Many Roads, One Journey

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Wide-ranging and refreshing, this is a feminist, New Age critique of the Alcoholics Anonymous approach to addictions, including caffeine, nicotine and TV. Kasl ( Women, Sex and Addiction ) links addiction and treatment with chakras, nutrition and patriarchy--and she's on target. A.A.'s approach is patriarchal, okay for affluent white men but not for others, especially women, she finds. The book offers numerous, surprising examples of how A.A. meetings, slogans, traditions and steps hurt women: while it might be good for white men to humble themselves and make amends to everyone, Kasl contends that women should ignore that A.A. exhortation--they've done enough of that sort of thing already. Ultimately, everyone's recovery is based on recapturing personal power, recognizing social oppression and revering life. This guide should put some of the needful back on track. Author tour. (June)

Library Journal

Add Kasl to the growing number of au thors who are challenging the structure and tenets of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and its 12 steps. Other recent books on the sub ject include Jack Trimpey's The Small Book: A Revolutionary Alternative for Over coming Alcohol and Drug Dependence (De lacorte, 1992) and Christopher James's How To Stay Sober Without Religion (LJ 5/1/92). Examining AA from a feminist point of view, Kasl contends that while AA helps many maintain sobriety, its dogmat ic, male-oriented doctrines and the un yielding way in which some groups inter pret them are damaging to others, especially women. Drawing from her own experiences and those of other twelve-step pers, the author argues that the rigid de mands of some groups for strict adherence discourages rational thinking. For exam ple, a rigid demand to ``admit powerless ness'' or to yield to a ``higher power'' may harm women who are fighting to gain con trol of their lives. The author offers her own 16-step recovery model with guide lines for finding or forming alternative groups. Both lay readers and professionals will gain insight from this book. Purchase for psychology, addiction/recovery, and feminist collections.--Linda S. Greene, Chicago P.L.