THE EDITOR'S

AA is a very practical program, a friend assured me when I was new and afraid it might have rules or a religious agenda. If you want to get sober, AA suggests small, simple actions like going to a meeting, talking with another alcoholic and not picking up a drink one day at a time, she said. Eventually I saw that even aspects of the program that seemed philosophical--letting go of self, living along spiritual lines--were rooted in action: setting up chairs, throwing away someone else's paper cup, taking a newcomer to coffee.