Originally Posted by
sfgirl 
This is not to knock AA either. Both can concurrently exist. It is a both/and statement. That is what irks me most. It isn't like, "I got sober outside of AA so AA is no longer valid." No, people get good, solid sobriety outside of AA. People get good, solid sobriety in AA. Conversely some people cannot get sober outside of AA. And some people cannot get sober in AA.
I agree with all of this, sfgirl, except the part I bolded. I work with a lot of newcomers, and I'm pretty in the loop when a new guy comes in. Those that work the steps thoroughly do recover with almost no exceptions. I can't speak with any authority at all on those that stay sober without being in AA. I have little opportunity to be around them. But, AA is a little microcosm of the recovery population. I get to observe people at all points along the spectrum in that small world. Those that work the steps recover. Those that hang around and try to stay sober on their own,
even while showing up for meetings, tend to hang around for a few months or a year, and disappear. Then they show up again a year later.
Please don't take this is a defense of AA. I have no need to defend it. If someone finds that they just can't stay sober doing what they are doing, or they've exhausted all their options, or they are just plain miserable being sober, AA offers a solution that will work for them.
I find serious joy and a revolutionary change in my approach to life by living by those AA principles. I believe that same thing is available to anyone who sincerely wants it and is willing to work for it. It doesn't mean you can't find it outside of AA. It just means that
if you can't find it, AA has a solution.