Doug39

Can a person recover completely and be a contributing member of AA without following the 12 steps exactly by the book?

I will admit that I am going through the steps in a half-assed manner. I sorta had a sponsor but I haven't talk to him for awhile and now I am talking to a "temporary online sponsor".

I don't know if I can confess all of the stuff I should to another person in Step Five and some of the people I should make amends to might not understand - especially my parents who are near 80 years old. I don't want to worry them with my alcoholism.

I get a lot out of the AA meetings that I attend - I am going 6 to 7 times a week and I always participate in discussions. I also plan to volunteer at the Cleveland, Ohio AA headquarters. I have met many good people that have helped me.

I know many people here don't do AA, but to the people that do, can a person be a productive part of AA even though they don't follow the Big Book and 12 steps to a tee?