History of Gay People in Alcoholics Anonymous: From the Beginning
History of Gay People in Alcoholics Anonymous: From the Beginning (Haworth Series in Family and Consumer Issues in Health) by Audrey Borden (Author)
Rev Sally Brown, MS, MDiv, United Church of Christ, Board Certified Clinical Chaplain, Ret., Coauthor with David R. Brown: A Biography of Mrs. Marty Mann: The First Lady of Alcoholics Anonymous
This GROUNDBREAKING book about an important but little-known part of the history of Alcoholics Anonymous belongs on the shelves of every alcoholic and addict, straight or gay. Counselors, clinicians, clergy, and their teachers will find it an invaluable resource. Audrey Borden has done a MAGNIFICENT job of interweaving over 30 fascinating interviews of influential LGBT AAs and their contributions, spanning 50 years to the present, with factual information about the gradual acceptance by Alcoholics Anonymous itself. I wish my husband and I had had this excellent account ourselves when we wrote our own book about Marty Mann, one of AA's earliest leaders.
Thomasina Borkmman, PhD, Professor of Sociology, Emerita at George Mason University, Fairfax, VA
ADDRESSES AN IMPORTANT AND LARGELY IGNORED TOPIC--gays and lesbians in Alcoholics Anonymous--through fascinating accounts from gays and lesbians in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York who have been sober for many years and have lived through the changes in attitudes and treatment of gays and lesbians in the larger society and culture and within AA. This FASCINATING book is AN IMPORTANT FIRST STEP IN CHRONICLING AND UNDERSTANDING THE EXPERIENCES OF GAYS AND LESBIANS IN AA and is a window into the ways in which AA is like and unlike the larger society. Borden covers how the Third Tradition was developed in the 1940s which opened AA to all who suffered from their drinking. She sensitively deals with the pros and cons of separate gay/lesbian meetings and the attitudes of many that they should also be welcome and feel comfortable in general AA meetings. As in the larger society, there were many closeted gay meetings in the 1950s known only by word of mouth, but by the 1970s era of advocacy that began to change with open struggles found in various communities. As one narrator summarized, while AA had its biases and limitations in welcoming gays and lesbians, AA was also more accepting and less prejudicial than the larger society
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This GROUNDBREAKING book about an important but little-known part of the history of Alcoholics Anonymous belongs on the shelves of every alcoholic and addict, straight or gay. Counselors, clinicians, clergy, and their teachers will find it an invaluable resource. Audrey Borden has done a MAGNIFICENT job of interweaving over 30 fascinating interviews of influential LGBT AAs and their contributions, spanning 50 years to the present, with factual information about the gradual acceptance by Alcoholics Anonymous itself. I wish my husband and I had had this excellent account ourselves when we wrote our own book about Marty Mann, one of AA's earliest leaders.
Thomasina Borkmman, PhD, Professor of Sociology, Emerita at George Mason University, Fairfax, VA
ADDRESSES AN IMPORTANT AND LARGELY IGNORED TOPIC--gays and lesbians in Alcoholics Anonymous--through fascinating accounts from gays and lesbians in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York who have been sober for many years and have lived through the changes in attitudes and treatment of gays and lesbians in the larger society and culture and within AA. This FASCINATING book is AN IMPORTANT FIRST STEP IN CHRONICLING AND UNDERSTANDING THE EXPERIENCES OF GAYS AND LESBIANS IN AA and is a window into the ways in which AA is like and unlike the larger society. Borden covers how the Third Tradition was developed in the 1940s which opened AA to all who suffered from their drinking. She sensitively deals with the pros and cons of separate gay/lesbian meetings and the attitudes of many that they should also be welcome and feel comfortable in general AA meetings. As in the larger society, there were many closeted gay meetings in the 1950s known only by word of mouth, but by the 1970s era of advocacy that began to change with open struggles found in various communities. As one narrator summarized, while AA had its biases and limitations in welcoming gays and lesbians, AA was also more accepting and less prejudicial than the larger society
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posted by Tom Jackson @ Sunday, April 20, 2008
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