Hello All,

I finished reading Rebecca Fransways book last night. I avoided it
for a few days, very painful to read of the in-humane treatment within
AA. It aligns fully with what I have witnessed and my own personal
experiences.

I skimmed through Goodbye Hangovers, Hello Life, Jean Kirkpatrick's
book. What impressed me the most was that between 1971 and 1986 she
amassed 35,000 letters from women. She knew their experieces first
hand.

Currently in this area there are several workshops. One utilizing the
aa bb and the Idiots Guide to the 12 steps, (seems prophetic), 17
weeks to complete. This workshop is tied in to an aa guru out of
Denver who is now doing this for profit. I attended his aa workshop
last summer, and my experience was the following:

He preached, quoted the bb as gospel.
He did not start on time.
He did not deliver material as promised.
He had young women who followed him, during breaks around a courtyard,
(groupies).

The second workshop was started by a school teacher. One step per
month for a year. The attrition rate is approximately 85%. I
sponsored a woman briefly who attended this workshop for a full year,
she suffered from extreme fear, and I saw no change post the workshop.

Beth