The Recovering Corker Column
info@aascv.org
This is a question-and-answer column written by rotating guest contributors who respond with loving care, drawing from the wisdom of the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous. We speak not from personal opinion, but from the shared language and spiritual principles that have helped millions of us find freedom, one day at a time. Our aim is to offer support rooted in experience, strength, and hope – not ego.
Dear Recovering Corker,
I am relatively new to sobriety and am having a hard time understanding what sponsorship is. I didn’t think I had to have someone vouch for me to join AA and I certainly don’t want to have someone telling me what to do and how to run my life. I just came to learn how to stop drinking and am not really interested in all of these other things that people share about in meetings.
Sincerely,
Sponsorship Is Not For Me
Dear
Sponsorship Is Not For Me,
Sponsorship in AA is not having someone vouch for you or having someone present you as suitable for membership. To join you only have to have a desire to stop drinking. Being still new you, are probably feeling very confused and overwhelmed when leaving a meeting. Some of our questions get answered in the meeting but it is those questions that occur to us between meetings; we find that we need constant, close support as we begin learning how to “live sober.” A sponsor should not be telling you “what to do” they should only be sharing their experience, strength and hope (one alcoholic sharing with another.) We meet as equals in the sponsor/sponsorship relationship. Essentially, the process of sponsorship is this: An Alcoholic who has made some progress in the recovery program shares that experience on a continuous, individual basis with another alcoholic who is attempting to attain or maintain sobriety through AA. Sponsorship responsibility is unwritten and informal, but it is a basic part of the AA approach to recovery from alcoholism through the Twelve Steps.
Before making any final decision about sponsorship may we suggest you read the AA pamphlet, Questions and Answers on Sponsorship to help clarify what a sponsor is and isn’t. You can get a copy at your local Central Office or one of the meetings you are attending.
We do not see a lot of people who are successful in maintaining their sobriety when they try to do it alone.
In humble service,
The Recovering Corker