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Rating: 
Summary: It works
Review: I have plenty of issues, to be sure, but substance abuse is not among them. So I can't tell you if this book can help you stop drinking. I can tell you that the 11 of the 12 steps that don't directly address alcohol strike me as little short of a godsend in the struggle against whatever particular thing is screwing up your life.Now, it's a statistically demonstrable fact that AA doesn't work for everyone. (Although how many people who leave can honestly say they've worked the Steps to the best of their ability?) But it sure seems to be the best treatment for alcoholism that anyone has come up with so far.
Rating: 
Summary: 12x12 confusion
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Worth Reading Several Times: A Short Summary
Review: In addition to the Big Book, I have found this small book tremendously helpful as it reminds me about the key teachings in both the 12 Steps and the 12 Traditions. I use this book as I prepare to lead Serenity Groups meetings (visit SerenityGroups.org). In "Prayer Steps to Serenity," avaiiable at Amazon.com ISBN 0595313043, the 12 Steps are the same, but the 12 Traditions are different, primarily because "Prayer Steps to Serenity" encourages support groups to be more inclusive as they follow the 12 Steps.
Rating:
Summary: I Agree With Brian
Review: 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...
Rating:
Summary: An important part of a life-saving tool kit
Review: One way to confront a problem with alcohol is to get to an Alcholics Anonymous meeting, get a sponsor, work through the "Big Book" & read this book, probably in that order.
The "12 & 12" offers insight into the 12 Steps beyond that found in the Big Book. It's thought-provoking & helpful for anyone in recovery.
At heart, some may come to realize that they're confronting as much a living problem as an alcohol problem & that the Steps (11 of which do not mention booze) offer a better way of life.
AA is not the only way to recover, but it has proven effective for millions around the world facing a problem with a high relapse rate & lousy prognosis. Anyone who's reached their wit's end with alcohol will find help in AA. The program has no religious requirement, & its members do not tell anyone what to believe. They only suggest a person be willing to believe in a power greater than themself, a god of their understanding. For all anyone cares, this could be a pet dog, as long as it's something to remove the notion that the person is at the center of the universe.
AA has been successful for decades, it is the model for all other 12 Step programs & it is the foundation of much recovery. The program helps members who follow the 12 Steps to restore their self-worth through practicing integrity. It encourages members to let go of self-pity about perceived wrongs done them, accept responsibility for their own lives, acknowledge their pasts & (& this is key) move on. Above all, it encourages living in the present rather than in the past or the future ... thus increasing the odds that one will actually live.
This book is one outstanding part of an arsenal available to alcoholics who want to see their disease go into remission. For anyone who finds the program not to their taste, a return to drinking is always an option.
Rating:
Summary: 12x12 confusion
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: The best for *continued* study of the Steps
Review: This book, called the 12 & 12 around here, is the best available source for studying the Steps in more detail. Of course, the Big Book ("Alcoholics Anonymous") is the place to start and it contains the program of action required to attain and maintain sobriety. What I have found to be an effective way to work the Steps is to use the 12&12 as a reference as I go along, with the Big Book as my primary text, and discussing all of this with a sponsor (an alcoholic who has made some progress working the Steps who shares his/her experience, strength, and hope with a newcomer on an ongoing basis). Some have found it possible to get sober using just the book(s) and/or meetings, but my observation is that most of these people end up working the Steps in a confused way, or worse, don't really work them at all. Sobriety is about a new way of life free of alcohol, and this life is meant to be happy, joyous and free, not merely "dry" and miserable. The best way to achieve this is to get a sponsor and make use of that sponsor, which will likely involve reading these books and considerable other action as well. See you at a meeting!
Rating:
Summary: A lifelong lifeline to recovery
Review: Who could have predicted that a couple of near-lost alcoholics in the 1930's would lay the spiritual foundation for recovery from the hell (no exaggeration) of alcoholism and, later, other mind-bending drugs? But Bill W. and Dr. Bob did and, some 70 years later, literally millions of sufferers worldwide have taken to "the program" heart and soul and have found the simple serenity of sobriety. Affectionately called The Big Book by "members" of the AA fellowship and those in other self-help programs inspired by the AA prototype, anything and everything that the addict who's become sick and tired of being sick and tired is here, and recovery is for the taking. With a spiritual (not religious) cornerstone as the foundation, we come to understand why we must put ourselves in the hands of the god of our understanding, why contact with Him daily is an essential lifeline and how we keep the privilege of sobriety by going into service for the addict who stills suffer. AA's 12 steps don't demand a recovery program as prescribed by someone else and recognizes that what works in recovery for one person may not work for another. Thus, the miracle! The diligent program of recovery - and it's wise to practice the 12 steps daily - is backed by the 12 "traditions" of the fellowship that explain why each of the 12 steps is mandatory for survival itself. In a press interview shortly before his death, Bill W. was asked how AA works. "Pretty good. Thanks for asking," was his answer. And that's the miracle and grace of the program and its fellowship. The individual's recovery program is unique to him and of his own making. To those still suffering with active addiction, their families, children and others impacted by the addict's sickness, this book is the lifeline. Grab it!
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