Alcohol Abuse

At this time any discussion of alcoholism needs to begin with a discussion of Alcoholics Anonymous, whose program, which has spread around the world since its founding in 1935, is unarguably the most effective approach yet found for dealing with the age-old scourge of alcoholism, about which even the ancient Greeks made jokes. However, to say that it is the most effective is not to say that it is very effective; the recovery rate among alcoholics in general who are exposed to A.A. is still fairly low. Yet it is effective compared to almost all other approaches, for which the recovery rate is still lower.

The book which became the text for the movement, and from which the movement derived its name, is Alcoholics Anonymous, which was written primarily by William G. Wilson, usually referred to as Bill W., who, with Dr. Bob Smith, founded A.A. in 1935. The book, completed and published in 1939, distilled the wisdom of many sources and combined it with the knowledge gained from the practical experiences

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d by C.S. Lewis in his BBC lectures (which subsequently became his Mere Christianity) that ôChristianity really does not make any sense as long as you think you do not need what is being offered.ö This aspect of Alcoholics Anonymous, which is also true of most of the rest of the literature published by A.A. World Services, such as Bill WilsonÆs 1955 pamphlet on A.A.Æs ôTwelve Traditions, evoked several different responses. One is the new nonfiction genre called ôrecovery literature,ö of which Mueller and Ketcham are fairly typical. This is literature, targeted toward alcoholism or a myriad of other problems, which tones down the spiritual emphasis in favor of a more strictly medical or psychological approach (although there is also a type of such literature which is even more spiritual and sometimes even sectarian). The other is the rise of alternative recovery programs, with their own literature, which are strictly atheistic and humanistic. Bufe is fairly typical of such literature. His approach represents what one might call the ôdevout atheismö of the American Humanist Association, for whose members it is virtually an article of faith that any compromise with theistic concepts would violate their personal integrity. Desp
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Alcoholics Anonymous, Bill Wilson, William James, AA BufeÆs, George McGovernÆs, Mueller Ketcham, , York Times, Oxford Testament, AA Anonymous, alcoholics anonymous, world services, addiction letter, anonymous world, york alcoholics, religious movement, alcoholics anonymous world, york alcoholics anonymous, stop drinking, recovery rate, women recovered alcoholism, aa subculture, anonymous world services, 3d ed, letter 126 1996,
Approximate Word count = 2118
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)

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