Three Talks to Medical Societies by Bill W - Alcoholics Anonymous

[The speaker here summarized the size of
the Society in 1949 — approximately, 80,000 members
in 3,000 groups in thirty countries — and its
general composition.]
Of alcoholics who stay with us and really try, a
large percent get sober at once and stay that way;
others do so after some relapses; and still others
show improvement. But many problem drinkers
do quit A.A. after a brief contact, maybe three or
four out of five. Some are too psychopathic or
damaged. But the majority have powerful rationalizations
yet to be broken down. Exactly this does
happen providing they get what A.A. calls a “good
exposure” on first contact. Alcohol then builds
such a hot fire that they are finally driven back to
us, often years later. These tell us that they had to
return; it was A.A. or else. They had learned about
alcoholism from alcoholics; they were hit harder
than they had known. Such cases leave us the
agreeable impression that half our original exposures
will eventually return, most of them to
recover. So we just indoctrinate the newcomer.
We never evangelize; Barleycorn will look after
that. The clergy declare we have capitalized the
Devil. These claims are considerable but we think
them conservative. The ultimate recovery rate will
certainly be larger than once supposed.
Such is a glimpse of our origin, central therapeutic
idea, and quantity result. The qualitative result is
assuredly too large a subject for this paper.
Alcoholics Anonymous is not a religious organization;
there is no dogma. The one theological
proposition is a “Power greater than one’s self.”
Even this concept is forced on no one. The newcomer
merely immerses himself in our Society
and tries the program as best he can. Left alone,
he will surely report the gradual onset of a transforming
experience, call it what he may.
Observers once thought A.A. could appeal only
to the religiously susceptible. Yet our membership
includes a former member of the American
Atheist Society and about 20,000 others almost
as tough. The dying can become remarkably
open-minded. Of course we speak little of conversion
nowadays because so many people really
dread being God-bitten. But conversion, as
broadly described by James, does seem to be
our basic process; all other devices are but the
foundation. When one alcoholic works with
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