Alcoholics Anonymous: The Big Book, 4th Edition by Anonymous
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Book Reviews of Alcoholics Anonymous: The Big Book, 4th Edition
Book Review: One of the most influential books in history.
Summary: 5 Stars
This book has had a powerful impact on millions of lives for seventy years now, since it was written by the first hundred or so members of A.A. less than five years after the program was founded. The simple (not easy) method it offers for people in the grip of alcoholism to quit drinking and stay sober, and to bring order out of the chaos in other domains of life that usually goes with a drinking problem, has saved millions of lives and has inspired many other programs focused on other compulsive behavior patterns (abuse of other drugs, addictive gambling, eating disorders, and so on.)
The book is divided into two sections; the first part, which explains the underlying principles of A.A. and how to put them to practical use, is essentially unchanged since that first edition was published in 1939. It is somewhat dated in its language and cultural references, but still useful. The second part consists of narratives by dozens of recovering alcoholics telling their stories, describing their lives before, during, and since their own process of getting sober. This section has been updated with each new edition. Each time, the editors have dropped the stories they thought were the most dated and replaced them with more current ones in the interests of keeping the book relevant to the readers of the day. For anyone wanting to read the stories that were deleted each time a new edition came out, those dropped stories from the first three editions have been collected in a separate book titled "Experience, Strength and Hope."
Many readers have criticized this book for three main reasons. First, the language in the first part of this book sounds somewhat stilted to a modern ear; the parallel section of the Narcotics Anonymous book, for example, flows better. This is a valid point, although the highfalutin language is still clear in its meaning - it's just that the way people speak and write has changed in the seven decades between the first edition's publishing and today. It can be useful to work with some of the complementary writings that are widely available as well as with this book.
The second complaint often heard is that although the 12 Steps specify that each person needs to work out his or her own understanding of a Higher Power, and there is a very helpful chapter for agnostic readers, the literature and the readings common to nearly all meetings are heavily slanted toward a conventional Christian version of faith. For example, many meetings close with a reading of the Lord's Prayer, and many members make it clear that their own beliefs are Christian. However, millions of non-Christians have successfully used this program over the years; the key is to focus on the underlying principles. Another book that can come in handy in this area is "A Skeptic's Guide to the Twelve Steps" by Phillip Z., a decidedly non-religious person who worked out an adaptation that he was able to use without betraying his own principles or beliefs.
Finally, and I think most valid, there's the issue of sexism in the writing. This is where it's clearest that the first section was written in another era, one with different assumptions, and the chapter addressed to the spouses of alcoholics - which pretty much assumes that the drunks are male and the spouses are wives, not husbands - is irritatingly condescending. I have to agree with this one - it sets my teeth on edge.
Despite these flaws, however, I believe that this book may have helped save more lives, and more marriages, families, and careers, than any other. It's a bit unnerving to think that the program of A.A. which so many take for granted today - the meetings, the literature, the mutual support and socializing with people who understand each other's problems, the process of working through the Steps - this program didn't exist until three or four generations ago, and as A.A. has proven to be the most effective way yet found for alcoholics to achieve long-term sobriety. Until 1935, A.A. didn't exist and most people with drinking problems just drank themselves into early graves, more often than not wrecking relationships and scarring the lives of others along the way.
There are a couple of other common gripes about A.A. that are unfounded, as a reading of this book and other A.A. literature shows. The first is that people feel beaten over the head with the message that A.A. is the only way to get sober. In fact, although some individuals do say things like that, the official position is that A.A. is just one of many tools available, and members are actively encouraged to seek other help if they need to do so.
The final issue, and possibly the one most often cited, is the repeated self-identification as an alcoholic. Many people, both professionals working in addiction treatment and their clients, feel that this is shaming and defeatist. The fact is, however, that it is neither - it is made very clear in this book, other literature, and the meetings, that saying "I'm an alcoholic" is not a judgment, it's a simple acknowledgment of one's situation. It is also made clear that this does not mean that sobriety and happiness are out of reach - the word "alcoholic" is value-neutral in this context, just as it would be for people to identify themselves as diabetic. Also, if a person is not so sure that he/she really is alcoholic, that is respected in the meetings - this book says explicitly that it is up to each person to decide for himself or herself whether the word fits. If anyone says to another person, "You're an alcoholic," the speaker has departed from the program's guidance at that point. In a typical "12-Step call" - a visit and conversation with someone who thinks he/she may be alcoholic and has called the local A.A. Central Office, after which a couple of volunteers normally meet the caller at home, at a coffee shop, or someplace similar, those volunteers simply and briefly tell their own stories in terms of what their lives were like when they were drinking, how they got sober, and what their lives are like now. The person with whom they're talking is free to decide whether or not he/she identifies with the experiences being described.
This is a valuable book for people who think they may have drinking problems, or for their families and friends who want to help.
James R. Finley, MA
Author, "Integrating the 12 Steps into Addiction Therapy: A Resource Collection and Guide for Promoting Recovery"
Book Review: One of the World's Greatest Books
Summary: 5 Stars
I read the AA Big Book and joined Overeaters Anonymous thinking I was a compulsive overeater. Perhaps I would have been an alcoholic, but my body chemistry never tolerated alcohol, smoking or drugs, so I was spared that. It turned out the weight problem was also a body chemistry thing, and the time I spent in diligent application to the 12-step program led me to realize I wasn't a compulsive overeater after all.
Reading the AA Big Book was fantastic for me, and I recommend it to anyone. If you are not an addict, it will certainly not harm you to try a 12-step program. You are likely to come out, as I did after 10 months, with a deep respect for what these programs do. Miracles are everyday events in these groups.
Some of the people who have written reviews here resisted the tenets of AA because they are unwilling to submit to a higher power. That's human nature. Anything else is itself a miracle.
My concerns about AA prior to reading the book were the opposite. I am a Christian and I was under the impression that the 12 steps are in conflict with that. Such is not at all the case. No one is going to try to hypnotize you!
Nor is a 12-step program going to tell you to avoid medical help. One of AA's founders was a doctor, and right from the start AA began saving lives that doctors knew they could not save. It still happens in AA, daily.
If you are ready to be inspired, read this book. You will understand yourself and other people better. If you don't feel ready to be inspired, maybe you need to read it even more.
I noticed one of the reviews complained about archaic language in the book. It's not that archaic. You don't need a glossary to read it, as you do with the King James Bible or Shakespeare! For me, the language serves as a reminder of how long this organization has been helping people, and of its amazing roots.
Be sure to read the AA 12 Steps and 12 Traditions, too. If you know much about organizations, the 12 Traditions will blow your mind. AA is truly a non profit organization, not one just for tax purposes. Their traditions include the deliberate avoidance of accumulating wealth and property for the organization. It's about addict helping addict, without judgement but also with a centered perspective that casts light on truth.
The simple but powerful structure of meetings--including those held in online chat rooms--as well as the tradition of anonymity make AA a unique safe place. Reading this book is one of the healthiest things you can do for yourself and for the people you care about, addicted or not. You can also read it free online (just Google AA Big Book and it's one of the first entries), but for me that doesn't replace a real book to hold and read. It would be hard to find a better investment than the purchase of the AA Big Book. ---Kathy Diamond Davis
Book Review: If you are here wondering about your drinking problem.
Summary: 5 Stars
Don't know if you're an alcoholic? Here's the definitive test. Forget the CAGE test, the Minnesota tests, forget all of those. Go to a bar. (Of course, this will be easy.) Try some controlled drinking; meaning, have one or two, and then stop.
Being honest, how'd that work out? Were you able to control the amount you took? If so, congratulations. You may just be a heavy drinker. If/when alcohol becomes a problem in your life, you can quit. You will never have a DUI, or a Drunk In Public charge; or throw objects at your poor spouse, or black out-- the complete memory lapse while you're awake. You skirted the real trouble.
If you find you can't control the drink at all, you are probably an alcoholic. In the above experiment, if you are like me, you blacked out. You drank far more than you intended to. You fell off barstools and said it was just poor lighting. You had sexual encounters that you later regretted, even though you don't remember them.
At the same time, in your home, you have several bottles hidden so that no one can ever discover your entire stash and pour it down the drain.
You have to diagnose yourself, I'm afraid. Being honest, who among us would accept the diagnosis of another anyway? Not me.
If you find you are an alcoholic, please go to one meeting. Just one. Be sober when you go. Pull someone aside and ask all the questions you wish.
And buy this book. If you go to a meeting and have no money, someone will make liberal credit arrangements so you can have it. Read the first 164 pages. If they don't make sense, go to another meeting and ask for someone to help you go through those pages.
You will become a spiritual person. That's a promise. In fact, just by looking at this site you know you are evolving. You know that much better than I do. And life will get better than before you took your first drink.
It's a marvelous life. We'd love for you to join it. Surely you will meet many of us as you trudge the Road of Happy Destiny.
The broad highway is open to anyone to wishes to walk it.
Book Review: Keep It Simple, Stupid!
Summary: 5 Stars
It's the KISS of Alcoholics Anonymous, and its program of freedom from alcohol, in the words of the fellowship's co-founders, is so very simple that the wet brain can't resist the drama of complicating it. But the 12 Steps, in the words of Bill W. and Dr. Bob, whose kitchen meeting in Ohio in 1935 spawned a global program that 70 years later has given hope to millions, are so uncomplicated that they're good even for the non-alcoholic. From admitting "we were powerless over alcohol (and) that our lives had become unmanageable" to "having had a spirtual awakening" and carrying "the message to (other) alcoholics" and practicing the steps' "principles in all our affairs," AA's recovery program is a call to action that puts both the responsibility and recovery squarely on the addict's shoulders. To that end, the steps empower the sufferer to wrest control over the uncontrollable, that over alcohol, and hand-design their personal recovery and maintenance program with the help of the Higher Power that can be whatever the recovering addict identifies it to be: God, an oak tree that has survived the deadliest tornado and blizzard and anything else that is stronger than the alcohol. The miracle of the 12 steps is that the recovery program they help build is different from one recovering alcoholic to the other and that, through the years, the program changes as one grows. That's as it should be, of course, because life itself is an ever-changing process where needs change. Sobriety once attained, it can be maintained and strengthened by the steps and, when the rosebuds in the garden of sobriety yield an occasional thorn, the program carries us through the pains of a cut. To anyone still imprisoned by the bottle and to their families and friends who can't endure the agony of witnessing the daily disintegration of a loved one, KISS off! Keep it simple, stupid, and grab the lifelong lifeline to recovery that is AA and its related other recovery programs.Book Review: Lifesaver
Summary: 5 Stars
It perplexes me there are so few reviews of this great book. Last time I checked, there were eight -- at least it's double digits now.It perplexes me because this book has saved literally millions of lives. For anyone struggling with alcoholism, this is the way to get sober. The principles of the program can -- and have been -- applied to just about any addiction. This program is the foundation of Cocaine Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous and every other 12 step program. This is where it all started.
My pastor mentioned in church just today how the sprituality of people who've been in 12 step programs is sometimes especially striking. That's true. It's because if a person follows the 12 steps, they will find it a life-changing experience. They will not be exactly the same person they were when they started. For more on this, see a passage in the book known in the program that took its name from the book's title as "the promises."
If you read this book, also read the accompanying 12 Steps and 12 Traditions volume. The two go together -- though if you read only one read this one.
The book is especially helpful in dealing with the issue of a higher power.
The book goes way beyond what someone will find in a typical AA meeting. A person who is attempting sobriety needs this book, a sponsor and the meetings.
This is, statistically, the best shot there is at sobriety. This book and the program it spawned are an extraordinary gift for those who choose to accept them.
The newcomer might find the book somewhat dated. Stick with it. It's worth it. And, as time goes by, it will become clearer and clearer.