Typically we see two recovery genres in the rooms of 12 Steps: The ‘Recovered’ Addict versus The ‘Recovering’ Addict narrative. Recovery stories are consequential for the person’s experience of recovery, since it seems that the telling and retelling of an empowered “Recovered” narrative, with its clear beginnings, turning points, and felicitous, institutionally condoned endings may well be critical for recovery to remain a stable condition in life (Shohet 2007:344-382).
Alternatively, the telling and retelling of ambiguous “always recovering” narratives, in which protagonists question received wisdom, ponder hypothetical life paths not actually pursued, and envision abstinence as both good and bad, may perpetuate a cyclical life course in which relapse recurs and permanent recovery eludes the narrator as protagonist (Shohet 2007:344-382).
In similar fashion to AA alcoholic drinking stories (Cain 1991), such narration articulates, but also facilitates, the teller’s consistent affiliation with and appropriation of institutional master narratives.
Central to the 12 Step recovery culture is the personal story of the recovered addict—“Our stories disclose in a general way what we used to be like, what happened, and what we are like now” (A.A. 2001:58). The Member’s personal story reinforces the figured world of 12 Step recovery. These narratives maintain the boundaries that structure and empower the 12 Step recovery culture. By sharing their personal stories of “what they used to be like”, members identify as addicts. Their “war stories” convey important criteria for potential members to identify and label themselves as addicts (Holland 2001:71). Furthermore…personal testimonies are significant to newcomers because the storylines of recovered addicts objectify the central cultural elements of the 12 Step world, such as the importance of attending meetings, getting a sponsor, helping other suffering addicts, doing service work for the 12 Step Group. By listening to the narratives of recovered members, newcomers learn the culture of 12 Step recovery. The newcomer learns the model of a 12 Step testimonial by listening to other members and through telling their own story, the newcomer comes to understand their own life as a member of a 12 Step program (Holland 2001:71). The 12 Step rhetorical language provides a powerful opiate that connects the newcomer to the 12-step culture and convinces them that their drinking/using/acting-out problem can be solved—resulting in behavioural transformations of newcomers (Waldram 1997:74).h
References:
Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) 2001. Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition. Alcoholics Anonymous World Services Inc. New York.
Holland, Dorothy C. 2001. Personal Stories in Alcoholics Anonymous. Identity and Agency in Cultural Worlds. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. pp. 66-97
Waldram, J.B. 1997. Aboriginal spirituality and symbolic healing. In The Way of the Pipe: Aboriginal Spirituality and Symbolic Healing in Canadian Prisons. Canada: Broadview Press, pp. 71-98.
The original book explicitly states that we are recovered.
The problem is not so much the definition itself, but the ability of the alcoholic to meet that definition. The AA programme
is not about abstaining from the first drink. It is about personal change (radical mental change, to use Dr Silkworth’s terminology). Not a slight retouching of the image presented to the public, but a complete revision and subsequent change in values. The death of one identity and the birth of another. I would like to remind BB: ‘The alcoholic’s main problem is centred in the head, not in the body.’ What does ‘recovered’ mean? Does it mean you can drink? That is the reasoning of a mind that has not yet recovered from alcoholism. The only definition of recovery acceptable to it is the ability to drink. Such a mind is still obsessed with memories of the feeling of ease and comfort that the first few drinks promise. Such a mind is still obsessed with the cherished dream of drinking and enjoying it. The value orientations have not changed. How does ‘recovered I understand ? So, for me, the most delicious promises of alcohol are completely absent from my list of values, I don’t need to experience a plastic sense of ease and comfort, and mainly because I’ve already been in a state of ease and comfort for most of my life, with a crystal clear brain. God has gifted me with an experience compared to which the state of intoxication is a disgusting red-gold vulgarity. In my value space there is no alcohol as a value, no need to drink, no allergies, simply because the mind is completely free from thoughts of drinking and cannot arise in principle. And I’m free not because I remember or I’m afraid. I am a completely hopeless alcoholic who has drunk everything possible and impossible. Alcoholic psychosis, mental institutions, homelessness, suicide attempts…. All the ‘joys’ of alcoholism. I’m just free of alcohol. It can’t be explained, it can only be experienced.
Vladimir,
More over 25 years recovered alcoholic
Recovered and recovering comes up sometimes in meetings, mostly introductions, and that is the members prerogative. For myself, I am recovered. No longer saddled with the obsession to drink , no more anxiety and despair on the morning after, having the 9th and 10th step promises come true , and living and enjoying a new way of life for decades, recovery has indeed come true. If I was to believe I was still a recovering alcoholic, then it would follow that sanity has not yet returned, the obsession has not left completely, and I would still be working towards the 9th and 10th step promises to become real. I will always be improving my living skills, such as spirituality, love, tolerance, compassion,etc., but as for the hopeless state of mind and body, I have recovered. When I was searching for someone to help guide me through the Big Book and the steps , I looked for someone who had done the work (steps), had a spiritual experience, and was living a life of contented sobriety , someone who had recovered , not one who uses the self deprecating statement of still recovering, ie, still sick. The statement of ” I’ll always be recovering” as opposed to ” I can always learn with an open mind” lends one to see the blaring difference between one still searching for recovery and one who has found the position of neutrality where the problem no longer exists. I would want the latter.