What’s On Your Mind: Let Us Widen the Doorway

My name is John.  I am an alcoholic.  When I came to AA, it was with a degree of desperation.  I considered drinking to be an important part of living well, yet understood that my constitution made it unlikely that life would end well if I kept drinking.  AA’s program of success via acceptance of God with a capital g did little to relieve my initial anxiety.  I had the great fortune to have a home group whose take on God was very much a mixed bag.  That allowed me time to discover some AA literature (which I can’t now identify) that recommended that I find my own way through the recommended Steps.  It helped to remember the times and the culture in which the Big Book was written and to think of it as beloved heritage now outgrown.