Alcoholics Anonymous marks 79th anniversary next week

10 June 1935 was the date that changed the lives of millions of people suffering from the disease of alcoholism.

The co-founders of Alcoholics Anonymous, Bill W (a New York stockbroker) and Dr Bob S (a doctor from Akron, Ohio) had their first meeting after Bill W had a severe bout of craving for a drink while on business in Akron. He knew that the only way to curb this craving was by talking to another alcoholic. He managed to get the name of Dr Bob who told him that he was ready to talk to him for 15 minutes as that was all the time he could afford without a drink.

They sat in the meeting for three hours and neither Bill nor Bob drank. All they did was talk about their malady – alcoholism. They agreed that the talking to other alcoholics made them stop drinking and this is how AA was born.

From that date AA has grown worldwide and millions of sufferers have benefitted from the Twelve Step programme Bill and Bob and the first hundred members had written down. These people had in 1939 written a book named ‘Alcoholics Anonymous’ better known as the Big Book to members wherein they listed the Twelve Steps recommended to achieve sobriety. In the Big Book there are also testimonials of people who have recovered from alcoholism through the AA programme. Chapter 5 opens with the sentence ‘Rarely have we seen a person fail who has thor- oughly followed our path.’ And how true it is. The Big Book is now in its Fourth Edition. The AA programme is a spiritual one where one has to accept his sickness and decide to change his attitudes towards life. In fact the only requirement for membership in AA is a desire to stop drinking. Alcoholism is a three-fold disease – physical, mental and spiritual. The medical profession is more than capable to cure the physical side as are the psychiatrists and psychologists or other counsellors and treatment centres capable to take the alcoholic back to a normal mental state. The spiritual aspect of alcoholism however is completely up to the alcoholic himself/herself to adjust.

The alcoholic is the only person who really understands what another alcoholic feels. That is why AA meetings are held – not only to stay sober but also above all to stay sober and live a better and happier life. At the AA meetings one will hear other alcoholics share their experience strength and hope. The alcoholic will find new friends with whom he/she can identify.

Worldwide there are now over two million members in AA with nearly 100,800 groups meeting in over 150 countries. All this started with that first meeting between Bill and Bob on 10 June 1935.

AA in Malta started in 1966 and the first AA meeting in Maltese language was held at Caritas in July 1981. Today there are daily meetings in both Maltese and English and are held in various localities. There are no dues or fees to pay; no days out of work; no attendance sheets are kept. Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of the AA fellowship so only first names are requested. One only has to call the help line or email to get the assistance and given the opportunity to stop drinking and stay happily sober.