interview after feedback

I think that the feedback made me realize that I wasn't connected enough to the informant. He was kind of standoffish and I should have tried harder to get things out of him and take risks. It was hard for me to become comfortable asking those questions because he didn't seem to think he had an addiction. I agree with the question she picked as the best one.

• Taylor: Do you think that the people that attend them get better or do you think its worse for them?
• Cole: I think most of them are faking because they are court ordered or someone is making them go…

She helped me realize the importance of saying words like hmm and I see.. to make the informant feel comfortable and show them that I cared about what they said.

Alcoholics Slang- list of 15

1. hammered: intoxicated or euphoric under the influence of alcohol or narcotics.
2. juiced: intoxicated; drunk.
3. mellow: a pleasant drunk
4. loaded: intoxicated
5. pickled: drunk
6. shit-faced: obscene, out of control drunk
7.tipsy: slightly intoxicated
8. dipsomania: an insatiable craving for alcoholic beverages
9. drunkard: alcoholic
10. lush: alcoholic
11. alky: alcoholic
12. rummy: alcoholic
13. boozer: alcoholic
14. KIS: keep it simple
15. running the show: How devout members of AA describe the attitude and actions of an alcoholic who is not following the principles of the Twelve-Step program and the Big Book.



"Always remember that I have taken more out of alcohol than alcohol has taken out of me."

"Don’t drink and drive, you might hit a bump and spill your drink."

"Time is never wasted when you’re wasted all the time."

"I drink to forget I drink"

Fieldnotes #3

-After walking around aimlessly trying to find the serenity club in muncie we were in NO luck so we went to the one on riverside to see if they knew anything about it-

Walked in late to the meeting with a girl from my eng class and a boy in her class on drugs-they were required to attend one...everyones looking really confused as to why we are here

Super embarrassing.....i just wanna leaveeee already

An older lady starts to speak. She has a raspy voice and is drinking coffee. She keeps talking about how alcohol is her 'quick fix' .. she compares it to everything.... She says that the doctors have already told her she is crazy... "well they call it a chemical imbalance, but im not stupid"... She says that when she is having a bad day she uses alcohol as her quick fix... or if its sunny out.. why not have a drink... She says that she looks at everything with the quick fix kind of outlook. She even says, "Like if my house wasnt how I wanted it, Oh well I'd just burn it down and make insurance build me a new one... See, It's the quick fix!"

Whoa lady.... you are crazy.... but I understand what you are saying. I feel like most people have this problem so I'm sure it added to the meetings success

A guy agrees with her and talks about how its the solution and problem to all lifes problems. He talks about how he is depressed and gets more depressed and just wants to drink to get rid of it..

Okay dude.... dont you know alcohol is a depressant? weird correlation?

meeting ends with the usual serenity prayer , holding hands, and workin it ~ the girl from my class and boy look at me like im crazy for knowing all the words... haha

Oh well i think its funny... and the ending is as effective as always.. got me all cheerful!

We find out that it was actually a CLOSED meeting.. this means that there are strictly only alcoholics allowed....the lady tells us

OOOPSIES.... ha

The boy tells her that we are alcoholics... She hands us schedules for the meetings and we chat with a couple of the people there

I think this is hilarioussssss but kind of wrong... oh well... better luck next time.

Oral History

My family owns a lake house in Northern Indiana. We got there almost every summer. One summer when I was nine or ten I went and my cousin who was also my age was there. One of our neighbors owned a golf-cart and their grandchildren were visiting them. They were about four or five years older than us. They were driving us around on the golf cart when I asked If I could drive. Of course they said sure. I figured that it would be like driving one of those purple and pink Barbie jeeps, but that was not the case. I got in the drivers seat and pushed the pedal all the way to the floor, to make matters worse, I slammed into a parked car that someone owned down the street. I got off the golf-cart and my cousin and I ran all the way home. It was so embarrassing. I picked this story because it symbolizes my constant need of feeling grown up. I have always wanted to do what the older kids are doing. I always thought I was invincible. Luckily I got a nice little reality check and have realized that I shouldn't try and grow up too fast! This story still gets told at my lake house when we go in the summers. I'm sure my parents have a better, more funny version.

Verbal Art

What's the verbal art?

The verbal art I chose in my subculture is at the end of the meetings when they say the Lord's prayer to close, while all holding hands, and then shout the phrase, "It works If you work it!"

What is the culture revealed?

The culture reveals that the members rely heavily on working the twelve steps and that God is a huge foundation of their recovery. It also shows me that the people are bonding by holding hands. I think that this probably makes them feel good to do this at the end because it's something fun, but serious at the same time.

How is it important to IND, GROUP, YOU?

This is important to them because it really does remind them at the end that they need to continue working the steps until the next meeting. When I do it with the group, I am really happy after wards for some reason. I think that it gives me a sense of hope for the members.

Questions?

I need to ask someone if the verbal art is important to them in an interview. I'll also ask if any one knows how that got started and If it's just in Indiana or everywhere....

Potential questions to ask at interview

What is your full name?

Where were you born and raised?

How many siblings do you have, if any?

Were your parents together during childhood?

How was your childhood?

What was going on in your life that made you resort to alcohol?

Have you done all twelve steps?

What is your biggest moment with AA?

How long have you been sober?

How did you end up where you are today?

Do you have a sponsor? Are you a sponsor?

What's the best advice you've ever gotten?

Was it hard for you to accept the term 'alcoholic'?

Do you plan on attending meetings for the rest of your life?

What has been the biggest help to your recovery process?

Do you have any inspiring stories to tell?

How are your relationships with friends and family at this moment?

Do you believe that AA is helpful or are you required to attend?

What do you want out of life?

Are you a parent?

What do you do to keep your mind off of alcohol?

How do the AA coins play a role in AA for you?

Do the coins have a meaning for you that you feel is deeper or different than someone else?

Have you read the Big Book?

Do you give money at the meetings?

Have you ever spoken at a meeting? If not, do you want to?

Have you ever led a meeting?

Do you have a list of people you can call that are also members of AA?

Are you open about being a member or do you prefer to keep it anonymous?

Are any of your family members also in AA?

How long have you been an alcoholic?

How many times, if any, have you relapsed?

How many coins do you have?

Did certain dramatic events lead you to become an alcoholic?

Interview in class

When i first tried to locate an article on Jennifer Miller, it was really hard for me to find something that looked like it might have a story behind it. I asked Jennifer if she had anything on that had meaning or a story. She told me that she stole the shirt she was wearing from her mom. It was a blue and white colts shirt that said' Cardinal Fitness supports the Colts' on the front. She explained to me that her brother lives and works in Indianapolis at Cardinal Fitness. He gets a bunch of free colts gear and fitness wear. Her brother gave her mom and dad both a t-shirt. She was very upset that she didn't get one, especially because they were free. So over spring break her mom had the shirt on and Jennifer told her that she was going to steal it one day! So when her mom was done doing spring break laundry Jennifer noticed the t-shirt on her moms bed and snatched it up real fast and put it in her back to school bag. She called her mom yesterday and told her that she stole the shirt and she laughed. I think that the shirt symbolizes the relationship that Jennifer has with her family. When she was telling me the story, It really reminded me of my family and me. I always take my moms clothes and she takes mine because we wear about the same size. We act like we are mad when we take each others things, but we aren't really mad, because we are family. Jennifer grew up in a small town called Shipshawana. I think that one can assume that when you live in a small town like that you become very family oriented. I bet she was a little p'od that her brother didn't bother getting her a free shirt! I think that by taking the t-shirt she was making a statement to her brother. I mean no one is actually going to get furious over a free t-shirt, but it could still upset someone. So i think that was a good way to get a point across... I'm sure her brother will give her a free t-shirt soon! haha

summary 3

i couldn't find any other scholarly article :/

summary 2-'naught but a story'

Summary:

An article named 'Naught but a story': Narratives of successful AA recovery' involves a study which invited individuals who held at least nine years of sobriety to tell of their recovery process stories. This article was published in October of 2009. Bill W the co-founder of AA said, "Being layman we have naught, but a story to tell," (W. 273)hence the 'naught' in the title of the article. The article explains that listening to other stories of recovery can ultimately help other alcoholics. In the study the individuals used an AA-based approach to recovery. The individuals were picked at random by the authors attending an AA meeting. The topics of discussion in the study were: findings: 'being alcoholic', first impressions of AA, decline and renewal, admittance and surrender, character change, and spiritual change. When talking about their stories, the individuals would tell of their life choices and consequences due to their addiction. One of the big steps in AA is admitting that you have a problem. Most of the people in the study claim that this happened as a result of them 'hitting rock bottom.' Realizing that you have an addiction is a critical point in AA. The study also asked the clients what their first impression of AA was. Some people had found where they belonged at the first meeting attended, others felt is was a mistake for them to be there and that they didn't belong. At AA the individuals were encouraged to look at things and life in a different way. Linda said, " You know, they say in AA that 'half measures availed us nothing.' And those that don't recover are incapable of being honest with themselves, you know when they say all theses things and I heard all of those things so many times and now I was prepared to be honest. I was so afraid that if I drank again I was going to kill myself and I don't mean with drink. I couldn't live like that anymore." (Lindy 277) All the individuals had to go through huge obstacles and maintain a new outlook in order to become sober. Admittance and surrender are huge parts of AA. You basically have to surrender yourself to the twelve steps in order to be successful. According to one of the steps, "We admitted we were powerless over alcohol..." Many of the individuals got to the point of desperation and were finally willing to give themselves to the program completely. Most of the individuals depend on AA meetings to keep them sober, but a few didn't think that they needed it anymore. Some would say not going to meetings was trouble. Character change is another huge part in the study. The participants explained that they had to come to many realizations in order to overcome the way that they were living. They are good people that are damaged and AA helped them to pull back the layers and get to the root of their problems. Having a structured life is a way for addicts to become sober. Most of the participants were involved in other things such as having their own therapist. This helped them see why they might have resorted to alcohol. One girl talked about how she was emotional deprived and had childhood problems. The last point is coming to a spiritual change. AA revolves around a 'higher power.' It doesn't necessarily have to be a 'god'. Just thinking that their is something bigger than you is a large rung on the recovery ladder. This article basically just shows ways that make it easier for alcoholics to recover and what methods they find useful.

• Bill W. (1949) "The society of Alcoholics Anonymous' American Journal of Psychiatry 106(5): 370-375
• Lindy, C (1993) Life Stories: The Creation of Coherence Oxford University Press: New York and Oxford

--This article gave me a better understanding of all the steps that alcoholics have to go through in order to live a better life. I have a lot of respect for these people, because there are many steps to recovery. I think that examining yourself is often very hard. Coming to realizations about yourself that you don't like is even harder.

*Thesis- The stories and methods of recovery that are useful for one person, are often useful for another. Many factors have influenced the way individuals have gotten help in order to attain change.

summary 1 - therapy-directed strategy increases AA involvement among outpatients

Summary:

In article named therapy-directed strategy increases AA involvement among outpatients states that a study was held to find out if outpatient therapy revolving around AA is more successful than therapy that is not very focused on AA. This article was in an issue of a Brown University Digest. It was published in June 2009, so it is fairly recent. Each type of approach received a 12-session, manualized skills based treatment package that covered topics such as problem solving, drink refusal, and relaxation skills according to the Brown University Digest of Addiction Theory and Application. (Walitzer 6) The only thing that was altered was the role AA played into the therapy. With the DIR approach, the therapist provided much emphasis on AA- including: the 12 steps, the big book, living sober book, fellowship, obtaining a sponsor, and supporting other members in AA. About 38% of material had an AA focus with the DIR approach. The next approach, MOT, had about a 20% emphasis on AA. The therapist provides his/her own thoughts about AA including: stories, attitudes and thoughts towards AA, and states that it is the clients choice to be involved in AA. The TAU focus was primarily centered around all therapy and no AA. There is about an 8% focus on AA in that group. Things such as: interviews, days sober, aa attendance, and inventories were all factors in the study. During follow-ups with the participants, as expected, the DIR approach to therapy had the greatest outcome. The DIR approach had a total of 80% days sober during the follow-up, where as, TAU participants had 65% days. MOT was in the middle, also as expected, and didn't really have much effect on outcome of therapy.

• Walitzer KS: Facilitating Involvement in Alcoholics Anonymous during outpatient treatment: A randomized clinical trial. Addiction 2009; 104:391-401

--I believe that this summary will give my subculture an extreme amount of credibility. A huge stereotype surrounding AA is that it doesn't work- or even that it is sabotoging to the recovery process. In my first paper, I explained that alcoholism is dominant in caucasians. This study shows that the majority of alcoholics are in fact white, which will give my ideas and thoughts proper evidence.

*Thesis: Alcohol addiction therapy that is AA-oriented allows for more successful recoveries in outpatients.

Fieldnotes #2

this time i went to a different type of meeting... this was a lot smaller and was at 9 in the morning on sunday


there are 5 people that have walked in

wonder what step we'll cover today .. one of the guys looks mid-twenties, one looks like he is in highschool, another in his thirties, a lady in her forties, and an old man in the room.

this meeting place is a lot smaller than the last one, has a long conference style table with big black rolling chairs. There is a desk in the corner ...

this must be someones office that they use for this smaller meeting that only some people attend

the old man mutters some stuff and asks who wants to lead the meeting today

hmm i didn't know anyone could lead the meeting

HE JUST ASKED ME IF I WANT TO LEAD THE MEETING.....

ummm? i can't say no, that would be rude, but i really don't want to.... FINE.

i take the big book off of the desk and a paper that says what step to cover.. then start the meeting with the serenity prayer and a paragraph highlighted in chapter 3

hope i don't mess this up.....

now i ask everyone to say their name, why they are here, and how long they have been sober since it's a smaller meeting

i'm anxious to know what this highschooler is doing here already...

the lady in her forties talks about how she keeps relapsing and that she has only been a day sober. she talks about how its effecting her kids very negatively, but she just can't stop because she is so stressed. she talks about how her sponsor is helping her out a lot. i tell her that its okay and that people make mistakes, and that all she can do is try and get better. I then explain to her how i feel about my mom and that if anything happened to her or if she died because of something that she could control i'd be devastated. i told her that i look up to my mom. i also told her that i would be understanding if i was her kid because moms have so much stress and are literally always moving. they never get a break. she keeps thanking me

i feel so good for helping her. i feel like i might have said somethings that will stick...

the highschooler tells us that he was in the car drunk when one of his friends got a dui. he said that his parents are making him go to thirty aa meetings in a month...

damn..... i'd say that's an easy punishment. my parents would kill me!

the old man has been sober for thirty years..

holy crap..... thats what we like to call self control... i couldn't even do it and i'm not an alchy!

the guy in his mid twenties has been arrested and taking to the hospital for drinking.... twice. he was handcuffed to the hospital bed. he said there is nothing worse than waking up to that. he doesn't even remember how he got there or that he hit a tree.

what if he would have killed someone or himself? eeek... scary.... hopefully aa will help him so he doesnt inflict pain on himself or anyone else...

i end the meeting with the ' keep coming back keep coming back, it doesn't work if you don't work it' chant...

this just gets everyone in a feel good mood, including me :)

Artifact/Space Presentation

Intro-
Upon first hearing about Alcoholics Anonymous I had already painted a picture in my mind of how it went. Whether the media, my fellow peers, or movies helped me paint this picture, it was wrong. I pictured a bunch of low lives walking in with their bottles of booze, tattoos and piercings , with five children trailing behind. For some reason I had always thought of Alcoholics Anonymous to be some kind of joke, where everyone sits in a circle and says, “I’m Taylor, and I’m an alcoholic” This vision I had would soon vanish after attending an official Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. As I walked into the double doors at Fairbanks rehabilitation center in Indianapolis I immediately obtained an extreme sense of comfortableness. There is an old wooden table when you first walk in the double doors. This has pamphlets resting on it informing about anything from Alcoholics to Overeaters. There are baskets on that table as well for the money collection. And lastly a big book, that resembles something of a bible on the table. There are your typical gray, metal plastic chairs all lined up in rows leading to the small, proscenium style stage. On this stage there is a beat up podium where speakers reside. On the walls behind the stage are two large, wooden plaques one on each side of the stage that read, “the twelve steps of Alcoholics Anonymous and the twelve steps of Narcotics Anonymous” The walls offer nothing of aesthetically pleasing value, just plain old boring white. Before the meeting is called in session, there are people standing around talking about anything from the baseball game they went to earlier to something funny their kid had done. Interestingly enough, these people didn’t bring their seven kids to the meeting and they weren’t wearing obnoxious clothing. They were normal everyday people just like us. A leader walks to the podium and begins the meeting with the serenity prayer and talks about what step we are going to cover today from the big book, which is a book full of insightful information regarding the twelve steps. He then calls a boy to the podium to share his life story. With this being said, today I’m going to tell you about what I feel is my focal point and how an artifact plays an important role in not only my focal point, but my space in Alcoholics Anonymous.

Body-
A. Focal Point:
a. The stories of AA members
i. The focal point I have chosen for my subculture is the people’s stories that belong to AA. I feel as if this is the center of activity at an AA meeting. For me, hearing the desperate, but hopeful stories of Alcoholics makes me think of them in a whole new light. Whether that story contains a mother that won’t talk to her daughter anymore, a young kid that killed a family drinking and driving, or an old man that has liver failure due to his addiction – they all give me chills. I have trouble relating to these stories, but I know an inside view is totally different. I think that an insider can relate to all aspects of another beings story. They must feel like they are not alone when they hear these stories. These stories absolutely must help them want to recover also.
B. Artifact:
a. The coins of AA
i. The artifact I have chosen is the coins of AA. Generally speaking they are a memento that you receive on your first day of attending, and your sobriety anniversaries. There are also coins that serve for other functions as well in AA. My artifact fits into my space because it’s something that is acknowledged at every meeting. At each meeting, a leader asks the audience how many days they have been sober. He may say, “Who’s been sober for twenty four hours, a month, a year, ten years, or so on?” Depending on who wants a coin they raise their hand and normally their sponsor presents them with the coin. A sponsor is someone that they hand choose to help guide them through the recovery process. If they are tempted to drink, they can call up their sponsor at any time and they will help them through it because they too have experienced the struggle. The most common coin in AA has the serenity prayer on one side and ‘to thine own self be true’ on the other, with a triangle that states how long they have been sober. This main coin is available in 24 hour, months 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, 18, and years 1-60. These small, but powerful sayings have a huge meaning. The serenity prayer is a constant reminder to the alcoholic that it is time to change. The be true quote means to be true to yourself. To let someone or something else define you can make you lose your ability to discover and grow. It is a constant reminder that in order to find yourself and change you must remember the twelve steps.
ii. This artifact gives the people in AA a sense of accomplishment. It not only serves the function of a gift, but it can also be thought of as a type of currency because it is a coin. With this being said, the coins of AA are very valuable to the people that receive them.

b. The history
i. Early evidence implies that many early members of AA carried around personal mementos to remind themselves how important their sobriety was. Sister Ignatia, a nun who helped the founders start the first official AA meeting at St Thomas in Akron, would give the drunks leaving the hospital a sacred heart medallion and instructed them that if they were going to drink they had the responsibility of bringing the heart medallion back to her before. After this, the tradition was born and incorporated throughout AA history. The coin serves a literal purpose- that being a gift and a symbol- that being sobriety.



Conclusion- My focal point and artifact work hand and hand. Because most people’s stories are about how they became an alcoholic and how they became sober, a reoccurring theme in the AA meetings is sobriety. The coins give an alcoholic that extra encouragement to keep going, as well as hearing the stories of other alcoholics. So now that I have given you a little more information about Alcoholics Anonymous, I hope I have changed the picture in your mind.