Most people with a serious disease understand the problem. Those with chronic diseases like diabetes usually understand the most effective treatment and they can explain it to others. Why is the message of recovery lacking in so many A.A. meetings?

• If it is true that alcoholism is one of the deadliest maladies known to mankind; and
• If the only requirement for membership in Alcoholics Anonymous is a desire to stop drinking; and
• If the only known Solution for recovery is a spiritual experience as the result of having taken the Steps; and
• If every Alcoholics Anonymous Group has but one primary purpose – to carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers; and
• If sobriety – freedom from alcohol – comes through both teaching and practicing the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, and
• If the main purpose of the book Alcoholics Anonymous is “to show other alcoholics precisely how we have recovered”,

Then why are so many so-called “A.A. meetings” devoid of the message contained in the Big Book? (It says we suffered from a spiritual malady; we have recovered from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body because we had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps and because we try to carry this message to other (real) alcoholics and because we strive to practice these principles in all our affairs!)

What's so special about this too-common disease that makes it difficult for those still suffering to get a proper diagnosis and learn about the most effective treatment for this chronic, progressive, and fatal disease?  It is just too simple - or too complicated - for smart people?

Definitions:
Alcoholism: al•co•hol•ism (ălkə-hô-lĭz′əm, -hŏ-) n. A chronic, progressive and fatal disease that involves
(1.) an allergic reaction to alcohol that produces a craving for more,
(2.) an obsession of the mind that “this time, I can control and enjoy my drinking”, and
(3.) a “spiritual malady” that produces irritability, restlessness, and discontentment that makes alcoholics desperate for a few drinks, drinks others take “with impunity”, drinks that produce a vital sense of “ease and comfort”. A hard drinker “may have the habit badly enough to gradually impair him physically and mentally”, but given a “sufficiently strong reason”, “this man can stop or moderate, although he may find it difficult and troublesome and may even need medical attention.” The real alcoholic “may start off as a moderate drinker; he may or may not become a continuous hard drinker; but at some stage of his drinking career he begins to lose all control of his liquor consumption, once he starts to drink.”

Allergy: al•ler•gy (ălər-jē) n. 1. An abnormally high sensitivity to certain substances. 2. An unusual reaction.

Obsession: ob•ses•sion (əb-sĕshən, ŏb-) n. 1. A compulsive preoccupation with a fixed idea or an unwanted feeling or emotion, often accompanied by symptoms of anxiety.
2. A compulsive, often unreasonable idea or emotion.

Spiritual Malady: Spiritual: spir•i•tu•al (spĭrĭ-ch-əl) adj. means of, relating to, consisting of, or having the nature of spirit; not tangible or material. Malady: mal•a•dy (mălə-dē) n. pl. mal•a•dies A disease, a disorder, or an ailment.

Recover: re•cov•er (rĭ-kŭvər) v. Recovered re•cov•ered, re•cov•er•ing, re•cov•ers v.tr. (1.) To get back; regain. 2.) To restore or to become restored to a normal state.

Devoid: de•void (dĭ-void): an adjective that means “completely lacking; destitute or empty”.