Losing the ‘Anonymous’ Part of the AA Equation

The story about a young woman fighting for sobriety (“Quitting Is Just the First Step,” Oct. 1), while poignant and informative, was a disservice to Alcoholics Anonymous. I have been happily married for some 21 years to a recovering alcoholic. I know the value AA places on anonymity at the level of press, radio and media. The public tentative failure/success of one individual could turn off a newcomer to the AA program. The article would have been just as strong without the names and pictures of the involved individuals.

NAME WITHHELD

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I applaud your factual and balanced piece on alcoholism and Alcoholics Anonymous. As an AA member of some experience, I would like to point out that while perhaps half of Quincy’s life does center on her sobriety, there are many in the program who manage to stay sober and happy without living and breathing AA for half of their waking hours. To be certain, some people do need to work the program that intensely, but they are no worse nor better than the rest of us.

For readers who may be wondering if their drinking and/or drug use may be abnormal, I invite them to attend our meetings. You cannot learn about the AA experience from a newspaper article, you need to check it out for yourself.

NAME WITHHELD