Secular AA's Podcast

William Schaberg wrote Writing the Big Book: The Creation of Alcoholics Anonymous (2019) after over eleven years of primary documentary research. William reflects on the three things the research revealed that drastically altered his core beliefs about early AA:

1.     Bill Wilson was a fabulous storyteller and not a reliable source for accurate historical details. 

2.     No Hank Parkhurst—no book! Almost written out of AA history, Hank P had as much to do with the publication of Alcoholics Anonymous as anyone, including Bill Wilson. The influence on this little-known man reverberates in our 12-Step culture, today. 

3.     Akron AA had no interest and no creative input into the first 164 pages of the Big Book. Despite the story of the book being an ensemble effort of one-hundred AA members, it’s (the first 164 pages) is largely Bill W’s story. 

Season Two/Episode 3 of the Secular AA podcast focuses on facts vs. folklore about the creation of the Twelve Steps. Evidence shows that much of what we’ve heard, even from the author Bill Wilson is more artful, than accurate. 

The truth will set us free? You tell us. “More will be revealed,” in one hour and 15 minutes; it sure makes for an informative and riveting podcast. 

This recording is from the December 11, 2021 International Conference of Secular AA held on Zoom. 

Agnostic, Atheists, Freethinking, Humanist and Pagan AA’s have been coming together from around the world, starting in Santa Monica in 2014. We were in Austin in 2016, Toronto in 2018 and the twice re-scheduled Washington DC conference is still waiting to happen as we broadcast this, due to COVID. Since the pandemic and the era of AA Zoom, December 5th, 2020 was our first online gathering and June 19th, 2021, we enjoyed another 1st: The European ICSAA. This session is one of over ten meetings/panels that happened in two Zoom rooms throughout the day of December 11th. 

More William Schaberg: http://www.writingthebigbook.com/ 

More about secular Alcoholics Anonymous: https://aasecular.org 

Email us: [email protected] 

Secular AA is AA sobriety that is neither religious nor irreligious, focusing on the practical, humanist tools of Alcoholics Anonymous and borrowed from the wider recovery community. Secular AA is a growing subculture within AA, offering 100 agnostic/atheist/freethinkers AA meetings every day + regional events and the International Conference of Secular AA (ICSAA). More @ https://aasecular.org 

The 2021 International Conference of Secular AA, December 11 2021, presents a third decade of the 21st century contemporary update from our 80+ year old text, Alcoholics Anonymous. From "The Doctor's Opinion" to "A Vision for You," we take to heart how the book wraps up: "... the book is meant to be suggestive only. We realize that we know only a little."

And as hinted at, more has been disclosed about AA life. Our Zoom conference spent some time looking at the history of the writing of AA's first book. We spent more time looking at AA today, unabashed and in our own words.

the Big Book's "A Family Afterward" closes with three simple precepts that stand up to the test of time: 

• First Things First
• Live And Let Live
• Easy Does It

The chapter starts with a stereotype of a married, male heterosexual, all-America drunk. Today's talks don't aim to throw stones at our quaint 1939 writings, nor are we trying to create a new stereotype. Instead, we offer a sample, one sample of multi-generational alcohol use disorder and recovery in  AA, starting with Penny who sobered up as a young mom in 1968, followed by her daughter and son-in-law, both in long-term recovery. Others in this recording, from ICSAA 2021, share their present-day family experiences with us and reflect on the stories so generously shared from our panelists.

More about secular AA and our International conference:
https://aasecular.org/
https://www.facebook.com/SecularAA
Email us [email protected] 

Secular AA is AA sobriety that is neither religious nor irreligious, focusing on the practical, humanist tools of Alcoholics Anonymous and borrowed from the wider recovery community. Secular AA is a growing subculture within AA, offering 100 agnostic/atheist/freethinkers AA meetings every day + regional events and the International Conference of Secular AA (ICSAA). More @ https://aasecular.org 

Dr Paul F has worked as a physician in the field of addiction medicine and occupational medicine for more than twenty-five years.  His interest in addiction medicine has morphed over those years into a greater curiosity related to addiction recovery science and treatment. 

 Dr. Paul S, full-time addiction medicine physician, focusing on occupational and recovery medicine, this Paul is past President of the Canadian Society of Addiction Medicine, and currently acts as UBC Faculty of Medicine, Department of Family Practice, and an Adjunct Professor at Simon Fraser University. 

Together, at the 2021 International Conference of Secular Alcoholics Anonymous, two "Doctor, Addict, Alcoholic" Pauls offer contemporary Doctors' Opinions based on their front-line work in addiction and recovery medicine and reflections on their own struggles and recoveries.

More International Conference of Secular AA:
https://aasecular.org or Email us [email protected]

 https://secularaa.buzzsprout.com/ for the podcast page of ICSAA

Secular AA is AA sobriety that is neither religious nor irreligious, focusing on the practical, humanist tools of Alcoholics Anonymous and borrowed from the wider recovery community. Secular AA is a growing subculture within AA, offering 100 agnostic/atheist/freethinkers AA meetings every day + regional events and the International Conference of Secular AA (ICSAA). More @ https://aasecular.org 

November's first-Sunday-of-every-month world tour of secular AA speakers travels North by North-West: Our Seattle AA coffee club features Lori, Bruce, Eric and Marilyn. Following  the speakers on this Zoom meeting November 7th, 2021, members from around the world chime in. 

Part of AA as a whole, the International Conference of Secular AA is special-purpose AA body - like International Conferences for Young People, Doctors, Lawyers, LGBTQ+, women and others. ICSAA hosts a biennial gathering (2014 in Santa Monica, 2016 in Austin, 2018 in Toronto, Washington DC postponed to 2022) and online AA meetings and workshops.

"Some A.A.s come together as specialized A.A. groups — for men, women, young people, doctors, gays and others. If the members are all alcoholics, and if they open the door to all alcoholics who seek help, regardless of profession, gender or other distinction, and meet all the other aspects defining an A.A. group, they may call themselves an A.A. group." 

The A.A. Group, P-16

#AA #secularAA #recovery #alcoholism #alcoholusedisorder #addiction

For more information on  irreligious AA visit https://aasecular.org or email [email protected] or view 16 hours per day of International secular AA meetings more secular/freethinkers/agnostic meetings, 16 hours a day:

https://bit.ly/secularmeetings

Secular AA is AA sobriety that is neither religious nor irreligious, focusing on the practical, humanist tools of Alcoholics Anonymous and borrowed from the wider recovery community. Secular AA is a growing subculture within AA, offering 100 agnostic/atheist/freethinkers AA meetings every day + regional events and the International Conference of Secular AA (ICSAA). More @ https://aasecular.org 

June 19th, 2021 was the first European hosted International Conference of Secular Alcoholics Anonymous (ICSAA) and it was two Zoom rooms, 11 AM - 11 PM. Attendees were largely delighted with the days events.

The grande finale was an around-the-world AA discussion of the brief history of Zoom & AA, with opening comments by Mark from Tus Nua Freethinkers and Joe from Beyond Belief Agnostics & Freethinkers meeting in Toronto. A lively and heart-felt discussion follows from AAs talking about the age of Zoom around the world, capping off 12-hours of agnostic and atheist AA meetings.

This was the first time ICSAA was hosted outside USA/Canada and based on the enthusiasm, it will not be the last. Next year?

More ICSAA: https://aasecular.org
Email us @ [email protected] 
Secular/freethinkers meetings, 16 hours a day: https://bit.ly/secularmeetings 

Secular AA is AA sobriety that is neither religious nor irreligious, focusing on the practical, humanist tools of Alcoholics Anonymous and borrowed from the wider recovery community. Secular AA is a growing subculture within AA, offering 100 agnostic/atheist/freethinkers AA meetings every day + regional events and the International Conference of Secular AA (ICSAA). More @ https://aasecular.org 

Our October 2021 world tour stop for our secular Alcoholics Anonymous speakers meeting is Glasgow, home to Happy Heathens. At the time of recording Glasgow offers both in-person and online (Zoom) AA for atheists, freethinkers, agnostics. Today with David in the secretary seat, we hear from a co-founder of Scotland secular AA, Dante as well as Karen who has found the Glasgow group because of the pandemic driven move to online AA where any meeting, anywhere is just one click away.

International Conference of Secular AA is special-purpose AA body, part of AA as a whole and hosts a biennial gathering (2014 in Santa Monica, 2016 in Austin, 2018 in Toronto, Washington DC postponed to 2022) and online AA meetings and workshops.

#AA #secularAA #recovery #alcoholism #alcoholusedisorder #addiction

For more information on  irreligious AA visit https://aasecular.org or email [email protected] or view 16 hours per day of International secular AA meetings more secular/freethinkers/agnostic meetings, 16 hours a day:

https://bit.ly/secularmeetings

. 

Secular AA is AA sobriety that is neither religious nor irreligious, focusing on the practical, humanist tools of Alcoholics Anonymous and borrowed from the wider recovery community. Secular AA is a growing subculture within AA, offering 100 agnostic/atheist/freethinkers AA meetings every day + regional events and the International Conference of Secular AA (ICSAA). More @ https://aasecular.org 

Every month the International Conference of Secular AA world tour brings you a local feel from different agnostic/atheist/humanist AA communities around the AA world. September 2021, hosted by Jenny, we feature the New Englanders:

1. Dan found sobriety 50 years ago at the age of 27. His first International AA convention was Colorado in 1975. Several members of Dan's family found sobriety in AA since then. 
2. Mickey, today, is "sober, at peace, abstinent and well." In 1982 Dan found Massachusetts AA, married, had kids, divorced and remarried the mother of his kids. Dan Zooms in at the end of his Cape Cod spiritual recovery retreat. 
3. Mary Susan (Nana to some) was a real hippie in the  '60s-'70s. She found AA, kept her beliefs and views to herself and "was as sick as her secrets." At her 30 year sobriety celebration she came-out as someone who does not believe in a higher power; no god-no problem. 

Speakers are followed by shares, the meeting is 90 minutes. Thanks to Jenny and Glenn for making September's ICSAA world-tour stop happen.

More ICSAA secular speaker meetings from Dublin, Orlando, Cape Town, Montreal, London, Cottonwood, New York and Australia/New Zealand (along with other secular Alcoholics Anonymous gatherings) can be found at https://secularaa.buzzsprout.com/ 
 

Secular AA is AA sobriety that is neither religious nor irreligious, focusing on the practical, humanist tools of Alcoholics Anonymous and borrowed from the wider recovery community. Secular AA is a growing subculture within AA, offering 100 agnostic/atheist/freethinkers AA meetings every day + regional events and the International Conference of Secular AA (ICSAA). More @ https://aasecular.org 

"i" stands for International; "PAN" stands for All Addictions (substance use disorder, process addictions) and this is a Zoomiverse only fellowship for anyone seeking recovery from anything by any means. For more information:

eMail: [email protected]

The primary purpose of iPAN is to provide a comfortable and safe environment for people to discuss whatever issue they may have that is bothering them and to provide personal growth through the support a fellowship provides.

More speakers/panels and podcasts: https://secularaa.buzzsprout.com/

More Secular Alcoholics Anonymous:
https://aasecular.org/

Secular AA is AA sobriety that is neither religious nor irreligious, focusing on the practical, humanist tools of Alcoholics Anonymous and borrowed from the wider recovery community. Secular AA is a growing subculture within AA, offering 100 agnostic/atheist/freethinkers AA meetings every day + regional events and the International Conference of Secular AA (ICSAA). More @ https://aasecular.org 

Angie A is secretary and host with speaker, Neil "Sam" Samworth, former Strangeways Prison Officer. Addiction, treatment, recovery, mental health, trauma, life on the inside will be the discussion kicking of Sam's comments and followed by Q and A from participants.

Neil “Sam” Samwoth YouTube Channel https://youtu.be/hieOsLGS8so

More International Conference of Secular Alcoholics Anonymous speakers/panels/podcasts  https://secularaa.buzzsprout.com/

More about agnostics and atheists in AA past and upcoming events: https://aasecular.org
 

Secular AA is AA sobriety that is neither religious nor irreligious, focusing on the practical, humanist tools of Alcoholics Anonymous and borrowed from the wider recovery community. Secular AA is a growing subculture within AA, offering 100 agnostic/atheist/freethinkers AA meetings every day + regional events and the International Conference of Secular AA (ICSAA). More @ https://aasecular.org 

June 19, 2021 was the first All Europe International Conference of Secular AA. Held on Zoom in two rooms running 12 hours each, it was a day of many firsts, for Alcoholics Anonymous, for agnostics and atheists in AA and the greater recovery community.

At 4 PM in the Tus Nua Room, there was a cancellation, a change of schedule and Chantal asked Zanner to tell her story. This is Zanner's story, "A Postcard I send to myself in the future." 

More meetings like this: https://tusnua.eu
More podcasts like this: https://secularaa.buzzsprout.com/ 
More in-person and virtual secular AA gatherings and news: https://aasecular.org 
Reach us at [email protected]

Secular AA is AA sobriety that is neither religious nor irreligious, focusing on the practical, humanist tools of Alcoholics Anonymous and borrowed from the wider recovery community. Secular AA is a growing subculture within AA, offering 100 agnostic/atheist/freethinkers AA meetings every day + regional events and the International Conference of Secular AA (ICSAA). More @ https://aasecular.org