The Real AA: Behind the Myth of 12-Step Recovery [Paperback]

Ken Ragge (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1998

The Real AA is the result of Ken Ragge's journey through AA and its for-profit institutional variants. The book covers virtually all aspects of AA and the traditional treatment system: the disease theory of alcohol abuse; AA's origins and development; AA's ideology and indoctrination process; and AA's institutional forms. An invaluable resource to alcohol abusers, their friends, and their families.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: See Sharp Press (April 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1884365140
• ISBN-13: 978-1884365140
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,198,170 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, a bit of truth...., January 14, 2008

By 

Matthew S. Bland (Morro Bay, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Real AA: Behind the Myth of 12-Step Recovery (Paperback)

This is my first Amazon review, but I thought it was important to add my name to the list of people who have been greatly helped by this book. Particularly, I appreciated his willingness to discuss the emotional nature of addiction, and some of the ways that nature develops in us as children. I was forced into the 12-steps at the age of 13, by parents who were coached by the so-called experts in the field. I was "sober" for many years in A.A., but never found anything like lasting peace of mind. Never, in all the thousands of meetings I attended, did I hear any constructive discussion about the childhood roots addiction, and how the 12-steps could help me heal them. This book explains why. Now, 25 years later, and with the help of books like this, I have begun to untangle the emotional threads that led not only to my adolescent drug use, but to the deep unhappiness that plagued me in my adult life, even as a respected member of "the program."
If you are struggling with addiction, or have tried the 12-steps and continue to suffer mentally and emotionally, consider reading this book. It is not a quick-fix, but it may provide crucial information about yourself that you will never hear in A.A. I see that many people who are members of a 12-step program have left negative reviews for this book. It is revealing that these people are threatened by its message. I feel strongly that no person who is secure, and in a health place regarding their own addiction and themselves, would actively discourage people from thinking critically about anything. I think their obvious fear about this book speaks for itself. The ultimate goal is, as A.A. says, to be happy, joyous and free. This book has helped me take a welcome step in that direction. Best of luck to all of us.

32 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Antidote for America's 'Victims-R-Us' Mentality., June 12, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Real AA: Behind the Myth of 12-Step Recovery (Paperback)

Ken Ragge's done a good job of tackling one of the 20th century's sacred cows- AA. Maybe, he says, AA isn't efficient, benign, saintly and all the Good Things we've been supposing it is for the last 60 years. Like Ragge, I was a member of AA for many years and it helped me get off the booze. However, AA's not-so-subtle insistence that you 'keep coming back or you'll die, go mad or go to jail', its elevation of Older Sober Members to secular sainthood and many other seemingly innocuous traditions are culty if not exactly cult-like. I part company with Ragge on the extent to which AA is a Really Really Bad Thing, but there's no doubt he makes a convincing case for a re-examination of AA and the part it's played in the Victims-R-Us-isation of America. A very very interesting read.

57 of 73 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Is AA really a cult?, November 26, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Real AA: Behind the Myth of 12-Step Recovery (Paperback)

I am 25 years old and have already belonged to 2 cults(No, I'm not bragging). The first was the Unification Church aka the Moonies, the second was Alcoholics Anonymous. I'll try to explain briefly some of the similarities.

Before I get started, let me tell you a little about myself. I'm a lonely guy. I have always been an outcast, always felt unloved. There's nothing I wanted more than a family and a secure home where I would feel special and appreciated. When I joined the Moonies, I was told that all my problems were the result of not having the messiah(moon) in my life, and that once I joined and started serving Moon, I would be happy. This worked for a little while, until some point I realized that they answered every question with the same answer "just believe in true parents(moon & his wife)" or something to that effect. I also noticed that some members were in pain emotionally, but they believed this pain was part of their "fallen nature" and that they probably weren't doing enough for Moon. They managed to keep smiling, but if you watched them long enough you would find frequent sighs and looks of despair. I was told that if I left the Moonies that I would be rejecting the Messiah, and that I would be miserable. The sad thing is I believed them. I did leave, but it took a long time for me to understand exactly what had happened. I thought I was through with cults, until...

A few years ago I was going through a lot of pain over the breakup of a relationship. I chose to ignore it and drink. I drank pretty heavily for a while, almost every night and almost always till I passed out. I knew that I needed help and was told about AA. I started going to meetings and was immediately told to get a sponsor, make 90 meetings in 90 days, and to start reading the big book. And once again, just like the Moonie experience, it did work for a while. Until one day I realized that they labeled everything they had ever done wrong as being the result of their diseased alcoholic thinking, even the things they did before they ever picked up a drink! I started to realize what a B.S. concept it was, to oversimply every little thing down to this one tiny "fact": that we're alcoholics. OK, so the resentment I was feeling toward my parents wasn't the result of abuse, but rather an alcoholic character defect, and that as long as I worked the steps, it would go away. I was also told that if I ever left the program, that I will most likely drink again, and even if I don't I'll just be a miserable dry drunk. I realized at that moment that this was the exact same thing the Moonies had told me ("if you leave the church you are rejecting the Messiah and will be miserable.") I began seeing the connections. The Moonies assigned me a "spiritual father" to guide me on the path to serving Moon, AA gave me a "sponsor" to show me how to work the steps. The Moonies had 1000s of members who always had these phony smiles on their faces and believed that what they were doing was the right thing in Gods eyes and that other religions were wrong, AA had the same thing. The similarities don't stop there, but I think I've said enough.

In both instances when I joined these groups I was experiencing personal lows and very vulnerable. In both cases I was very lonely and needed someone to be with. I've come to the conclusion that there are a lot of lonely people in this world, and thats why these groups will probably keep going. We all want to feel loved and accepted, and we all want to do the "right thing." Thats what these groups provide for their followers. I'm not saying that the people in these groups are bad, even the best of us can fall prey to these things. The next time you watch a news program, I want you to consider the possibility that everything you're watching is false. That whats really happening in the world, and whats in front of you are 2 very different things. It may seem like I'm going off on some crazy tangent, but I'm just trying to prove how easy it can be to manipulate people. I have compassion.

I like so many have used alcohol as an escape. I don't know if I'm an alcoholic, I'm not even sure what the word means anymore. I've come to the conclusion that I'm a lot happier and healthier staying sober. Today I practice Buddhism ALONE. I love everything about it and wish I could share my enthusiasm with others, but at this point I'm through with organized religion.

Remember, you CAN stop drinking AND be happy AND be spiritual without AA.

~Willie J