The Freedom to Recover: An evolutionary and realistic guide to overcoming alcoholism without the dogma of the AA church and its 12 step religion. "You are NOT Powerless" - Softcover

You are not powerless! A new paradigm for overcoming alcoholism/addiction is long overdue. For far too long, the recovery community has put forward the notion that the best that anybody suffering from this horrid condition can hope for, is to achieve the status of a "recovering alcoholic". The biggest proponent of this ideology is the organization of Alcoholics Anonymous which puts forth the notion that in order to maintain sobriety one has to live with their disease "one day at a time" for eternity. You do not have to admit your powerlessness or turn your will and life over to any higher power, be that God or AA. The "higher power" to overcome any addiction lies within the individual. The hard truth is the fact that any addiction is a choice. the good news is that the universe bestowed upon the human race the gift of free will. You and you alone have both the right and the responsibility to create your own reality. You have the freedom to recover and within these pages you will be given practical ideas about how to; *Better control the internal dialog that takes place in your mind. *Put the past in its proper perspective and use it as a teaching tool as opposed to allowing it to keep you stuck, or full of guilt and fear. *Develop better listening and thinking skills. *Accept the world as it is, in the present, with an eye towards the future. *Become a life-long learner and evolve. A quick word about the author, Rolf Ankermann; Hi, I'm Rolf and I'm an ex-alcoholic. I am NOT powerless nor have I surrendered my will and my life to God, AA or any other higher power for that matter. I have simply made a decision, through the power of free will, to evolve and leave the bottle behind.

When Rolf Ankermann wrote his non-fiction book, The Freedom to Recover, his intent was to expose AA’s lack of efficacy in terms of helping people address and overcome their alcohol dependencies. The organization’s premise that one must declare themselves as being powerless over alcohol and that in order to get well that they must surrender both their will and their lives to some higher power of their own choosing, is both ineffective and downright damaging. At best, the 12 Step methodology offers a placebo effect for those that buy in and believe that either God, the AA group itself or some other declared higher power, will miraculously cure them if they worship and pray to it as told to do in the program’s dogmatic Steps. The truth of the matter is that these disempowering mandates go counter to the logical and common sense conclusion that positive cognitive behavioral changes can only occur when one believes in his or her ability to effect such changes in their own lives. Rolf’s opinion which is shared by many is that alcoholism is not a disease but rather, it’s a response to other underlying issues. The physical addiction that develops over years of heavy use is very real, however, once one makes the DECISION to go through the withdrawal process, what’s left to figure out and subsequently overcome, is why one resorted to self-medicating away their pain in the first place. Mr. Ankermann’s novel, 12 Steps to Dead, takes on and exposes many of the attributes of the AA fellowship that has left many who have been exposed to its teachings, with feelings of guilt, failure and depression. This program with no oversight, can lead vulnerable people into a state of hopelessness and sometimes, sadly, much worse. AA meetings are a virtual feeding ground for predatory beings looking to take advantage of people. Being told that you are diseased for life, that you are full of character defects (sins) and that you must continually relive your sordid past looking for your “part” in it all, can lead to some unpleasant results. Finally, being told that you will die if you leave the “fellowship” can very easily lead one to believe they are trapped and to just give up. AA is a “recovery program” with no exit plan that espouses the idea that the best that one can hope to achieve is to live out their life as a “recovering alcoholic” “one day at a time” for eternity.