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Title: 12-Step Horror Stories: True Tales of Misery, Betrayal, and Abuse in AA, NA, and 12-Step Treatment by Rebecca Fransway ISBN: 1-884365-24-8 Publisher: See Sharp Press Pub. Date: 01 June, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.4 (35 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Glad to see a book like this...
Comment: I'm glad to see this book, although I think it will be a long time - if ever - before society at large really listens and understands what happens in the "rooms." It's sort of frightening to read some of the reviews by 12-steppers here and remember what it was like to live that way, to BE one of those people. I spent nearly 5 years of my life in those programs. I was young and vulnerable, and I swallowed their slogans and their disease theory for far too long... I only wish that this book had been around back then. I really thought if I left I would be back "out there," and everything that comes along with it. Nearly 5 years after leaving I see those programs for what they really are and I'm just grateful I didn't stay longer. Life is good.
Rating: 1
Summary: Get a load of the picture on the cover...LOL!!!
Comment: Click on the book and look at that cover!!
I love it... it kinda lets you know where the author is coming from.
I see these people in meetings all the time, they come to AA and want a diff way of life.....but they are not willing to do the work, and when they slip they automatically blame AA...Laughable, but sad.
So lets clear it up right now.....AA is an accurate cross section of society and not everybody is a saint, it's like that everywhere...work, home, church,etc.
But you will find WHATEVER you are looking for...if you are looking for the best way to get over drinking and a way of life you never imagined, it's here.....if you are looking for excuses to continue drinking, you'll find that too....Nobody can rationalize like an Alcoholic.
I'd like to see a follow-up on these people, I would bet that they either are worse off than they ever imagined or they have come back to AA ( They usually do) with a differant attitude and are reaping the benifits of a spiritual way of life, giving freely of themselves and leading a fufilling life being of service to others.
The reality is that AA has helped over 3 million HOPELESS alcoholics recover from this disease.
We're here if you want help, but if you are not willing to do the work and are looking for excuses, we urge you to go out and try it on your own...if you make it our hats are off to you...if not ....you know where we are.
Rating: 5
Summary: Don't shoot the messengers--it's time to listen.
Comment: I wish this book had been on my local bookseller's shelves years ago. It would have given me the courage to get out of AA much sooner.
I was an AA member from early 1989 until mid-1993, and during that time I saw firsthand or heard reliable accounts of just about every form of nastiness described in this book--and more. I saw old-timers treat newcomers like dirt, "13th step" the most vulnerable new members, and exploit their "sponsees" in myriad ways. People with depressive, bipolar or anxiety disorders were discouraged from taking "mind-altering chemicals" and told to pray, work the steps, be grateful, and they would get better. Friends and acquaintances of mine committed suicide even after doing everything they were supposed to--working steps, going to meetings, talking to their sponsors, praying. People in pain due to life crises (divorce, deaths, cancer, rape) were offered "help" in the form of canned slogans and recovery jargon that was all too often inadequate, inappropriate, or even counterproductive and hurtful.
Yes, there are good people in AA, and yes, there are success stories. But there are also a lot of manipulative, deceptive, narcissistic, and downright crazy people in the program. The unwillingness of good people to openly pass judgment--much less act on it--means they can get away with abuse and exploitation of more vulnerable members. Many of the contributors to "12-Step Horror Stories" describe not only their experiences at the hands of these people, but also the ways AA rhetoric is used to make the victims accept guilt and blame. If you're raped by a fellow AA member, it must have been your fault--"look at your part in it," you'll be told. Don't believe it? Maybe it's time to pick up a copy of this book and read it.
The people who gave this book one star are probably all AA members (the use of recovery jargon gives most of them away). Having been "born again," in a sense, they act like any other religious zealots would by trying to discredit critics and dissenters, silence those who do not present the "correct" image, and place blame on the victims while upholding the structures that enabled their victimization.
AA members who speak out against or question the tenets of "recovery" find themselves faced with harsh criticism from other members, and even suggestions that they may be headed toward another drunk. It's just not allowed, and to break away and speak critically of AA and what happens among its members means having to withstand nasty comments, threats, slander and outright harassment. The people who contributed their stories to this book need to be heard and taken seriously--they raise important issues for anyone trying to break free from addiction, who cares for someone who is, or who works in the "treatment" industry.
Over ten years ago, I left AA for many reasons--its theories of addiction and recovery were logically indefensible, I was unable to summon the quasi-religious faith required, and after dealing with the sick social dynamics long enough I couldn't cope with it anymore. After reading Stanton Peele's "The Truth About Addiction and Recovery" and thinking long and hard about why I drank, I decided to try social drinking. Ten years later, it's still working. As happy as I am to see critiques of AA now in print, I would love to see a similar collection of stories by former alcoholics who got over the AA brainwashing and actually *recovered* (whether they choose to drink or not)...
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Title: Resisting 12-Step Coercion: How to Fight Forced Participation in Aa, Na, or 12-Step Treatment by Stanton Peele, Charles Bufe, Archie Brodsky ISBN: 1884365175 Publisher: See Sharp Press Pub. Date: March, 2000 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Powerfully Recovered! A Confirmed 12 Stepper Challenges the Movement by Anne Wayman ISBN: 1581128762 Publisher: Upublish.com Pub. Date: February, 2001 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: Alcoholics Anonymous: Cult or Cure? by Charles Bufe, Stanton Peele ISBN: 1884365124 Publisher: See Sharp Press Pub. Date: February, 1998 List Price(USD): $11.95 |
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Title: Truth About Addiction and Recovery by Stanton Peele ISBN: 0671755307 Publisher: Fireside Pub. Date: 15 March, 1992 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: The Small Book by Jack Trimpey ISBN: 0440507251 Publisher: Dell Pub. Date: 02 December, 1995 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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