Alcoholics Anonymous

After wrapping production on his 1986 Emmy-winning television movie about a middle-aged bachelor and his schizophrenic brother at 6:30 a.m. in a small town on an Oregon lake, James Garner wound down by eating breakfast in the local diner and discussing his next project with his partner, Peter Duchow. Two booths away, James Woods, one of Hollywood's hottest actors and Garner's co-star in "Promise," overheard that Garner-Duchow Productions was making plans to produce "My Name is Bill W.," a TV biography of Bill Wilson, the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous.

There's an unflashy clarity to the documentary "Bill W. " that suits its subject. William G. Wilson, the "stinking rotten drunk" who had an epiphany and co-founded Alcoholics Anonymous in 1935, was a Vermont Yankee whose life's work was predicated on humility and service. Today's celebrity rehab news cycle would likely displease him; a true believer in the value of anonymity, he turned down an honorary degree from Yale and a cover story in Time (which later placed him in the top 20 "Heroes and Icons" of the 20th century)

There's an unflashy clarity to the documentary "Bill W. " that suits its subject. William G. Wilson, the "stinking rotten drunk" who had an epiphany and co-founded Alcoholics Anonymous in 1935, was a Vermont Yankee whose life's work was predicated on humility and service. Today's celebrity rehab news cycle would likely displease him; a true believer in the value of anonymity, he turned down an honorary degree from Yale and a cover story in Time (which later placed him in the top 20 "Heroes and Icons" of the 20th century)

Thank you so much for publishing "Road to Recovery" by Kathy P. [Jan. 2]. I am a longtime member of Al-Anon and have also attended meetinsg in my travels. I appreciate her honest account of both the meetings and her use of the concepts taught in Alcoholics Anonymous. She is a great example of the adage that we may be anonymous, but are not invisible. Stephanie D., Reseda My compliments to Kathy P. for such a fine article about her cross-country road trip. As an almost 26-year member of AA myself, I can relate to everything she wrote about her experiences.

As Alcoholics Anonymous prepares to celebrate its 75th anniversary, we asked one of its members to write about the group and how he came to join. Following in the tradition of the organization, he is using his first name only. My name is Chas. I'm an alcoholic. I stumbled into my first AA meeting in fall 1997. I had been a hard drinker for 20 years and a serious drunk for the last 10. I had lost my job, was about to lose my family and was having serious health problems.

Thanks for your July 4 Op-Ed regarding the 75th anniversary of Alcoholics Anonymous, "In the end, it's just one drunk talking to another." I too am a sober member of A.A.; my sobriety date is June 16, 2003. The article by "Chaz" was accompanied in the newspaper by an illustration depicting various images supposedly related to A.A. Disturbingly, it included a picture of Jesus Christ, or perhaps some other religious figure with a Christian connotation. My grave concern is that, by publishing Christian art (or art with any religious imagery, regardless of origin)

As I read Dr. Drew Pinsky's comments on Lindsay Lohan's problems and prognosis — that the actress should be framed so a judge could order her to a long-term treatment program, remarks for which he has since apologized — I felt worried and even scared for all the people who are suffering with addiction today. Why? Because what Dr. Drew was saying expressed the attitude that so many people have regarding addiction and recovery, which, in my experience, is ineffective and even damaging for some of us. I suspect Lohan is one such person.

One of the biggest parties ever held in Seattle is likely to be one of the most orderly, with the strongest drinks served being many varieties of espresso coffee. More than 40,000 people are expected to mark the 55th anniversary of Alcoholics Anonymous in a four-day international celebration of sobriety that begins today. Delegations from more than 70 nations, including the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, are participating.

"I'm Volodya, and I'm an alcoholic." So began Volodya's personal account of 20 years of alcohol abuse, his subsequent misery and his despair of ever being able to quit drinking. Such declarations form the core of every meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous around the world, strengthening the resolve of the movement's members to remain sober by recalling in vivid terms the results of alcoholism and reminding them that a relapse is just a drink away.

I'm drunk. My cheeks are flushed. My heart is beating fast. I'm not sure what time it is. As I look around the room, I find myself transfixed by insignificancies--a beam of light etching a tiny rainbow onto one side of an Evian bottle protruding from an ice bucket; a thin, translucent rim of molten wax ringing the flame of the milk-white taper on my table; a scribble of blue thread on the back of a waiter's short black jacket.

I creep through Los Angeles traffic on Interstate 10 toward my destination: an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting a couple hundred miles east on the Arizona border. My goal for this trip in the winter of 2008 is to drive from California to a conference in Florida and back, attend AA meetings in seven states and see how they differ — and how they don't. I have two fears: that a low-budget camping trip is dangerous for a lone woman and that I'll end up hating the AA I find outside my local group.

The life of a road warrior is certainly no picnic, but for Brian H., it proved his undoing. For years, as a pharmaceutical salesman shuttling throughout Asia, eating alone at night in hotel bars and with access to a generous expense account for boozy client entertainment, he slid deeper into alcoholism. A relentless series of shameful moments led him to what the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous describes as "pitiful and incomprehensible demoralization. " Utter despair. And then an embrace, finally, of the truth: His life had become unmanageable.

As I read Dr. Drew Pinsky's comments on Lindsay Lohan's problems and prognosis — that the actress should be framed so a judge could order her to a long-term treatment program, remarks for which he has since apologized — I felt worried and even scared for all the people who are suffering with addiction today. Why? Because what Dr. Drew was saying expressed the attitude that so many people have regarding addiction and recovery, which, in my experience, is ineffective and even damaging for some of us. I suspect Lohan is one such person.

Thanks for your July 4 Op-Ed regarding the 75th anniversary of Alcoholics Anonymous, "In the end, it's just one drunk talking to another." I too am a sober member of A.A.; my sobriety date is June 16, 2003. The article by "Chaz" was accompanied in the newspaper by an illustration depicting various images supposedly related to A.A. Disturbingly, it included a picture of Jesus Christ, or perhaps some other religious figure with a Christian connotation. My grave concern is that, by publishing Christian art (or art with any religious imagery, regardless of origin)

As Alcoholics Anonymous prepares to celebrate its 75th anniversary, we asked one of its members to write about the group and how he came to join. Following in the tradition of the organization, he is using his first name only. My name is Chas. I'm an alcoholic. I stumbled into my first AA meeting in fall 1997. I had been a hard drinker for 20 years and a serious drunk for the last 10. I had lost my job, was about to lose my family and was having serious health problems.

Despite noble efforts by folks like William Shakespeare and Eugene O'Neill, Bill Wilson is probably the best known drunk in literary history. As the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous and the coauthor of its iconic "Big Book," Wilson is both creator and prophet of the now-ubiquitous 12-step program, his story of alcoholic madness and redemption universally known. And, as is so often the case with influential and/or inebriated men, his wife, Lois, never gets nearly enough credit.

Thank you so much for publishing "Road to Recovery" by Kathy P. [Jan. 2]. I am a longtime member of Al-Anon and have also attended meetinsg in my travels. I appreciate her honest account of both the meetings and her use of the concepts taught in Alcoholics Anonymous. She is a great example of the adage that we may be anonymous, but are not invisible. Stephanie D., Reseda My compliments to Kathy P. for such a fine article about her cross-country road trip. As an almost 26-year member of AA myself, I can relate to everything she wrote about her experiences.

Author Keith Miller has been on a cross-country tour to promote his new book, but he has traveled even further to reach spiritual health. A widely respected lecturer and Episcopal layman, Miller's most recent cause has been the 12-step recovery method made famous by Alcoholics Anonymous. His book "A Hunger for Healing" (Harper San Francisco, $15.95) explores how the 12 steps might be used as a classic model for Christian spiritual growth.

When William Eskandari decided to change the name of his family-run liquor store in Glendale, he wanted something that would stand out from dozens of other, similar stores in town. He succeeded. As of 2005, the business has been known as Hammered Liquor. "Everybody laughs at it. They like it. People drive by and they see the name, and they come in and ask for T-shirts and caps," Eskandari said. "I'm thinking in the future we'll probably get some to sell." Not far from Los Angeles International Airport is another liquor store with a name that gets noticed, but not in the way the original owners intended.

Jack Kissell, 79, a character actor who was well known in the Alcoholics Anonymous movement in Los Angeles, died Nov. 12 at the Little Company of Mary Transitional Care Center in Torrance, his family said. He had Alzheimer's disease and cancer. Kissell had small parts on television, including appearances on the sitcom "Life With Bonnie," and in local theater productions. Born Sept. 24, 1930, Kissell grew up in South Bend, Ind., and graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1952.