My Unanonymous Life
I will update the blog at least once a week but might do more than one. We shall see.
I'm never ashamed to say I am a person involved with long-term recovery from alcohol (primarily) and drugs (hey, it was the 70s). Thirty-four years and counting. So far.
I have no standing nor do I represent AA or any of the other Twelve Step Program (there are over 70 addressing various substances and behaviors with the step method). If you don't like me, don't worry - I am just a channel for other people and their words - some of which you might like.
A big part of maintaining what I've found has been to give it away. To that end, with several other people involved with the same journey put together a collection of writings from the 1940s to the 21st Century. Where there were living families or estates, we went to the source for permission. We wrote and revised through an almost embarrassing first edition to this. Which stands on its own. (Quite well, too.) Respect for the authors - what a concept. I wrote some of it, but it is a real work of group conscience over half a century.
And this project probably explains why I am always begging for money. But this is the way stuff from the Twelve Step Fellowship just is handled this way.
It is divided as:
And it is Free. I make it up in volume. I am very happy with the thought that someday, someone I never met will open this book and walk away with something tht changes his or her life. It is my particular delusion that keeps me going.
You can get it free in two different PDFs editions. It is available in the standard (US Letter sized, (8 1/2 x 11, ideal for printing out pages to hand someone, mostly two column layout for easy reading) and Trade Paperback (6x9 inches, formatted to a single column, which is better for tablets and possibly a bit large for smartphones). I'm experimenting with an epub or mobi version for ebook outlets. The only difference between the editions is the size of the book and the number of pages - the text is the same.
The book is divided into four sections.
Oh, the wild parties I do throw.
You can also find these on archive.org, which is quickly becoming my favorite internet resource.
And if you write to me and ask nicely, I will send you the full PDF. It's free, remember?
There are some other freebies that have left me bereft of recognizable career.
An update of the original 4-week and 5-week “classes” to take people through the Twelve Steps. Written in the early 1940s and revised by many local groups around the country after the publication of the Jack Alexander article in the Saturday Evening Post.
This version is for 5-weeks of classes with a “Mentor” designed for a group that meets once a week “class” with six days of “homework” for the students. This takes you through the experience of the Steps for the first time - “the beginning of a lifelong process.”
Drawn from many sources from Dr. Bob, through the One Way Group in Los Angeles in the 1960s, the notebook process from workshops around the country in the 1990s, Sponsor Magazine. and whatever else helps.
I'm never ashamed to say I am a person involved with long-term recovery from alcohol (primarily) and drugs (hey, it was the 70s). Thirty-four years and counting. So far.
I have no standing nor do I represent AA or any of the other Twelve Step Program (there are over 70 addressing various substances and behaviors with the step method). If you don't like me, don't worry - I am just a channel for other people and their words - some of which you might like.
A big part of maintaining what I've found has been to give it away. To that end, with several other people involved with the same journey put together a collection of writings from the 1940s to the 21st Century. Where there were living families or estates, we went to the source for permission. We wrote and revised through an almost embarrassing first edition to this. Which stands on its own. (Quite well, too.) Respect for the authors - what a concept. I wrote some of it, but it is a real work of group conscience over half a century.
And this project probably explains why I am always begging for money. But this is the way stuff from the Twelve Step Fellowship just is handled this way.
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| Second Edition Cover |
The Recovery Reader, 2nd Edition
This is an anthology of writings by over 30 authors from 1944 to 2012. I created this as an afterthought after a good deal of research for a class I have been doing at a local recovery center since 2004. I wanted to improve the class and present more than just the repetition these men get several times a week. I did it to improve my class sessions.It is divided as:
- Newcomers
- Steps
- Spirituality
- Sponsorship
- Resources. (And lots of them)
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| Creative Commons Symbol |
And it is Free. I make it up in volume. I am very happy with the thought that someday, someone I never met will open this book and walk away with something tht changes his or her life. It is my particular delusion that keeps me going.
You can get it free in two different PDFs editions. It is available in the standard (US Letter sized, (8 1/2 x 11, ideal for printing out pages to hand someone, mostly two column layout for easy reading) and Trade Paperback (6x9 inches, formatted to a single column, which is better for tablets and possibly a bit large for smartphones). I'm experimenting with an epub or mobi version for ebook outlets. The only difference between the editions is the size of the book and the number of pages - the text is the same.
The book is divided into four sections.
- Newcomers
- Steps
- Spiritual
- Sponsorship
- References (and lots of 'em)
Oh, the wild parties I do throw.
You can also find these on archive.org, which is quickly becoming my favorite internet resource.
And if you write to me and ask nicely, I will send you the full PDF. It's free, remember?
There are some other freebies that have left me bereft of recognizable career.
The Work
An update of the original 4-week and 5-week “classes” to take people through the Twelve Steps. Written in the early 1940s and revised by many local groups around the country after the publication of the Jack Alexander article in the Saturday Evening Post. This version is for 5-weeks of classes with a “Mentor” designed for a group that meets once a week “class” with six days of “homework” for the students. This takes you through the experience of the Steps for the first time - “the beginning of a lifelong process.”
Simple Directions
A guide for Steps 1 through 7, including detailed directions for a full first inventory using a spiral bound notebook. Inventory and Amends are at the heart of the 12-Step process. “We will set before you a set of simple directions…” And so we do. At least, I do - I hand it to every man who wants to do an inventory with me.Drawn from many sources from Dr. Bob, through the One Way Group in Los Angeles in the 1960s, the notebook process from workshops around the country in the 1990s, Sponsor Magazine. and whatever else helps.
Three Podcasts
Podcasts are “on demand radio shows you can download and play whenever it is convenient. Joe has produced about 125 podcasts are available on Archive.org. These include:- 27 original recordings - “Anonymous Review Podcasts on 12-Step history with the voices of the people who founded and developed AA. In their own words, in their own voices.
- 50 random Speakers - “Virtual Speaker Meeting” with for when you can’t get out to a meeting (and really need one)
- 23 Speakers - “Sponsor Podcast” a series of multi-session events and workshops on how to Sponsor and how to be Sponsored
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