ground of tolerance, understanding and love. This involves a process of deflation. The alcoholic, his wife, his children, his "in-laws," each one is likely to have fixed ideas about the family's attitude towards himself or herself. Each is interested in having his or her wishes respected. We find the more one member of the family demands that the others concede to him, the more resentful they become. This makes for discord and unhappiness.

AA     Ch. 11 A Vision for You
    ...      * Written in 1939, when there were few women in A.A., this chapter assumes that the alcoholic in the home is likely to be the husband. But many of the suggestions given here may be adapted to help the person who lives with a woman alcoholic -- whether she is still drinking or is recovering in A.A. A further source of help is noted on page 121.

Recovery shortcuts? There aren't any. The program is the 12 steps

       As nice as some things sound in meetings much of what gets said in meetings may seem like it could be the program but is not. The literature is very clear about what to do. The program is the 12 steps. Much of the work, while simple to understand, is not easy to do. Some of the 12 steps require great effort on our part. There are no shortcuts to being a recovered alcoholic.

Here is a list of some of the ideas or suggestions I've heard in meetings that don't line up with with the Alcoholics Anonymous program of recovery found in the Big Book or 12 and 12.


* I just don't drink one day at a time even if my ass falls off.

* I just do what works for me.

* I just need to go to meetings, not drink in between, and talk about what's going on with me.

* 10 minutes of Buddhist meditation each day is my answer.

* I need to learn how to accept life on life's terms.

* I just need to learn to stay in the now.

* I just don't drink no matter what.

* I do whatever I need to do to stay sober today.

* I just need to play the tape back before I take that first drink

* I just need to remember my last drunk.

None of these things are the AA program of recovery. They all imply that sobriety / recovery is a matter of self control or will power. This is not the case at all. The program is NOT about developing self control. It's about developing a conscious contact with a Power Greater to get recovery. AA specifically says on pg. 30 of the Big Book. "We alcoholics are men and women who have lost the ability to control our drinking"

The above ideas may help some people not drink for awhile but for real alcoholics these are only band-aids or stop gap measures and don't address the root of the problem - the mental obsession part of alcoholism. AA says, throughout the literature, that relief of the mental obsession (or insanity of the first drink) is obtained through access to a Power Greater than oneself by working the 12 steps.

In the chapter "More about Alcoholism" the description of the mental obsession part of alcoholism is repeated over and over with a few stories thrown in to illustrate how it may manifest in an alcoholics life. Then the very last paragraph of that chapter states again the point they've been making. I'll quote it here.


Once more: The alcoholic at certain times has no effective mental defense against the first drink. Except in a few rare cases, neither he nor any other human being can provide such a defense. His defense must come from a Higher Power. 

AA Big Book Pg. 43 chapter "More about Alcoholism"

The AA program. Action, action and still more action.

Over the years that I've studied AA literature I see that the 12 step program is primarily focused on action - spiritual action. In fact in the book Alcoholics Anonymous the program is described as a practical program of action.  It is through a daily routine of spiritual action that I grow my spirituality and thus continue my relationship with my Higher Power who gives me a daily reprieve from my alcoholism.

I've done a search of the AA Big Book in an effort to show just how much action is emphasized. I see now it is not so much a "thinking" program as it is a "doing" program and quite simple.

I'll start by putting one of my favorite quotes from the AA Book and then the rest are in order taken only from the program portion of the book; the first 164 pages.


To be vital, faith must be accompanied by self sacrifice and unselfish, constructive action.  - Pg. 93


But he did no ranting. In a matter of fact way he told how two men had appeared in court, persuading the judge to suspend his commitment. They had told of a simple religious idea and a practical program of action. That was two months ago and the result was self-evident. It worked! - Pg. 9 "Bills Story"


The tremendous fact for every one of us is that we have discovered a common solution. We have a way out on which we can absolutely agree, and upon which we can join in brotherly and harmonious action. This is the great news this book carries to those who suffer from alcoholism. - Pg 16 "There is a Solution"


"Then they outlined the spiritual answer and program of action which a hundred of them had followed successfully. Though I had been only a nominal churchman, their proposals were not, intellectually, hard to swallow. But the program of action, though entirely sensible, was pretty drastic. It meant I would have to throw several lifelong conceptions out of the window. - Pg 42 "More about Alcoholism"

Next we launched out on a course of vigorous action, the first step of which is a personal housecleaning.  - Pg 63 "How it Works"

HAVING MADE our personal inventory, what shall we do about it? We have been trying to get a new attitude, a new relationship with our Creator, and to discover the obstacles in our path. We have admitted certain defects; we have ascertained in a rough way what the trouble is; we have put our finger on the weak times in our personal inventory. Now these are about to be cast out. This requires action on our part, which, when completed, will mean that we have admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being, the exact nature of our defects. This brings us to the Fifth Step in the program of recovery mentioned in the preceding chapter. - Pg 72 "Into Action"

Now we need more action, without which we find that “Faith without works is dead.” Let’s look at Steps Eight and Nine. - Pg. 76 "Into Action"

It is easy to let up on the spiritual program of action and rest on our laurels. We are headed for trouble if we do, for alcohol is a subtle foe. We are not cured of alcoholism. What we really have is a daily reprieve contingent on the maintenance of our spiritual condition. - Pg. 85

We alcoholics are undisciplined. So we let God discipline us in the simple way we have just outlined. But this is not all. There is action and more action. “Faith without works is dead.” The next chapter is entirely devoted to Step Twelve.  - Pg. 88

Outline the program of action, explaining how you made a self-appraisal, how you straightened out your past and why you are now endeavoring to be helpful to him. - Pg. 94

Now, the domestic problem: There may be divorce, separation, or just strained relations. When your prospect has made such reparation as he can to his family, and has thoroughly explained to them the new principles by which he is living, he should proceed to put those principles into action at home. - Pg. 98

After satisfying yourself that your man wants to recover and that he will go to any extreme to do so, you may suggest a definite course of action. Pg 142

The two friends spoke of their spiritual experience and told him about the course of action they carried out. - Pg 157