12-Step Recovery Programs

Alcoholics Anonymous

[Page 786]Prior to the formation and dissemination of AA, Americans with late-stage alcoholism had essentially three likely outcomes, none of them good. There were occasional exceptions, but the majority were doomed to repeated incarcerations or hospitalizations until they died of complications from alcoholism.

The 12 steps were developed by the earliest AA members as they worked to maintain sobriety. Bill W., a New York stockbroker and a chronic alcoholic, underwent a profound spiritual experience in 1934 while hospitalized for his alcoholism. He and his wife joined a nondenominational Protestant movement called the Oxford Group, which provided a source of spiritual support and opportunities to help others.

In the book Alcoholics Anonymous, Bill describes being in Akron, Ohio, and having a business venture fall through, and how much he wanted to lose himself in the alcohol and camaraderie of the bar. Instead, he called local churches, and was put in touch with Dr. Bob S., a surgeon and chronic alcoholic. In May 1935, Bill began to share the message of sobriety with Bob. By the end of 1937, Bill and Bob had worked with many alcoholics, and about 40 of them had two years of sobriety.

In 1938 they began writing Alcoholics Anonymous. Bill was the primary author, so it fell to him to write the program of recovery that was working for formerly hopeless alcoholics. The guiding concept was that alcoholics had a disease, and this program helped them get well. Bill began with six steps, inspired by the Oxford Group; with input and rewrites, these expanded to 12. The 12 Steps of AA are simply written, only 200 words long, yet encompass several major ideas considered central to recovery in AA. These include personal powerlessness over alcohol, reliance on a power greater than oneself, self-examination, amends to those harmed, ongoing spiritual practice, and service in the form of sharing one's experience with others similarly afflicted.

Sales of Alcoholics Anonymous remained slow until a famed article about AA, written by Jack Alexander and appearing in the Saturday Evening Post, put AA on the map. By 1950, the groups were holding their first International Convention, and the 12 Traditions were formally adopted. The Traditions express another set of AA guidelines, this time for AA groups rather than individual members. The Traditions emphasize common welfare, guidance of each group by a higher power, singleness of purpose, nonassociation with other entities, servant leadership, and public anonymity. Growth continued; in 2006, AA reported over 106,000 groups and nearly 1.9 million members worldwide.

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