Alano Club

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is a global, peer-led mutual-aid fellowship focused on an abstinence-based recovery model from alcoholism through its spiritually inclined twelve-step program. AA's Twelve Traditions, besides emphasizing anonymity, stress lack of hierarchy, staying non-promotional, and non-professional, while also unaffiliated, non-denominational, apolitical and free to all. , AA estimated it is active in 180 countries with an estimated membership of nearly two million—73% in the United States and Canada.

AA traces its origins to a 1935 meeting between Bill Wilson (commonly referred to as Bill W.) and Dr. Bob Smith (Dr. Bob), two individuals seeking to address their shared struggles with alcoholism. Their collaboration, influenced by the Christian revivalist Oxford Group, evolved into a mutual support group that eventually became AA. In 1939, the fellowship published ''Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How More than One Hundred Men Have Recovered from Alcoholism'''','' colloquially known as the "Big Book". This publication introduced the twelve-step program and provided the basis for the organization's name. Later editions of the book expanded its subtitle to reflect the inclusion of "''Thousands of Men and Women''".

The Twelve Steps outline a suggested program of ongoing drug rehabilitation and self-improvement. A key component involves seeking alignment or divining with a personally defined concept of "God as we understood Him". The steps begin with an acknowledgment of powerlessness over alcohol and the unmanageability of life due to alcoholism. Subsequent steps emphasize rigorous honesty, including the completion of a "searching and fearless moral inventory", acknowledgment of "character defects", sharing the inventory with a trusted person, making amends to individuals harmed, and engaging in regular prayer or meditation to seek "conscious contact with God" and guidance in following divine will. The final step, the 12th, focuses on maintaining the principles of recovery, sharing the message with other alcoholics, and participating in "12th Step work," such as peer sponsorship, organizing meetings, and outreach to institutions like hospitals and prisons.

AA meetings differ in format, with variations including personal storytelling, readings from the Big Book, and open discussions. While certain meetings may cater to specific demographic groups, attendance is generally open to anyone with a desire to stop drinking alcohol. The organization is self-supporting through member donations and literature sales. Its operations follow an "inverted pyramid" structure, allowing local groups significant autonomy. AA does not accept external funding or contributions.

Empirical evidence supports AA's efficacy. A 2020 Cochrane review found that manualized AA and Twelve-Step Facilitation (TSF) therapy demonstrated higher rates of continuous abstinence compared to alternative treatments, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, with added healthcare cost savings over time.

Criticism of AA has addressed various aspects of its program and operations. Concerns have been raised about its overall success rate, the perceived religious nature of its approach, and allegations of cult-like elements. Additional critiques include reports of "thirteenth-stepping", where senior members engage romantically with newer members, and legal challenges related to safety and the religious content of court-mandated participation in AA programs.

History

Hazard's search for treatment, spiritual conversion, & involvement with the Oxford Group

Rowland Hazard’s journey from Carl Jung’s psychiatric treatment to spiritual conversion through the Oxford Group played a pivotal role in shaping the foundations of Alcoholics Anonymous, influencing its principles of recovery. In 1926, Hazard went to Zurich, Switzerland, to seek treatment for alcoholism with psychiatrist Carl Jung. When Hazard ended treatment with Jung after about a year, and came back to the US, he soon resumed drinking, and returned to Jung in Zurich for further treatment. Jung told Hazard that his case was nearly hopeless (as with other alcoholics) and that his only hope might be a "spiritual conversion" with a "religious group".

Back in America, Hazard went to the Oxford Group, whose teachings were eventually the source of such AA concepts as "meetings" and "sharing" (public confession), making "restitution", "rigorous honesty" and "surrendering one's will and life to God's care". He became converted to a lifetime of sobriety while on a train ride from New York to Detroit after reading ''For Sinners Only,'' by Oxford Group member AJ Russell. Hazard underwent a spiritual conversion" with the help of the Group and began to experience the liberation from drink that he was seeking. Members of the group introduced Hazard to Ebby Thacher, whom Hazard brought to the Calvary Rescue Mission, directed by Oxford Group leader Sam Shoemaker.

Bill Wilson & his spiritual awakening

In keeping with the Oxford Group teaching that a new convert must win other converts to preserve his own conversion experience, Thacher contacted his old friend Bill Wilson, whom he knew had a drinking problem.''Pass It On'', p. 117. Thacher approached Wilson, saying that he had "got religion", was sober, and that Wilson could do the same if he set aside objections and instead formed a personal idea of God, "another power" or "higher power".'' Pass It On'', 1984, p 117.Feeling a "kinship of common suffering", Wilson attended his first group gathering, although he was drunk. Within days, Wilson admitted himself to the Charles B. Towns Hospital after drinking four beers on the way—the last alcohol he ever drank. Under the care of Dr. William Duncan Silkworth, an early benefactor of AA, Wilson's detox included the deliriant belladonna. At the hospital, a despairing Wilson experienced a bright flash of light, which he felt to be God revealing himself.

Founding of AA

Wilson's early efforts and influence of the Oxford Group

Following his hospital discharge, Wilson joined the Oxford Group and tried to recruit other alcoholics to the group. These early efforts to help others kept him sober, but were ineffective in getting anyone else to join the group. Dr. Silkworth suggested that Wilson place less stress on religion (as required by The Oxford Group) and more on the science of treating alcoholism. Bill W. would later write: "The early AA got its ideas of self-examination, acknowledgment of character defects, restitution for harm done, and working with others straight from the Oxford Group and directly from Sam Shoemaker, their former leader in America, and from nowhere else".Pittman, Bill ''AA the Way it Began'' Glen Abbey Books, 1988 According to Mercadante, however, the AA concept of ''powerlessness over alcohol'' departs significantly from Oxford Group belief. According to AA, alcoholism cannot be cured, whereas the Oxford Group stressed the possibility of complete victory over sin.Mercadante, Linda A, ''Victims and Sinners'': p. 55. Westminster John Knox Press: 1996

Beginnings of AA

In 1935, AA began in Akron, Ohio, as the outcome of a meeting between Wilson—who became known as "Bill W." in AA circles—and Dr. Robert Smith, an Akron surgeon, who would become Wilson's first recruitment success. On a business trip by Bill W. to Akron, he was introduced to the surgeon, who despite connections with the Oxford Group, was unable to stay sober. Bill W. explained that alcoholism affects the mind, emotions, and body, a concept he had learned from Dr. Silkworth at Towns Hospital in New York, where he had been a patient multiple times. Convinced by these insights, Dr. Bob took his last alcoholic drink on 10 June 1935 and never drank again. This date is regarded by AA as its inception.

Bill W. and Dr. Bob started working with alcoholics at Akron's City Hospital. One patient, who soon achieved sobriety, joined them and together, the three men formed the foundation of what would later become known as Alcoholics Anonymous.

In late 1935, a new group of alcoholics began forming in New York, followed by another in Cleveland in 1939. Over the course of four years, these three initial groups helped around 100 people achieve sobriety. In early 1939, the fellowship published its foundational text, ''Alcoholics Anonymous'', which outlined AA's philosophy; introduced the Twelve Steps; and included the case histories of 30 individuals who had achieved recovery. The Twelve Steps were influenced by the Oxford Group's six steps and various readings, including William James's ''The Varieties of Religious Experience''. This publication marked a significant milestone in AA's development.

The first meeting outside the Oxford Group was held at Dr. Bob's house with 80 members in attendance. Dr. Bob began the meeting in his dining room by identifying himself as an alcoholic, and placing his foot on the dining room table, read the Sermon on the Mount from the Gospel of Matthew.

The first female member, Florence Rankin, joined AA in March 1937, and the first non-Protestant member, a Roman Catholic, joined in 1939. The first Black AA group commenced in 1945 in Washington, D.C., founded by Jim S., an African-American physician from Virginia.

The Alcoholic Foundation

In 1938, Dr. Bob and Bill created The Alcoholic Foundation in New York, bringing in friends of John D. Rockefeller Jr. as board members. Although they sought to raise significant funds, Rockefeller advised that large contributions might jeopardize the Fellowship. The foundation opened a small office in New York, funded primarily by AA members, to handle inquiries and distribute the Alcoholics Anonymous book. The next year, Rockefeller organized a dinner to promote AA, which further increased the number of inquiries. The office became effective. Each request received a personal reply and a pamphlet, enhancing interest in the book. Consequently, many new AA groups were established, and by the end of 1940, membership had grown to 2,000.

Media coverage leads to expansion

In 1939, media coverage, particularly from '' The Cleveland Plain Dealer'', generated a surge of interest and requests for help. The Cleveland group, although small, successfully assisted many alcoholics, quickly growing from 20 to around 500 members. A subsequent article in ''Liberty'' magazine resulted in a flood of requests for assistance, further expanding AA's reach. In 1941, ''The Saturday Evening Post'' published an article about AA, sparking a surge in inquires, and AA membership tripled over the next year.Jack Alexander (1 March 1941).
Alcoholics Anonymous
" ''Saturday Evening Post'', 22 December 2015, Post Perspective. Retrieved 10 December 2022 AA-related interviews on American radio and favorable articles in US magazines led to increased book sales and membership.

As the growing fellowship faced disputes over structure, purpose, authority, and publicity, Bill W. began promoting the Twelve Traditions. He first introduced his ideas on these in an April 1946 article for ''The Grapevine'', titled "Twelve Suggested Points for AA Tradition", aiming to preserve the organization's unity and purpose as AA expanded. He described the input he received as a "welter of exciting and fearsome experience" which greatly influenced the development of the Traditions. From December 1947 to November 1948, ''The Grapevine'' published the Traditions individually, and in 1950, the First International Convention in Cleveland officially adopted them.

Creation of the General Service Conference (GSC)

In 1951, AA's headquarters in New York expanded its activities, including public relations, support for new groups, services to hospitals and prisons, and cooperation with agencies in the field of alcoholism. It also published standard AA literature and oversaw translations, while the ''AA Grapevine'' gained substantial circulation. Despite these essential services, they were managed by a disconnected board of trustees, primarily linked to Bill and Dr. Bob.

Recognizing the need for accountability, delegates from across the US and Canada were convened, leading to the first meeting of the AA General Service Conference in 1951. This successful gathering established direct oversight of AA's trusteeship by the fellowship itself, ensuring the organization's future governance. At the 1955 conference in St. Louis, Missouri, Bill W. relinquished stewardship of AA to the General Service Conference, as AA had grown to millions of members internationally.

International expansion

The World Service Meeting (WSM), established in 1969, is a biennial international forum at which AA delegates from around the world exchange ideas and experiences about carrying the message of recovery. Held in various cities around the world, the WSM focuses on sharing strategies to help alcoholics in different countries and languages.

Today, AA is present in approximately 180 nations worldwide. By 2018, AA had 2,087,840 members and 120,300 AA groups worldwide. There are AA meetings in Beijing, China.

In July 2024, AA launched its first UK-wide advertising campaign with a unique approach—no logos, phone numbers, or links—focusing on subtle messaging like "You Are Not Alone" and "Alcohol Isn't the Answer". The campaign, created b
The Raised Eyebrow Society
aims to attract people struggling with alcohol without violating AA's principles of anonymity and non-promotion.

AA will celebrate its 100th anniversary meeting in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 2035. The international convention is anticipated to attract tens of thousands of attendees to the Indiana Convention Center and Lucas Oil Stadium.

AA literature

Alcoholics Anonymous publishes several books, reports, pamphlets, and other media, including a periodical known as the ''AA Grapevine''.A WorldCat search for materials authored b
Alcoholics Anonymous
and more specific divisions of the organization
AA GrapevineWorld ServicesGeneral Service ConferenceWorld Service Meeting
yields well over 500 results. Two books are used primarily: ''Alcoholics Anonymous'' (the "Big Book") and, expounding on the big book in regard to its subject, '' Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions.'' As with all AA literature, the texts are freely available on AA.org.

The Big Book

In 1939, Bill W. and other members wrote the book initially titled ''Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How More than One Hundred Men Have Recovered from Alcoholism'', from which AA drew its name, informally known as the "Big Book". The second edition of the Big Book was released in 1955, the third in 1976, and the fourth in 2001. The first part of the book, which details the program, has remained largely intact since the 1939 edition, with minor statistical updates and edits. The second part contains personal stories that are updated with every edition to reflect current AA membership, resulting in earlier stories being removed—these were published separately in 2003 in the book ''Experience, Strength, and Hope''.''Experience, Strength and Hope: Stories from the First Three Editions of Alcoholics Anonymous'', New York: Alcoholics Anonymous, 2003, .

The Big Book suggests a twelve-step program in which members admit that they are powerless over alcohol and need help from a "higher power". It offers guidance and strength through prayer and meditation. It suggests that a member pray for guidance from God (or a higher power of one's own understanding); take a moral inventory with care to include resentments; list and become ready to remove character defects; list and make amends to those harmed; continue to take a moral inventory, pray, meditate, and try to help other alcoholics recover. The second half of the book, "Personal Stories" (subject to additions, removal, and retitling in subsequent editions), is made of AA members' redemptive autobiographical sketches.

Illness and allergy terminology

AA's Big Book calls alcoholism "an illness which only a spiritual experience will conquer". Ernest Kurtz says this is "The closest the book Alcoholics Anonymous comes to a definition of alcoholism". Somewhat divergently in his introduction to The Big Book, non-member and early benefactor William Silkworth said those unable to moderate their drinking suffer from an allergy. In presenting the doctor's postulate, AA said, "The doctor's theory that we have an allergy to alcohol interests us. As laymen, our opinion as to its soundness may, of course, mean little. But as ex-problem drinkers, we can say that his explanation makes good sense. It explains many things for which we cannot otherwise account".''Alcoholics Anonymous'' page xxx AA later acknowledged that "alcoholism is not a true allergy, the experts now inform us".

''Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions''

The " Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions" is a book published in 1953 that serves as a key text for AA. Written by AA co-founder Bill W., it provides detailed explanations of the Twelve Steps and the Twelve Traditions. The book is commonly used in AA meetings and individual study, offering a framework for understanding the organization's approach to recovery and community. The story of Eddie Rickenbacker

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