Robby Werner

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is effective because it provides the emotional and spiritual support and fellowship many alcoholics need to achieve sobriety, Robby Werner argues in the following viewpoint. Werner contends that the program’s Twelve Steps provide alcoholics with a way to reinvent their personalities and rebuild their lives. He maintains that alcoholics learn how to live without alcohol by helping each other work the Twelve Steps. Robby Werner is a journalist and occasional contributor to the Journal Inquirer in Manchester, Connecticut.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. According to the author, what feeling do alcoholics express most often as they tell their stories"
2. What is a blackout, according to Werner"
3. How long does recovery from alcoholism take, according to the author"

They are male and female, doctors and dockhands, punk rockers and patricians, young and...