AA gets misunderstood a lot.
Some people treat it like a religion. Some people act like it's a cult. Some people dismiss it entirely because they had a bad experience.
The reality is a lot less dramatic.
AA was started by two guys who were sick of ending up in detox every time they drank. They got together and talked about what worked and what didn't. They stayed sober. Then they shared those ideas with other alcoholics. Some of those people stayed sober too. Some didn't. So they paid attention to that information as well and eventually threw it all into a book to try and help the next alcoholic who came along.
That's really it.
No parades. No secret handshakes. No perfect leaders. No claims that they had all the answers. Just alcoholics trying to help other alcoholics avoid the misery they knew so well.
Their attitude was pretty straightforward: Take it or leave it.
What have I learned from other alcoholics that I couldn't have learned by myself?
