Tree Of Alcoholism and Tree Of Sobriety

In an article in the July 1963 Grapevine, called "An AA Doctor's Prescription," Hal S., both a member of AA and a doctor, presented an analogy, which he called the Tree of Alcoholism. Excessive compulsive drinking, the most common symptom of alcoholism, is identified as the trunk of the tree; consequences, such as lost jobs, broken homes, and insanity, are the fruits; and the feelings, emotions, negativity, and other character defects, often thought to be the causes of alcoholism, are the roots.