fabricated significant incidents in the book

James Frey has received the ultimate penalty — expulsion from Oprah's Book Club. After being invited into the club — resulting in best-sellerdom for his memoir about his drug addiction, alcoholism and treatment, A Million Little Pieces — it was revealed that Frey fabricated significant incidents in the book.

Negating the validity of alcoholism.

Research has shown that alcoholism is a choice, not a disease, and stripping alcohol abusers of their choice, by applying the disease concept, is a threat to the health of the individual.
In a recent Gallup poll, 90% of people surveyed believe that alcoholism is a disease. Most argue that because the American Medical Association (AMA) has proclaimed alcoholism a disease, the idea is without reproach.
But, the fact is that the AMA made this determination in the absence of empirical evidence. After reviewing the history of the decision, it would not be unreasonable to suggest that the AMA has been pursuing its own agenda in the face of evidence negating the validity of alcoholism.

Alternative viewpoint

While A.A. with its 12-step approach has helped millions of people over the last 60-plus years, but there is no evidence that A.A. is better than other approaches for everyone.
Some people just don't find A.A. attractive or constructive for their particular situations.
based on recent research, people don't join A.A. or find it helpful because of many diverse reasons:
"It's just a substitute dependency."
"It's too religious."
"There is too much dogma."
"I don't feel I fit in."
"My problem isn't as bad as theirs."
"I haven't hit my bottom and I don't want to wait until then to make a change."
"They say I am powerless, but I feel I'm not powerless."
"It's like a cult."
"I don't feel I am an alcoholic" "I don't have an addiction."

serious gambling addictions

A study published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) finds that people who gamble online may have more serious gambling addictions than gamblers who wager in land casinos.
The APA issued a health advisory on Internet gambling.
The study questioned 389 users of the dental and medical clinic at the University of Connecticut. Thirty one of the study participants had gambled on the Internet; 14 of those reported doing so weekly.
"We're not seeing a lot of recreational gambling on the Internet," said Nancy Petry, associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Connecticut Health Center and one of the study's authors.
"The Internet seems to attract people who are prone to or who have already developed a gambling problem."

women prefer to affirm that they have the power to choose

"We admitted we were powerless over [our addiction]-that our lives had become unmanageable." The purpose of this step is to crack through denial or an inflated ego and acknowledge a destructive problem. It can be helpful to say "I am powerless to change my partner," but many women abuse chemicals or stay in harmful relationships because they feel powerless in their lives. Thus, many women prefer to affirm that they have the power to choose not to use chemicals or have dependent relationships. So, alternatively:

We acknowledge we were out of control with but have the power to take charge of our lives and stop being dependent on others for our self-esteem and security.

concept of sickness

A. A.'s did not use the concept of sickness to absolve our members from moral responsibility. On the contrary, we used the fact of fatal illness to clamp the heaviest kind of moral responsibility on to the sufferer. The further point was made that in his early days of drinking the alcoholic often was no doubt guilty of irresponsibility and gluttony. But once the time of compulsive drinking, veritable lunacy had arrived and he couldn't very well be held accountable for his conduct. He then had a lunacy which condemned him to drink, in spite of all he could do; he had developed a bodily sensitivity to alcohol that guaranteed his final madness and death. When this state of affairs was pointed out to him, he was placed immediately under the heaviest kind of pressure to accept A.A.'s moral and spiritual program of regeneration -namely, our Twelve Steps. Fortunately, Mr. Link was satisfied with this view of the use that we were making of the alcoholic's illness.

Women who question "the program,"

Women who question "the program," as it's often called, have been shamed, called resistant, and threatened with abandonment. They have been trained to believe that male models of nearly everything are better than whatever they might create for themselves.
Some women are grateful for what 12-step programs have given them: a generally available peer model providing support and understanding at no cost. Yet no one way works for everyone. The steps were formulated by a white, middle-class male in the 1930s; not surprisingly, they work to break down an over inflated ego, and put reliance on an all-powerful male God. But most women suffer from the lack of a healthy, aware ego, and need to strengthen their sense of self by affirming their own inner wisdom.
Research strongly suggests that alcohol addiction has links to genetic predisposition. A vital point that seems overlooked in AA is that in the case of nearly all substance abuse, the brain chemistry and the body ecology need extensive healing in order to prevent the protracted withdrawal syndrome of depression, anxiety, volatile emotions, and obsessive thinking that can last for years. Too often women endlessly attend groups, have psychotherapy, or take antidepressants when their emotions are actually being influenced by a chemical imbalance that could be helped by proper nutrition and exercise.

Other addictions and codependency (as well as the will to recover), are influenced by cultural oppression, which includes poverty, battering, racism, sexism, and homophobia. Treatment programs need to incorporate understanding - and advocacy - regarding these concerns.

Parental attitudes and habits influence kids.

Several interesting studies indicate that if teens believe that their parents are against drinking and drug use, teens are less likely to try them. Parental disapproval acts as a "buffer" against peer pressure. Children of "permissive parents" who are more accepting of drugs and liquor or who leave decisions about them to their teens are more likely to have children who abuse substances.

Genetics count less than we once thought.

Studies of identical twins show that although there is a genetic component to alcoholism and drug abuse, genetics does not trump environment. You can have a genetic predisposition for alcoholism or drug abuse, but environmental factors have to come into play for it to develop.

Besides genetics, risk factors for teens are undiagnosed learning disabilities, bi-polar disorder, childhood traumas, anxiety, depression, and feelings that they do not fit in with their peer groups. Any teen who says that he or she loved drugs or drinking from the first try is also at greater risk. The earlier a teen starts using, the more likely he or she will be addicted. Latchkey children who are home alone after school are at more risk than supervised children. Finally, growing up around heavy drinkers is another big risk factor.

Genetics count less than we once thought.

Studies of identical twins show that although there is a genetic component to alcoholism and drug abuse, genetics does not trump environment. You can have a genetic predisposition for alcoholism or drug abuse, but environmental factors have to come into play for it to develop.

Besides genetics, risk factors for teens are undiagnosed learning disabilities, bi-polar disorder, childhood traumas, anxiety, depression, and feelings that they do not fit in with their peer groups. Any teen who says that he or she loved drugs or drinking from the first try is also at greater risk. The earlier a teen starts using, the more likely he or she will be addicted. Latchkey children who are home alone after school are at more risk than supervised children. Finally, growing up around heavy drinkers is another big risk factor.

Alcohol is a factor in 66% of student suicides.

Around 28% of college dropouts result from alcohol abuse.
Alcohol is a factor in 66% of student suicides.
Alcohol is a factor in 60% of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV.
Alcohol is a factor in 40% of academic problems.
Around 87% of college students who do not engage in binge drinking have experienced problems resulting from their peers abusing alcohol, including physical assault, sexual harassment and abuse, disrupted sleep, and disrupted study sessions.
The Journal of American College Health published a survey stating that 73% of assailants and 55% of rape victims used drugs of alcohol prior to their assault.
Financial problems have resulted from the money spent on alcohol, which is more than is spent on books, soda, coffee, juice, and milk combined.

found dead in the Mississippi River

Lucas Homan, a 21-year-old student from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse was found dead in the Mississippi River with the equivalent of a case a beer in his system. He was preceded by 8 young men who were also found dead in the river after a night of binge drinking. He had begun drinking the night before at a house party to celebrate the Oktoberfest. He continued drinking at downtown bars with a hometown friend who had been visiting. One of those friends was found stumbling around on the street and was taken to an alcohol detoxification center. Homan's body was found 2 days later

drinking a massive amount of alcohol

18-year-old Gordie Bailey was found dead in the Chi Psi fraternity house at the University of Colorado at Boulder after drinking a massive amount of alcohol in a college hazing ritual. He had been told to drink four 1.75 liter bottle of whiskey and six 1.5 liter bottle of wine in 30 minutes before returning to the fraternity house. After he passed out, the group wrote racial slurs and other demeaning slogans on his body in another fraternity ritual. Previously, he had been named to the club lacrosse team and had excelled in athletics, music, and drama in his high school in Massachusetts, where he was co-captain of the varsity football team, playing both middle linebacker and offensive guard. He had also been given the "Class of 2004 Award of Excellence in Drama."

The Easy Alternative

One advantage of 12-step programs is that you can easily find meetings everywhere. NA has over 33,500 meetings per week in 115 countries; AA is an even larger worldwide organization. Another advantage is that the program is volunteer, making it a very cost-effective way of providing services to alcoholics and addicts on a twenty-four hour basis.

first members of AA came up with the twelve steps through trial and error

The very first members of AA came up with the twelve steps through trial and error, keeping only those steps that worked toward recovery. The key to working through the twelve steps is being completely honest with yourself, especially when you are listing all the people and institutions that make you angry, and making amends to those you have hurt. Members are not allowed to drink or use drugs at all. As they say in AA, one drink is too many - twenty drinks is not enough.

widespread questioning of these programs has only begun recently

Drug addiction, codependency, incest, compulsive eating, sex, gambling, and shopping - multitudes of people are using 12-step programs modeled after Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) to recover from these problems. But beneath the surface of this massive movement, women are asking, is this really good for women? While female dissatisfaction with AA is not new (Jean Kirkpatrick founded Women for Sobriety in 1976), widespread questioning of these programs has only begun recently.