Can the Alcoholic Return to Social Drinking?
My answer to this question is less important that it may seem, as you will see as you read on. Yet, it is a question that plagues alcoholics and those around them and I feel obligated to respond to it and put it to rest so we can go on to helping the alcoholic overcome his affliction. AA’s answer the question is a categorical and resounding: “No!” My answer is “Sometimes.” The very factors that have made A.A. successful, have also caused it to become a dominating and sometimes overbearing force in the field of alcoholism where its ideology is dominant. Alcoholics who are not attracted to A.A. are lost sheep who have strayed, outcasts from the fold. People who have drinking problems and who come in contact with the courts or other public institutions, but who are not willing to relate to A.A. will have a great deal of difficulty getting help from people who can affect their lives. Alcoholism workers who do not accept A.A.s total program will find that they have difficulty finding work.
