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Overview Of AA: Not The Only Way By Melanie Solomon

920 Words4 Pages

Substance abuse and addiction is one of the nation’s fastest growing problems with traditional 12-step recovery being virtually the only treatment option utilized. AA: Not the Only Way: Your One Stop Resource Guide to 12-Step Alternatives, Capalo Press; 2nd Edition (November 28, 2008), is a book that was written by a woman, Melanie Solomon, who battled addiction for 12 years. Solomon begins this book with a testimony of her journey that started in a well-known rehab facility that introduced her to Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and the 12-steps. Solomon explains in her story that she was addicted to pills, yet she ended up in the rooms of AA. After many unsuccessful attempts towards recovery in AA and near fatal relapses she began researching other …show more content…

The title of the book itself may be seen as a direct attack on these types of programs. In the introduction to this book Solomon points out, “I think 12-step programs are wonderful for those individuals whom it does work for”. She is not advising those that have found recovery in AA twelve-step programs to abandon them, but rather she reinforces that evidence that tells us that not all recover utilizing these programs and that alternatives are available. Solomon discusses the most common objectionable topics alcoholics/addicts have with the traditional AA 12- step approach towards recovery. Readers can identify with the author here since as a pill addicted individual, she was misplaced into an alcohol recovery program. She addresses the people that balk at the idea that they are powerless or that their life is unmanageable as is suggested in Step one of 12-step programs. There are those too that struggle with the spiritual approach in finding a “Higher Power” to recover. Others object to the switch from being obsessed with drinking to being overly focused on, not drinking and rehashing mistakes. Some just simply believe that addiction is a learned behavior that can be unlearned. Addiction has been found to be multifaceted, and most agree that recovery must focus on the many “underlying” psychological, emotional, physical, spiritual and social issues that cause drug and alcohol abuse. Solomon’s book attempts to present why traditional treatment does not work and to provide resources for alternative methods. Some of the alternatives focus on specific aspects of recovery, while others address numerous factors tailored to fit an individual’s needs. People struggling to succeed in AA or other 12-step programs will find the information in this book

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