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THE PHENOMENON OF GAINING SOBRIETY THROUGH MEMBERSHIP IN ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS TOM A. SAMUEL B. Ed .. University of Alberta. 1973 O. H. S. A., University of Alberta, 1984 Submitted to the faculty of Education or the University of Lethbridge in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Degree MASTER OF EDUCATIO~ LETHBRIDGE, ALBERTA March 2007 Dedication "These are not my people, no, no! These are not my people, And it looks like the end, my friend." -Joe South, 1960s This manuscript is dedicated to the "army of people that it took to sober me up."-to the front line "soldiers": Nic, Evelyn, Theresa, my unofficial sponsor, Dr. Don M., and my best friend of thirty-six years, Beth. To the current mainstays of my sobriety, "Bill" and "Bob", whose stories express so much that I cannot. It is dedicated to all the soldiers in all the armies of sobriety. 111 Abstract This project is devoted to explaining the phenomenon of gaining sobriety through membership in Alcoholics Anonymous. While there are many ways in which a person can achieve freedom from an alcohol addiction, by far the predominant tool in North American society is Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). Historically the alcoholism treatment system and AA developed simultaneous and symbiotically. In other parts of the world AA came later, and is being viewed suspiciously by some, antagonistically by others and cooperatively by many. AA is growing exponentially in Europe and Asia and continues to grow significantly in North America. AA would not be what it is today without the alcoholism treatment industry, and the alcoholism treatment industry would not be the same without AA's influence. This study uses four sources to provide a partial exposition of the how and why AA works for some, but not for others: (1) the alcoholism literature, (2) the story of Tom, an alcoholic who gained sobriety primarily through treatment resources maintained it through work as an addictions counsellor, (3) the story of Bill whose initial sobriety came from both treatment resources and AA, and (4) the story of Bob whose initial sobriety came from intense immersion in AA. The three stories provide a rich source for reflection on the process of achieving sobriety, supplemented by the author's comments. The results of the study indicate a number of common features: (1) a life centered on alcohol, (2) a later awareness of drinking patterns other than their own. (3) feelings of uniqueness and aloneness. (4) loss of control, over both life and alcohol use, (5) the tendency to exaggerate drinking experiences in an effort to fit into AA, (6) a basic IV knowledge of organized religion, (7) the influence of friendship both before and after sobriety, and (8) the significance of helping others. The study notes that there are specific general areas common to most members who choose to maintain AA affiliation for life: (1) spirituality, (2) affiliation, and (3) a program of living. The intriguing question is whether cultural universals of AA will emerge as world wide AA continues to grow and is researched. v Acknowledgements To my pminer Beth, who must have felt like the spouse of a "practicing" alcoholic on so many of those weekends she spent alone while I worked on this degree. Thank you to Michael, Cynthia, and Dr. Gary Nixon for their devotion and patience as I struggled through new learnings. Finally, a sincere thank you goes to "Bill" and "Bob" for their words of encouragement and their invaluable input into the project. VI Table of Contents Dedication ....................................................................................... iii Abstract. ......................................................................................... iv Acknovvledgements ............................................................................. vi Table of Contents ............................................................................... ix Introduction ....................................................................................... 1 Alcoholics Anonymous-Research .................................................. 1 The Project. ............................................................................. 2 AA Research ...................................................................................... 5 Disease Concept ......................................................................... 5 E. M. lellinek ................................................................... 6 One criticism of the disease concept-Charles Bufe ...................... 7 Another concern-Heather and Robertson ................................. 8 Theory and Explanation ................................................................ 9 The Challenge of AA Research-Governance ...................................... 10 Recent Trends in AA Research ........................................................ 14 Effectiveness .................................................................... 14 Separate from the treatment system ......................................... 15 The study of AA is a gro\\1h industry ....................................... 17 Trend to qualitative work ..................................................... 17 Alcoholics Anonymous-the Phenomenon ................................................... 18 D~linition ................................................................................. 18 Fello\vship ................................................................................ 19 The nleeting ...................................................................... 19 Aniliation ........................................................................ 19 Extra-m~eting activities and sponsorship .................................... 21 Accul turation .................................................................... 21 Twelve-Stepping ............................................................... 22 l'hc AA Progranl ......................................................................... 23 Step One .......................................................................... 24 Step Two .......................................................................... 25 Step Three ........................................................................ 25 Step Four. ......................................................................... 26 Step Five .......................................................................... 27 Step Six ............................................................................ 27 Step Seven ........................................................................ 28 Step Eight ........................................................................ 28 Step Nine ......................................................................... 29 Step Ten .......................................................................... 29 Step Eleven ...................................................................... 30 Step Twelve ..................................................................... 30 Spirituality ................................................................................ 32 Spiritual awakening ............................................................ 33 Faith .............................................................................. 34 VII The Study ........................................................................................... 37 Qualitative Research ...................................................................... 37 Phenomenology .................................................................. 38 Hermeneutics ..................................................................... 38 Ethnography ...................................................................... 39 Grounded theory ............................................................... .. 040 Usefulness of the Study ....................................... ........................... 040 A combination of methodologies ................................................ 43 Ethical Considerations ................................................................. .. 043 Personal Considerations ................................................................ .. AS Paliicipants .................................................................................. 45 The Study Questions ................... , ................................................. 047 The Stories .......................................................................................... 50 My Story .................................................................................... 50 Comments on My Story .......................................................... 64 Bill's Story ................................................................................. 67 Comments on Bill's Story ........................................................ 85 Bob's Story ................................................................................. 87 Comments on Bob's Story ...................................................... 116 Conclusions ......................................................................................... 120 General Discussion of the Stories ...................................................... 120 Life centered on alcohol ......................................................... 120 Awareness of ditTerent drinking patterns .................................... 121 Feelings of uniqueness and aloneness ........................................ 121 Loss of control ...................................................................