When AA Sponsors Cross The Line

They are there to guide you — not control you

One of the key components to working the program of Alcoholics Anonymous is finding a sponsor. This is a mentor and a confidante, someone with years of sobriety (preferably) and experience working the program of AA.

Their job is to guide you through the 12 Steps and to be there for support.

This is their only job — and their only qualification.

My first sponsor was what is commonly referred to as a “Big Book Thumper.”

This is someone who (much like a bible thumper) treats the AA Big Book with holy reverence — reciting chapter and verse on command.

He used to carry around the first Big Book he was ever given, tattered and torn from years spent in AA’s church basement trenches.

At first, I respected that.

I thought, “Who better to guide me through this than someone who knows the material inside and out?”

Eventually, his rigidness became overbearing.

He would condescendingly question almost any thought or question I had, particularly if it didn’t align with his interpretation of the Big Book.