50. Steps toward recovery from alcoholism are stressed in "Little Red Book"

By Tom O'Connell

"The barriers to success are ignorance of our illness, reservations, indifference, dishonesty and brain damage." These words are taken from "The Little Red Book" published by Hazelden. It's a brief and easy-to-read summary of the A.A. "Big Book."

The book notes, "Men and women who are allergic to alcohol and who compulsively persist in its use as a beverage eventually become sick from a unique illness....alcoholism....Drinkers of this type (uncontrolled) consider alcohol a physical requirement; they gradually increase its consumption at the expense of proper intake of nutritious foods. This practice induces physical and nervous disorders decidedly detrimental to their comfort and health."

Explaining the bondage of addictive disease, the little book says, "The alcoholic lives in compulsive slavery, as alcohol provides the only means he knows by which life is made bearable, or by which he can quiet his jittery nerves. Existence under such circumstances soon makes his life unmanageable."

How does such a person recover? The book says recovery is based on--

•     Having a sincere desire to stop drinking.

•     Admitting and believing in our innermost hearts that we are powerless over alcohol.

•     Looking upon alcoholism as a fatal and incurable illness involving the body, mind and spirit.

•     Considering ourselves as patients in A.A. for treatment.

•     Identifying alcohol as a poison rather than a beverage for us.

•     Making it our business to understand how alcohol affects us.

•     Realizing we are alcoholics.

•     Learning, practicing and having faith in the Twelve Steps of the A.A. program.

•     Believing that we can arrest our alcoholism, but that we can never drink normally again.

•     Gaining a layman's knowledge of alcoholism, insofar as it affects our health and well-being.

•     Using this knowledge and understanding of our illness not only to gain sobriety but to guard against the danger of a return to drinking.

•     Doing this partially by keeping in our minds a mental picture of the unmanageable life alcohol demands from us and our powerlessness over it.

The little book notes that "real alcoholics are sick from toxic poisoning acquired by substituting alcohol for food and rest. Physical health can be restored but no cure will permit us to become controlled drinkers." An alcoholic cannot return to drinking in safety.

To remain abstinent without "white knuckle" sobriety, regular A.A. meetings provide both continuing education and mutual support. "We live the A.A. program to develop normal, well-integrated personalities that exclude the use of the narcotic alcohol."

For your own education on alcoholism and recovery, get yourself a copy of "The Little Red Book," published by Hazelden, Center City, Missouri in 1957. It's still available by placing an order with your bookseller. You'll get 174 pages of powerful education.

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