Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions by Alcoholics Anonymous
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Book Reviews of Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
Book Review: The never ending Stairmaster of guilt and shame
Summary: 1 Stars
I suppose thinking of oneself as insane and defective, and getting humble may be good advice for someone with an overblown ego -- someone who is a pompous megalomaniac. But what about those alcoholics who feel lower than pondscum and need to be uplifted? The 12 steps do a good job of deflating a persons sense of self worth, and instilling feelings of guilt, shame and inadequacy. (certainly good treatment for self-absorbed guiltless sociopaths, but that's not everyone!) The steps instruct the alcoholic to correct all past actions and harms that were done TO others, but what about those things which were done TO the alcoholic? Well, those are never addressed. The alcoholic should just "let it go", not feel anger and forgive. Great! Let's let remorseless child abusers receive our prayers while their victims are further punished in 12 step groups! The 12 steps clearly contribute to low-self esteem and a lifetime of eternal nitpicking over one's personality. As if problem drinkers are so different from the average person that they somehow need a lifetime of guilt and shame inducing listmaking and daily moral invetory just to live a normal life. Thank goodness there is a growing public awareness about the harm caused by the 12 step ideology... There are a lot of good, deserving people in the rooms of AA... I hope they leave soon.Book Review: I Agree With Brian
Summary: 1 Stars
More religious nonsense. I guess when people are struggling with addiction, they are at a weak point, so they go to AA and get this weird insta-family who makes them feel better about all the bad things they've done, but also tells them they're diseased and insane!
What about SCIENCE? Instead of memorizing easy answers and being dependent on a cult for the rest of your life, why not do some research on your own? AA, for example, proves to be no less and NO MORE effective than any other type of treatment, including psychological counseling.
To invest in this fundamentalist "sin and salvation" thinking is easy, I guess, because there are lots of other converts out there, but at least take the time to read about the Brandsma study, the Ditman study, the work of Peele, Vaillant, Rand...
Book Review: 12x12 confusion
Summary: 1 Stars
This book confuses the newcomer to AA, and flatly contradicts much of what is written in the basic text of our society, Alcoholics Anonymous. It was written against the advice of one of our co-founders (and after his death.) Furthermore, it was never designed to be a textbook on the steps. It is an interpretive commentary on the steps and traditions. Unfortunately, it is given to people as a textbook. There are no directions given in this book. If you want to get sober and happy, read the book Alcoholics Anonyous - it has all the directions you need.