A shocking and revealing exposé of AA and the 12 steps.  A book that you'll want to read under your blanket with a flashlight. (Shhh! Don't let your sponsor find out! )

If you or a loved one have been unsuccessful in AA, if you sit in meetings feeling that you just don't "get it",  Ragge's THE REAL AA: BEHIND THE MYTH OF 12-STEP RECOVERY can clear up a lot of confusion. 

 "There is much within the Twelve Steps that leads to severe emotional problems, including suicidal depression." Ragge summarizes one study in particular as follows: "It was found that the longer a patient was in the program, the higher he scored on responses (to psychological tests) indicating defeat, guilt, and fear. Perhaps most important, as the patients became more indoctrinated into AA, their self-concepts became progressively more negative than when they first sought help for their drinking problems."

Professionals should definitely read THE REAL AA: BEHIND THE MYTH OF 12-STEP RECOVERY before routinely sending clients to such groups. 

Aren't convinced that addiction is a disease? Neither is Schaler. "Addiction is a Choice" is a fascinating work which casts serious doubt on the addiction as disease argument. Schaler argues convincingly that the disease theory was invented to serve the interest of the medical establishment and our governing bodies. Quoting directly from the back cover: "Instead of Looking at drug addiction as a disease, Dr. Schaler proposes that we view it as willful commitment or dedication, akin to joining a religion or pursuing a romantic involvement. While heavy consumption of drugs is often foolish and self-destructive, It is a matter of personal choice."

Without denying the physiological impact of drugs (caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine included), Schaler counters with concrete evidence that human choice is the controlling factor in all of our activities. Schaler points to the fact that drug users can and often do make the choice to quit. This book provides great intellectual ammunition in support of people's autonomy and first amendment rights. "I disagree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.".

DeSena's comprehensive book offers suggestions for quitting drugs, drink as well as recovery programs which can turn into a subsitute addiction. DeSena unmasks AA and exposes their shenanigans, allowing former participants to overcome the self-defeating beliefs that they have come to internalize in the course of their "recovery". (powerlessness, jails, insitutions or death, disease doing pushups, etc.)

Futhermore, alternative recovery methods are offered and discussed, creating hope for those who don't find comfort within 12-step programs. Another fine book which should be included in every drug rehab library in the nation.

The official bedtime story book for 12 step members. A collection of true tales of suffering endured by step group participants at the hands of sponsors, stepper gurus, fellow members and treatment providers. Makes a great gift for hardliners who insist: "It works if you work it" by cleverly responding... "...unless of course your program, group, sponsor or treatment provider is sicker than you are!"

Book will ship in June of 2000, but may be ordered early.

A how-to handbook for individuals who are coerced into 12-step addiction treatment and groups and wish to fight said coercion. It examines and refutes the disease concept of alcoholism/addiction; describes the many ways in which individuals are coerced into 12-step programs; analyzes the effectiveness (or lack thereof) of 12-step programs; describes alternate treatments that are effective; demonstrates the many ways in which AA, NA, and treatment based on them are religious in nature; reviews court decisions that have held that AA, NA, and 12-step treatment are religious, and that government coercion of individuals into them violates the First Amendment's "Establishment Clause"; analyzes how 12-step treatment providers routinely violate standard medical ethics, especially the principle of "informed consent"; and presents case studies of such violations.

If you still think that inner city blacks, passive and dependent women, confused teenagers, devout Muslims and the like can all recover equally well using AA's program, you might want to hear what Charlotte Kasl has to say. As a woman, this excellent book would have saved me five years of suffering if I had found it in early recovery.  Charlotte helps us look at the steps from a cultural perspective and helps us to see that certain individuals, especially those of oppressed groups will benefit more from adopting the empowerment model of recovery.

Charlotte D. Kasl is a social activist and a psychologist at the forefront of the empowerment movement sweeping the recovery field. 

A thorough history of the Oxford Group (the Christian influence behind AA). Learn more about that nice pie-baking Christian group before turning your brain over!

Bufe presents his plan in the Foreword: 1) to examine the genesis and development of AA; 2) to determine the relationship between AA and the Oxford Group Movement; 3) to explore the many "cult" charges against AA, in terms of their legitimacy (or lack of it); and 5) 'to analyze AA's program and structure with a view to distinguishing its strengths and weaknesses. He does all that, and more in a concise and thoroughly researched work.

Applying his "rational-emotive therapy" to alcoholism, the author offers alcoholics a down-to-earth alternative to AA that deals with the thoughts and emotions associated with addictive drinking.  

For the first time, the founder of rational-emotive therapy applies it to recovery from problem drinking. This remarkable self-help book tells how to apply rational-emotive therapy (RET) to the problem of alcoholism, overcome emotional disturbances, and bring about a profound philosophical change that will resolve addictive tendencies and often change lives. 

If AA demands rigorous honesty, why did they give Marianne such a hard time? Marianne arrived at AA much like many of us. She was suffering from not just one addictive behavior, but a multitude of them. She took the suggestions, worked the steps, got a sponsor, took commitments, but was left feeling less than whole. She describes in her own words, the process that led her from AA's fear-based model to the love-based model which ultimately produced the desired internal harmony needed to free herself of addictive behavior as well as a lifetime of meetings. Marianne gives us a gift - an honest story of a questioning soul who found that the best place the twelve steps could lead her is right out the door.

A nuts & bolts guide for those who prefer common sense to nonsense. THE official Rational Recovery Systems basic text. In Trimpey's own words.... "I wrote Rational Recovery: The New Cure for Substance Addiction (Pocket Books, 1996) to help addicted people who have not and cannot be helped by the 12-step program of Alcoholics Anonymous. Very few who actually recover from substance addictions do it by attending meetings, entering treatment centers, or getting counseling. The vast majority who look into Alcoholics Anonymous reject it out of hand because of its apparent religiosity and inbred social traditions. As they leave, they are warned that they will inevitably fail to remain abstinent and discover that, even if they abstain from alcohol and drugs, their lives will is hollow and barren without the saving grace of the 12-step experience. This book is about self-recovery, and brings hope to any reader who is first aware of a drinking or drug problem, or one who has tried other approaches and failed to remain consistently abstinent."

A classic work by the award wining clinician, researcher & addiction specialist Stanton Peele, in which he tackles the tough question of whether alcoholics, drug addicts, gamblers, codependents, etc. are suffering from a physiological disease which they cannot control. Absolutely not, says Dr. Stanton Peele, Ph.D! With Diseasing of America, Stanton Peele courageously debunks this theory by demonstrating conclusively that there is no "genetic marker" for addiction and no scientific evidence whatsoever that substance abuse and other compulsive addictions are medically based and should be treated as if the patient were a passive victim of biological fate. Peele points to the multi-million dollar treatment industry that sprang up in the 1970's and 80's as perpetuating the addiction as disease model, which fails on several counts. First Peele argues that "people are active agents in--not passive victims of--their addictions." He goes on to say that on a cultural level we cannot afford to buy into the victim syndrome and ignore personal accountability. Finally, Peele says standard medical treatments aren't effective in curing compulsive behavior. Treatment is too piecemeal, too costly, and too labor intensive, and it shows in the high relapse rates. Peele argues that environment, much more than biology, fosters addiction. His point is that disease labels obscure the true causes-and cures-for addiction and that medicalizing our personal and social problems is no solution to rising addiction rates.

A thorough comparative analysis of the various recovery options available for alcoholics and addicts. This groundbreaking book covers nearly every important question and controversy in the alcoholism field -- What is alcoholism? Is it a disease? Is it caused by nature (genetic predisposition) or nurture? Can "alcoholics" learn to drink socially? How effective is AA? Are there better alternatives to AA? What are these alternatives? Fox convincingly answers these and many other questions in this revolutionary and controversial book. An excellent starting point when choosing a plan of action.