The Akron Manual.

[Tazman53]

For those of you who have not seen this before here is the link The Akron Manual

This was printed in 1940, it is an excellent read and sums up AA.

So many things written in 1940 are still around today, AA has changed some, but the heart and soul, the nuts and bolts of it remain the same, in reading this I kind of wish I had been one of the folks that got sober in that era.

[Jfanagle]

A very close friend of mine in the fellowship got sober in Akron in 1971. He is a diehard "as it was" kind of AA member. I have watched him "rub" some folks wrong with his strident views, but 37 years sober does carry some weight. His grand sponsor, IE. (his sponsor's sponsor) was sponsored by Dr. Bob.

Alcoholism is as we all know a very serious problem, and Dave's views are just as serious. Each of us has to find our own way, but to dismiss the old timers as out of date may be a serious mistake. I know that my life and sobriety has been better for knowing this man.

Jon

[Tazman53]

Jon I would be among the last to say the old timers are out of date, there not.My sponsor is old school, he got sober over 19 years ago, his sponsor when he got sober was old school then, we worked straight from the book, I do the same with my sponsee's. The differences I saw between today and then is mainly in how newcomers find AA more then anything, it is pretty unusual (in my area) for a hospital to admit someone into detox at the request of an AA person. I know we have members who go to jails, institutions, prisons, rehabs and detoxes to share the message with groups, but not to individuals like they used to. Today most folks walk into the rooms rather then being brought in by another member.

[Astro]

I think I posted that link last year Taz, thank you for putting it out there again as it's an excellent read.

Kinda funny, but a few years ago when I chaired my first newcomers meeting I strayed from the format and read some of the Akron Manual, thinking it would be a refreshing change from what we normally read.

After the meeting a few of the "senior" members slammed me for not following the format. They felt the material was too harsh and not compassionate enough for the newcomers of today. It wasn't my intention to scare anyone off, I just thought it'd be fun to do a "then and now" type of preamble to the meeting. So like Jon shared, the strident views presented in the Akron Manual rubbed a few people the wrong way.

I've printed up the manual and re-read it often. It's a great reminder of the roots and beginnings of the program, and it fills me with gratitude to look back at the work that continues to save my life on a daily basis.

[gravity]

Thanks Taz. This is excellent reading. For me, something like this would have been an excellent introduction to AA – explains the step work, the role of a sponsor, and practical advice for early sobriety.

It also helped me gain a better understanding of some of the critical aspects of the program. In particular, I have been having some difficulty understanding the “selfish motive” for sobering up. Why can’t I sober up to keep my family intact? Why can’t I sober up to keep my job, to do a better job, to clear up the past problems caused by my drinking? I now understand that this is using fear as motivation and that this fear will diminish as time passes and my situation stabilizes. Looking back, this happened over and over in my drinking history with the now obvious result that sobriety was only short lived.



Quote from THE AKRON MANUAL - 1940:

"A.A. is not interested in alcoholics who want to sober up merely to go on another bender, sober up because of fear for their jobs, their wives, their social standing, or to clear up some trouble either real or imaginary. In other words, if a person is genuinely sincere in his desire for continued sobriety for his own good, is convinced in his heart that alcohol holds him in its power, and is willing to admit that he is an alcoholic, members of Alcoholics Anonymous will do all in their power, spend days of their time to guide him to a new, a happy, and a contented way of life.

It is utterly essential for the newcomer to say to himself sincerely and without any reservation, "I am doing this for myself and myself alone." Experience has proved in hundreds of cases that unless an alcoholic is sobering up for a purely personal and selfish motive, he will not remain sober for any great length of time. He may remain sober for a few weeks or a few months, but the moment the motivating element, usually fear of some sort, disappears, so disappears sobriety."