Area 46 Literature Committee
March 2023
Hello Area 46!
I came across this great article about AA in Discover Magazine recently that I wanted to share with you all called “How effective is Alcoholics Anonymous?”.
https://www.discovermagazine.com/health/how-effective-is-alcoholics-anonymous
Some highlights:
-“For decades, scientists were unsure how well Alcoholics Anonymous worked.”
-“Kelly and his team examined studies published in the past couple of decades in which people were randomly assigned to AA or other 12-step programs by health professionals. They found that such programs had outcomes similar to other treatments, but were “dramatically better when you’re talking about remission, sustained remission, and complete abstinence over many years,” says Kelly. In short, AA often outperforms other types of therapies or interventions, such as cognitive behavioral therapy.”
-“In terms of AA’s ability to sustain remission over time, that’s what really stood out: 20 to 60% higher rates of remission.”
There’s some more interesting details in there and if you’re interested and can’t access it through the link above send me an email and I’ll send you the whole article. I can pretty much assume that if you’re reading this here in the Elf or on the website that you already know, or at least suspect, that AA can be pretty powerful stuff. Still, I think it’s refreshing to see it reflected back at us from a non-alcoholic perspective.
We will probably be at the Assembly by the time you all see this, so I will just say for now that our Delegate, Eloy, has asked our committee to review Literature Item P, Review update on the proposal for Big Book or Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions study guides.
In short, there have been ongoing discussions about the workbooks developed by Hazelden and used by many of our members to assist with sponsorship, etc, and whether or not AA should develop our own Conference Approved versions. Narcotics Anonymous also has workbooks that are popular in their fellowship which I was encouraged to use when I called myself a member with them many years ago.
I, of course, have a lot of ideas both in favor of and not-so-much, but this is your committee so please drop by our Literature Committee meeting on Saturday morning at the Assembly and share your ideas with us! And if you are unable to attend in person you or your group are still able to contribute your conscience by completing the 2023 Agenda Topic Summaries available on our Service homepage.
Finally, I received a notice from GSO last month informing us of an increase in literature prices. There’s an explanation and the new prices will go into effect on April 3rd, and generally reflect a 20% increase on books and a 30% increase on pamphlets. The new price list can be found here: https://www.aa.org/sites/default/files/literature/Price%20List%20Effective%204_3_23.pdf
Once again, if you would like me to send you the email I received which includes this price list, contact me at literature@dev.aa-nia.org.
See you soon and hank you for letting me be of service!
Phillip F.